Explore Otsego Marsh, a hidden gem in Columbia County

Diverse habitats teeming with wildlife. Explore Otsego Marsh by foot, canoe, or kayak*! Otsego Marsh is open to the public and welcomes individuals from every walk of life.

Address: 3382 Old Co Rd F • Rio, WI

*Canoeing and kayaking are permitted between May 1-Sept. 1.

The 116.5-acre Otsego Marsh property, about 10 miles northeast of Goose Pond, is home to a diversity of habitats and wildlife. While the entire area is called Otsego Marsh, the wetland is named Hawkos Pond, named after the family that settled the area in the 1880s. The area is owned by Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (formerly Madison Audubon) and managed year-round for the benefit of wildlife and people.

In Hawkos Pond you will find white waterlilies, fathead minnows, bullheads, seven species of frogs, American toads, tree swallows, a variety of waterfowl including Mallards, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Canada Geese. You may also find other water-loving birds like Kingfishers, Great Egrets, Sandhill Cranes, and sandpipers. Canoeing and kayaking are permitted between May 1-Sept. 1. Put your craft into the water along Old County Road F.

The area also includes upland woods with a hiking trail. Along this path, you may encounter Red- and White-breasted Nuthatches, Scarlet Tanagers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owls, and a variety of spring-time migrating warblers. Ferns, hickory trees, oak trees, mayapples, and wild geranium make these woods a beautiful area to explore.

Across Old County Road F is the newest addition to Otsego Marsh, including wetlands, prairie, and oak savanna. Here you may discover crayfish chimneys, which are small mud mounds around the openings to their burrows. You might catch the sweet scent of swamp milkweed, watch a monarch flutter through the breeze, hear a song sparrow singing, or spot a variety of dragonflies hunting.

Please feel free to explore. Dogs, with the exception of service animals, are not permitted. Enjoy your visit!

Banner photo: Beautiful Otsego Marsh in summer. Brenna Marsicek / Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance