Trip Ideas & Things to Do

Visitors can hike a 1.75 mile trail that winds its way through the cottonwood trees alongside the wetlands and the Arkansas River. Interpretive exhibit panels explain the further significance of this important river ecosystem.

Forts, beaches, bayous, and batteries provide amazing views of both sunrise and sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion exterior, gardens, and grounds are open year-round from dawn to dusk. Tours of the interior mansion are available from Memorial Day Weekend-October 31. Tours focus on the history of the conservation movement and the parts played by the generations of families that lived in the home. Tours sell out quickly and advanced reservations are recommended. See details for more opportunities to see inside the home.

A short drive from Washington DC and Baltimore, Patuxent River Park boasts more than 7,000 acres of parkland along the Patuxent River. It boasts some of the best birding in the state, along with trails, a boat launch, museums of rural life, and a replica American Indian village.

Wander through deciduous and conifer forest as the trail twists around the edge of a cattail filled wetland and past rocks deposited by ancient glaciers. Look for signs of wildlife as you hike to two different overlooks with marsh and lake views.

The park is comprised of over 15,000 acres of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers, and forests. It contains 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline spanning the distance from Gary to Michigan City. Lake Michigan is part of the largest complex of freshwater lakes in the world. The national park's beaches are the park's most significant recreational resource.

Located at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the national park is an important feeding and resting area for migrating birds. Lake Michigan influences the migration patterns of bird species. During the fall migration, southbound birds follow the north-south shoreline and are funneled into the Indiana Dunes. The large expanse of open water and miles of shoreline also attract large numbers of wintering birds.

Search for the usual suspects, such as bumblebees and hummingbirds, among the park's flowers, but don't forget to hunt for less obvious pollinators like hoverflies and slugs. You can find a lot to observe in different habitats. Don't forget to look for representations of pollinators on totem poles and in museum objects in the visitor center.

Three short walks in the Everett area offer sensory activities that appeal to children or individuals with autism. They include tactile and audio exhibits.

Put your detective hat on! Quests are fun, self-guides hikes that help you explore the Ohio & Erie Canalway. Follow rhyming clues to hidden boxes. Sign the logbook and collect impressions of each hand-carved stamp.