Wild Ones’ Tour: Crossing Biomes ~ Saturday September 14th 10am - 2pm
Bring water and a lunch!
We’ll start at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Meet at the Reception Hall (directions below). The reserve is 5,400 acres of native upland forests, prairie, lowland swamps and meadows. We will explore an easy to walk trail that crosses a continuum of MN plant communities in a short distance that begins with prairie and ends in a Northern tamarack bog.
We’ll follow with the Helen Allison Savanna. This area is described on the U of MN’s website as "a beautiful 80 acre tract of sand savanna ... owned by The Nature Conservancy and administered by the MN DNR as a Scientific and Natural Area…. It has never been plowed, only lightly pastured, and since 1964 has received periodic burns." We will walk through savanna, wet meadow and a sand blowout.
We’ll follow with the Helen Allison Savanna. This area is described on the U of MN’s website as "a beautiful 80 acre tract of sand savanna ... owned by The Nature Conservancy and administered by the MN DNR as a Scientific and Natural Area…. It has never been plowed, only lightly pastured, and since 1964 has received periodic burns." We will walk through savanna, wet meadow and a sand blowout.
Directions to Cedar Creek Reserve
For those of you who would like to carpool, meet at 9:00 am the Park and Ride in Mounds View at at Co. Rd. H & I-35W (SW quadrant) NOT the nearby park and ride at the Mermaid Supper Club. Continue north on I35W to next exit at Hwy 10. Take Highway 10 northwest to Hwy. 65. Continue on Hwy 65 for about 16 miles to County Highway 24 (a right hand turn between a BP station and a church). About 1 mile later, turn left on County Highway 26. The Cedar Creek Reserve surrounds you. As the road curves to the right, watch for a hidden driveway with a small Cedar Creek sign. Drive in and turn left at the first opportunity to their Center where we can comfortably meet.
