Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge covers nearly 6,800 acres of marsh, sand prairie and forest along the Upper Mississippi River in western Wisconsin, and admission is free.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the refuge in 1936 as feeding and resting ground for waterfowl. Dikes built since then hold back the Mississippi and Trempealeau rivers, creating calm pools where aquatic plants grow and birds gather.
The refuge sits on the Mississippi Flyway, the migration route between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. Bald eagles and tundra swans arrive in numbers from mid-March into April, while fall brings mallards, pintails, coots and wigeons, along with one of Wisconsin's largest colonies of black terns in summer.
The 4.5-mile Prairie's Edge Tour Loop crosses prairie, backwater marsh and hardwood forest and can be driven, biked or walked. Near the visitor center, an observation deck with mounted spotting scopes overlooks the main pool.
Other options include the half-mile Pine Creek Dike Trail, with water on both sides near its point, and a section of the Great River State Trail that runs through the refuge. Sandhill cranes, American white pelicans, osprey, river otters, beavers and white-tailed deer are also seen here.
The visitor center, southwest of Centerville just off Highway 35, offers free maps and a bird-sighting station. The refuge is in the Driftless Area, is open during daylight hours year-round, and charges no admission fee.
