HAPPY TRAILS: Bird migration at Fountain Creek Nature Center

It's migration time, and there are few better places to see passing feathered travelers than the hidden ponds of Fountain Creek Nature Center. Cinnamon teals, buffleheads and other ducks and geese rest on the water before heading south.

The hike

This hike is actually more of a saunter, from the nature center into a flood plain, by marshy ponds rimmed with cattails. A broad, graded trail offers loops from the visitor center to a chain of ponds and meadows. Informative signs and benches offer opportunities for stopping along the way. In addition to birds, keep an eye out for muskrats cutting through the still water and turtles hiding in the cattails. Also look for deer bedding down in the grass. Those who want more of a hike can link to the Fountain Creek Regional Trail and go for miles.

To get there

Take Interstate 25 south to Exit 132; go east on Colorado Highway 16 for 0.5 mile; take the Security exit to U.S. Highway 85/87 and turn right. Drive 1 mile to Cattail Marsh Road and turn right into the center's parking lot.

Rating

A scale of one to four boots. One is more gentle, with little elevation gain at a reasonable altitude. Four is most difficult, with severe elevation gain, difficult terrain or extreme distance or altitude.

 
TRIP LOG

• 1 boot
• 0.6 miles
• Little elevation gain