Wetlands Trail

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Wildlife

This trail follows a wetlands area created by the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery. The Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery is located in central North Dakota, an hour's drive north of Bismarck on U.S. Highway 83, then west on U.S. Highway 200. From Riverdale, follow signs for the Fish Hatchery.

The trail can be accessed via a short hike from the visitor center parking lot or from two other parking lots along the trail. The flat, easy trail goes along the edge of hatchery ponds, then follows a wetland where there are interpretive signs about wetlands, birds, and trees. The wetlands act as a filter for hatchery effluent water. Organic nutrients from fish waste creates lush growth in the surrounding trees and vegetation.

White-tailed deer, muskrat, beaver, great blue heron, killdeer, red-winged blackbird, fox squirrel, turkey vulture, bald eagle, eastern cottonwood, green ash, boxelder.