Marl Lake Trail System

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The Marl Lake Trail System is located in Higgins Lake State Park. It is a large loop with 2 shortcuts that allow you to trim the hike to the right length for you. Much of the trail is near the edge of Marl Lake. Waterfowl and animals can be seen. The trail is wooded and scenic.

The first loop, (Loop A (Green Trail), is marked with green markers and is about 1.5 miles long. The second loop, Loop B (Red Trail) is about 3 miles long and is marked with red markers. Lastly, Loop C (Blue Trail) is the farthest from the trailhead and makes for a 5-mile loop from the trailhead.

This is an easy hike of 5 miles, about half of which is near the edge of Marl Lake. Waterfowl, birds, and various animals might be seen. The day I visited the trail I saw ducks and a heron on the lake, a deer in the woods, and a bear cub footprint on the trail. About a half mile beyond the footprint, I saw bear scat complete with berries.

The trail near the lake has a couple of wooden bridges over low wet areas. There are other shallow dips in the trail that can be a bit muddy. The woods are made up of pine, maple, oak, birch, and ferns. The first half of the trail's singletrack is complete with roots and dips present. The back half of the trail is about 70% doubletrack. The trail is used for hiking, cross-country skiing, and biking, so you're likely to see a host of different trail users.

Pine, maple, birch, hemlock, oak, fern and wild berry bushes comprise the flora here. The area also has waterfowl and a wide variety of animals including deer, bear, and bobcats.