Trail 3 - Dry Route

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Check out this website for rules and regulations, as well as up-to-date alerts that may affect your visit.

One specific thing to note is to be aware of hunting seasons, as this area is all public access. Even non-hunters should wear fluorescent material during the hunting season as an extra safety precaution.

This short trail provides you with the option to avoid the wettest part of Trail 3. In this section, you travel up a short hill that leads you into a large open meadow that, depending on time of year, can be inundated with prairie grasses and wildflowers. This portion is a great option is you want a quick break from the constant shade of the forest canopy. This short trail also provides great bird and wildlife viewing opportunities. This path varies between double and singletrack depending on season and maintenance. At the time of this posting, the grasses in the field were near head height with the trail barely visible in sections.

Overall, a nice drier option to the parallel Trail 3.

There are countless species of trees throughout the property with the typical forest mammals present. Upon mapping this trail there were tons of deer and feral hog signs, as well as a bobcat spotting. A great place to take the camera and binoculars for the day. Per the National Forest website for this area, "white-tailed deer, small mammals, coyotes, bobcats, red fox, waterfowl, bobwhite quail, turkey, and songbirds thrive in the diverse habitats provided by the Grasslands. Largemouth bass, blue and channel catfish, and various sunfish species are common catches at the many lakes that dot the Grasslands' landscape."