Minnesota River Valley Birding Trail

Kasota Region South


Site Description Directions to Site
KASOTA PRAIRIE SCIENTIFIC AND NATURAL AREA LeSueur County (42 acres).
Habitat: grasslands and prairie.
Amenities: None.
Contact: 651-297-2357.
Web Site Available. 		From the intersection of US 169 and Hwy. 99 in St. Peter, travel south 1.0 mile on US 169 to the south edge of town. Turning southeast on Hwy. 22, cross the Minnesota River and travel 1.4 miles to Co. Rd. 21. Turn right onto Co. Rd. 21 and travel 0.7 miles to a stop sign in the town of Kasota. Turn left at this stop sign onto Ridgeley Street and travel south 1.4 miles to Twp. Rd. 140. Turn right on Twp. Rd. 140 and travel west 1.0 mile. Look for the Kasota Prairie parking area on your right. To reach Kasota Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, continue 0.6 miles further west and south on the same gravel road. Look for signs and a parking area on your left.

LAKE WASHINGTON COUNTY PARK LeSueur County.
Habitat: woods, thickets, grasslands, riparian, and lake.
Amenities: T, P.
Contact: 507-931-6202 (Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Web Site: None

Retrace your steps to the intersection of Twp. Rd. 140 and Co. Rd. 21. Continue east on Twp. Rd. 140 for 2.1 miles to “Gillys Corner” (470th Street and 333rd Avenue). Turn right on 333rd Avenue and continue 0.5 miles to another gravel road, 476th Street. Turn left on 476th Street and travel east 1.7 miles to Co. Rd. 19 (Shanaska Creek Road). Turn left onto Co. Rd. 19 and travel north 0.7 miles to Co. Rd. 103. Turn right on Co. Rd. 103 and travel east a short distance, watching for the entrance to the park on your right.

SEVEN MILE CREEK COUNTY PARK Nicollet County.
Habitat: woods, thickets, and riparian.
Amenities: T, R, P.
Contact: 507-931-1760.
Web Site: None

 Retrace your steps to Co. Rd. 19. Turn right and travel north 1.4 miles to Co. Rd. 18. Continue north and west on Co. Rd. 18 for 1.7 miles to Co. Rd. 21. Continue west on Co. Rd. 21 for 0.8 miles to Co. Rd. 22. Turn right and drive northwest 1.4 miles to US 169 in St. Peter. Turn left onto US 169 and travel south 4.8 miles to a county park sign on your right. Turn through the gate and drive to the parking area at the west end of the park where most of the trails start.

OAKLEAF LAKE Nicollet County (64 acres).
Habitat: woods, thickets, grasslands, wetlands, marsh, and lake.
Amenties: B.
Contact: 507-225-3572.


Web Site Available.

Retrace your steps to St. Peter and at the south end of town turn left on Hwy. 99. Travel west on Hwy. 99 about 2.5 miles to Oakleaf Lake. The lake is on your left and there is a parking area for a boat launch.

LITTLE LAKE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA Nicollet County (208 acres).
Habitat: trees, thickets, grasslands, prairie, and wetlands.
Amenities: None.
Contact: 507-225-3572.


Web Site Available.

MIDDLE LAKE PUBLIC WATER ACCESS Nicollet County.
Habitat: woods, thickets and wetland.
Amenities: B.
Contact: 507-359-6067.


Web Site Available.

 Continue west on Hwy. 99 for another 6.0 miles to Twp. Rd. 99 (460th Street), a gravel road that heads west as Hwy. 99 bears to the southwest. Travel 0.3 miles on Twp. Rd. 99 to the first parking area for Little Lake Wildlife Management Area on your right. Continue west on Twp. Rd. 99 for 0.6 miles to 441st Street, a minimum maintenance road on your right. Turn right and travel north 0.6 miles to Middle Lake Public Water Access on your left. Continue north for 0.3 miles to another parking area for the wildlife management area on your right. After this point the road soon ends, but there are trails you can hike.
NICOLLET CONSERVATION CLUB Nicollet County.
Habitat: marsh and lake.
Amenities: None.
Notes: This is a private club. Please call ahead for permission to access this site.
Contact: 507-232-3366.
Web Site: None 		Return to Hwy. 99 and continue west 3.1 miles to the town of Nicollet and the Hwy. 11 intersection. (Note: To access the north side of Swan Lake and/or Middle Lake, turn right at this point and travel north about 5.0 miles to Co. Rd. 5. Turn left and look for signs to access Swan Lake or turn right and look for signs to access Middle Lake.) From the intersection of Hwy. 11 and Hwy. 99 in Nicollet, continue west on Hwy. 99 for 0.5 miles to US 14. Turn right on US 14 and travel west 0.5 miles to a gravel road on your right. Turn right onto this road and travel north and west to the Nicollet Conservation Club. (Note: This is a private club. For more information, see Nicollet Conservation Club under Site Description.)
SWAN LAKE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA - NICOLLET BAY Nicollet County (162.7 acres).
Habitat: some trees and thickets, grasslands, marsh and lake.
Amenities: T, B.
Notes: Be sure to follow the road that leads west out of the parking area. It will take you to a boardwalk through the marsh to a duck blind.
Contact: 507-225-3572 (WMA) or 507-359-6067 (PWA).
Web Site Available(1).
Retrace your steps to US 14. Turn right on US 14 and travel 1.3 miles west, looking for another gravel road on your right. Turn right and travel north to a parking area located near a ditch that empties into Swan Lake. There is another parking area on the north side of US 14 just west of this gravel road. From here, you can return to St. Peter by retracing your steps to Hwy. 99. You can also continue on to Mankato (Bend of the River Region) by taking US 14 east to US 169 or you can travel to New Ulm (Cottonwood River Region) by taking US 14 west.
Key to Amenities: T: trail; R: restroom; C: camping; P: picnic area; B: boating.

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