Season Visited: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Trail Length: 1.5 mile-loop, estimated
Time to Hike: 40 minutes
Difficulty Level: 1
Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge houses thousands of amazing birds year-round and, conveniently, is located only five minutes from my house. With two small hiking trails, Supawna Meadows is a great place for birding and doing a little bit of hiking without having to go anywhere! I have seen many amazing animals, insects, and arachnids here at all seasons of the year.
Since I almost live within the jurisdiction of the refuge, I visit fairly often. The following pictures therefore are from several trips during different times of the year.
The trailhead in summer.
This particular hike begins on Lighthouse Road, a very nice drive in itself. You can see Grassland Trail on the map in this brochure. Your hike begins on grass (pictured above) that quickly becomes a mossy patch. The trees are quite beautiful here. Just a warning, however: despite its undeniable beauty, I have stopped going to Grassland Trail in the summer. In my experience it is impossible to walk there without getting bitten by hundreds of mosquitoes and losing blood to several ticks. I do believe it's worth going once in the summer to see the butterflies and dense vegetation, but you have been warned.
As you may be able to see on the map, you have a choice whether you go left or right on Grassland Trail. To the left is the loop itself, and to the right is a short walk to an observation platform perfect for birding. This trail review starts going left.
As you wind around the trees, you will notice an interesting feature on a small road that you will spend some time walking on. This is a small graveyard.
Graveyard in the fall. The plaque tells of the quarantining of the bodies, which were infected with smallpox.
Past this sobering little monument is the road that runs through the area.
Refuge road in the fall.
Walk down this road for a time until you see a trail to the left and to the right. This is the loop. You may pick whichever way you wish. I often go to the right, which leads you to a grassy trail that runs through a tunnel of shrubbery.
This part of the trail snakes in and out of the open road (it's not open to the public, so no one's ever on it), so just keep your eye out for where the trail re-enters the brush. Also look out for many different species of birds. I have seen herons, hawks, and even eagles amongst countless songbirds. In the summer the place is also covered in butterflies!
The next part of the trail goes through the open meadow. Birds dart in and out of the tall grasses, and in the summer there are thousands of dragonflies alongside the butterflies.
There are old, unused bird-watching buildings along the trail.
Meadow in summer.
Meadow in fall.
Along the loop there are some turn-offs to explore. One simply cuts through the meadow in the middle of the loop. Another takes a small detour to some benches by an overgrown pond. It was here that I once saw the caterpillar of a luna moth, which was amazing. Once you have completed the loop, re-trace your steps down the road to the mossy path and check out the observation platform.
This is a video of the birds and scenery on the platform on a late November afternoon. Sadly I am experiencing technical difficulties so the video will not play, but I will update it if I can!
If you are travelling to Supawna Meadows, be sure to check out other highlights while you're here. The Forest Habitat Trail is right down the road (post on that to come), and Fort Mott State Park is only a few minutes away as well. Enjoy your hike, and keep wandering!
Monarch butterfly by the parking area.
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