Minnesota Valley - Louisville Swamp LbNA #7497 (ARCHIVED)
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Nearby Boxes
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Feb 28, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Shakopee |
| County: | Scott |
| State: | Minnesota |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Planted by: | Deb Rocks  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | mdr |
| Last found: | Dec 28, 2004 |
| Status: | FFFF |
| Last edited: | Feb 28, 2004 |
IMPORTANT NOTE: As of 5/05, NOTE: Both of these boxes have disapeared and it may have something to do with me having the name of the park in the title of the box. Too easy to find. At this point, I haven't decided on replacing them.
This area has a unique mix of old fields, prairie remnants, oak savanna, floodplain forest, and stone farmsteads. Historically elk and buffalo grazed the oak savannas, waterfowl filled the surrounding marshes, and the lakes teemed with fish. The Louisville Swamp is a great place to bird watch. There’s lots of other wildlife as well. If you’re lucky and you get down really low to the ground and look under the brush, you might even see a tiger salamander! Today, the most visible species is the beaver.
These boxes were planted in the winter when the all the trails were open. They were planted in the higher areas of the park and will hopefully not get flooded. Please let me know if you discover a problem with the location of the boxes. Some of the trails in the Louisville Swamp are impassable in the spring or during particularly wet periods. Because of all the standing water, the insects can be thick. Bring bug spray if you visit in the summer. Hunting, Biking, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowmobiling and Horseback riding are allowed in parts of the park. Please keep this in mind when you are hiking. Remember, horses have the right of way on the trail. Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail.
As always, make sure not to disturb wildlife or growing plants in your hunt! Have fun and enjoy your hike!
Directions:
The main Louisville Swamp trailhead is located about 4 1/2 miles south of Shakopee. Head South out of Shakopee on 169. Exit Highway 169 right onto 145th Street West. Follow the road past the main entrance to the Renaissance Festival. Cross over the next set of railroad tracks. The Louisville parking lot is located on the left.
Suggested ink colors: Browns, Greens, Black
The Clues:
The Mazomani Trailhead is at the south end of the parking lot, next to several informational signs. Start your quest at this trailhead.
Follow the trail until you reach a Y in the trail, near the bluff. Head right; with the bluff overlooking the valley on your left as you hike along. (Heading left at this Y will take you along the bluff with the overlook on your right and eventually wind down the hill to your right. “Beaver” and “Salamander” will NOT be this way!)
Follow this trail along the bluff. Markers along the way will be; a tribute to a “buzzard” at a bluff overlook on your left. Keep going. A sign describing “hydroaxing”. What in the world is that? Interesting, but still not time to stop.
As you follow this trail along the bluff, eventually it will take you to the right, away from the bluff, just keep following this main trail.
Stop when you see a sign on your right that says “No Trail”. This is where you want to turn to your right and follow this “trail that’s not a trail”.
Take about 110 paces from this sign. (I’m 5’4” and I count each step as a pace). You’ll see a many trunked tree on your right and in about 16 paces. “Beaver” is hiding within the shelter of these trunks.
To find “Salamander” get yourself back on the “trail that’s not a trail” and keep heading the direction you were heading. It will take about 30 more paces to get you to the other end of the “trail. Take a turn to your right, back on this new main trail, and follow this trail all the way back until you can see the trailhead for the State Corridor Trail, and the parking lot, off in the distance.
About 145 paces before you reach the gate for this trailhead, and the end of the trail, you should see a sign on your left, about 10-15 feet off the trail that says, “No trespassing”. Stop here and take about 8 paces to your left, in the general direction of this sign.
Before you get to the sign, you’ll see several large rocks with lots of dead brush piled around them. “Salamander” is hiding under the brush between these rocks.
After stamping in at “Salamander”, continue on to the State Corridor trailhead, which will be at the other end of the parking lot from where you started.
This area has a unique mix of old fields, prairie remnants, oak savanna, floodplain forest, and stone farmsteads. Historically elk and buffalo grazed the oak savannas, waterfowl filled the surrounding marshes, and the lakes teemed with fish. The Louisville Swamp is a great place to bird watch. There’s lots of other wildlife as well. If you’re lucky and you get down really low to the ground and look under the brush, you might even see a tiger salamander! Today, the most visible species is the beaver.
These boxes were planted in the winter when the all the trails were open. They were planted in the higher areas of the park and will hopefully not get flooded. Please let me know if you discover a problem with the location of the boxes. Some of the trails in the Louisville Swamp are impassable in the spring or during particularly wet periods. Because of all the standing water, the insects can be thick. Bring bug spray if you visit in the summer. Hunting, Biking, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowmobiling and Horseback riding are allowed in parts of the park. Please keep this in mind when you are hiking. Remember, horses have the right of way on the trail. Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail.
As always, make sure not to disturb wildlife or growing plants in your hunt! Have fun and enjoy your hike!
Directions:
The main Louisville Swamp trailhead is located about 4 1/2 miles south of Shakopee. Head South out of Shakopee on 169. Exit Highway 169 right onto 145th Street West. Follow the road past the main entrance to the Renaissance Festival. Cross over the next set of railroad tracks. The Louisville parking lot is located on the left.
Suggested ink colors: Browns, Greens, Black
The Clues:
The Mazomani Trailhead is at the south end of the parking lot, next to several informational signs. Start your quest at this trailhead.
Follow the trail until you reach a Y in the trail, near the bluff. Head right; with the bluff overlooking the valley on your left as you hike along. (Heading left at this Y will take you along the bluff with the overlook on your right and eventually wind down the hill to your right. “Beaver” and “Salamander” will NOT be this way!)
Follow this trail along the bluff. Markers along the way will be; a tribute to a “buzzard” at a bluff overlook on your left. Keep going. A sign describing “hydroaxing”. What in the world is that? Interesting, but still not time to stop.
As you follow this trail along the bluff, eventually it will take you to the right, away from the bluff, just keep following this main trail.
Stop when you see a sign on your right that says “No Trail”. This is where you want to turn to your right and follow this “trail that’s not a trail”.
Take about 110 paces from this sign. (I’m 5’4” and I count each step as a pace). You’ll see a many trunked tree on your right and in about 16 paces. “Beaver” is hiding within the shelter of these trunks.
To find “Salamander” get yourself back on the “trail that’s not a trail” and keep heading the direction you were heading. It will take about 30 more paces to get you to the other end of the “trail. Take a turn to your right, back on this new main trail, and follow this trail all the way back until you can see the trailhead for the State Corridor Trail, and the parking lot, off in the distance.
About 145 paces before you reach the gate for this trailhead, and the end of the trail, you should see a sign on your left, about 10-15 feet off the trail that says, “No trespassing”. Stop here and take about 8 paces to your left, in the general direction of this sign.
Before you get to the sign, you’ll see several large rocks with lots of dead brush piled around them. “Salamander” is hiding under the brush between these rocks.
After stamping in at “Salamander”, continue on to the State Corridor trailhead, which will be at the other end of the parking lot from where you started.