With your help, we’ve protected over 25,000 acres of Bog for future generations!
We are excited for yet another field trip season in the Sax-Zim Bog! Accessibility notes are offered on the list of trips below. Carpooling during field trips will be done at the comfort level of participants. Field Trip attendance is free for members (those who have donated $25 or more within the past year). If you are interested in membership, the $25 fee covers membership and free entry to any field trip or program in a 12-month period!
Friday Afternoon Speaker programs do not require registration. Minnesota Master Naturalist field trips require registration through the Minnesota Master Naturalist online portal.
To give everyone better expectations of rigor for each field trip, we have included relative activity levels for each field trip this season. The approximate ratings are as follows:
Field Trip Activity Level Ratings
1- Easy (travel over even terrain on roadways/boardwalks or limited hiking up to ½ mile total)
2- Moderate (travel over even or uneven terrain, dry to wet conditions, or hiking over ½ mile total)
3- Average (travel over even or uneven terrain, hiking off trail possible, or hiking up to 1 mile total)
4- Difficult (travel primarily over uneven terrain, wet conditions, or hiking over 1 mile total)
5-Strenuous (mostly off trail with travel primarily over uneven and wet terrain or hiking up to 2 miles)
If you have any questions about any of the field trips listed, field trip registration process, questions about the accessibility of a field trip, or feedback on our activity rating scale please contact Head Naturalist Clinton Dexter-Nienhaus via email at naturalist@saxzim.org.
Minnesota Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Nighttime Neighbors: Minnesota’s Bats
Registration now open on the Minnesota Master Naturalist webpage: Nighttime Neighbors: Minnesota’s Bats
Spiders and Webs Field Trip
12:00- 5:00 pm Meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Activity Rating: 1-2
Spiders are an interesting bunch: some have nothing but nice things to say about them, while others cannot bear to be within several hundred feet of these eight-legged wonders. The Sax-Zim Bog has over 130 species of spider, including several first state record and dozens of new county record species in the last few years. Come out to learn a little more about the different species of spiders in Minnesota and spend some time observing these misunderstood critters!
Register for this field trip here: Spiders and Webs Field Trip
Peatland Forests in Minnesota: Past, Present, and Future?
presented by Josh Kolasch, Master’s Student in Integrated Biological Sciences Program at University of Minnesota-Duluth
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Peatland forest are wetland forest communities that play a crucial role in global carbon
sequestering, water regulation and biodiversity conservation. These forests host a unique
diversity of specialized flora and fauna, and are critical habitats for a number of species listed
on Minnesota’s Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). In this presentation, we will
explore the natural history of peatland forest, the historical impacts of colonization and
industrial development, and the threats they currently face and the future outlook on this
incredibly important but highly threatened ecosystem.
Josh Kolasch (he/him) is an ecologist, naturalist and complete biodiversity nerd.
He is a 2nd year graduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Integrated
Biological Sciences Master’s program. He works for Dr. Alexis Grinde in the Avian Ecology Lab
out of the Natural Resources Research Institute. Josh has been fascinated with forest
communities and biodiversity since early childhood. He has worked across the northern
forested region and in primary tropical forest of Costa Rica on numerous ecology projects,
deepening his love for these ecosystems and how our human society has and is impacting these
ecosystems. His current research project is looking at how ecological succession impacts forest
structure in black spruce peatlands, and how forest structure impacts peatland bird specialist in
this forest community.
Late-Season Wildflowers Field Trip
10:00 am- 3:00 pm Meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Activity Rating: 1-2
By late August and September, most of the plants you see have begun to get ready for next season: setting seed, dropping leaves, or putting out new growth. However, there is still A LOT of blooming yet to be done by a wide range of species, especially species that thrive in and near wetlands during the later parts of summer. This field trip will hope to encounter at least one orchid species, as well as suite of wetland species and spectacular fall blooming species like Greater Fringed Gentian!
Register for this field trip here: Late-season Wildflowers Field Trip
Galls and Leaf Miner Exploration Field Trip
10:00 am– 3:00 pm Meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Activity Rating: 1-2
Over the course of the last two Bioblitzes, we have begun to understand the diversity in galls, leaf miners, plant diseases, and fungi through a couple of expert-led field trips. Those trips added over 100 new species of commonly seen species that no one takes time to notice! Join us for a new field trip offering an initial look into the weird world of flies, moths, mites, and the sign that they make on leaves, stems, and branches all around you. Hand lens will be helpful on this field trip, with extra hand lenses available for use during the field trip.
Register for this field trip here: Galls and Leaf Miner Exploration Field Trip
Fall Migration Field Trip
8:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating: 1-2
Migration in the fall season offers some fun but challenging bird watching in northern Minnesota, as many breeding species start to head south. One of the main challenges in Sax-Zim Bog during fall migration is the sheer abundance of habitat for these en route birds. This is fantastic for the birds, but it can be quite difficult for the birders hoping to see them. This bird-focused field trip will hope to share some of what the Sax-Zim Bog has to offer and demonstrate how to best navigate the area during fall migration.
Register for this field trip here: Fall Migration Field Trip #1
Register for this field trip here: Fall Migration Field Trip #2
Embroidering Bogscapes Workshop
Workshop presented by Allie Aufderheide, artist, educator, and Sax-Zim Bog Summer Artist in Residence participant
11:00- 2:00 pm, meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Workshop Full! To be added to the waitlist, please contact Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org.
Cost: $75 FOSZB members and Minnesota Master Naturalists; $90 for Non-members (includes a FOSZB membership)
Learn the art of embroidery by stitching your favorite bog landscape! In this class, we will learn the basic skills of hand embroidery before diving into the process of composing a landscape, choosing floss colors, and beginning your artwork. Students will learn to use a basic split stitch or straight stitch to mimic brush strokes as they create their artwork.
Students will leave with a completed landscape (or a partially completed piece, with the materials needed to finish it later). No experience is necessary and all materials are provided! Basic comfort with sketching and hand-stitching is helpful, but not required. Students have the option to bring a reference image of a landscape they would like to depict, or use an image provided by the instructor.
This workshop will be led by Allie Aufderheide, a Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Summer Artist in Residence Participant. Allie is an artist and educator living in northern Minnesota, who creates primarily using textile mediums. She is inspired by nature and places she has traveled and/or called home.
Species Finding Field Trip: Grapeferns
10:00- 3:00 pm Meeting at the Lois King Education Center
Activity Rating: 2-3
A new year and a new set of specialized field trips! With all the biodiversity in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem, there is no way to see everything, especially the uncommon, rare, or difficult to find species that call this place home. Join us on this new field trip to focus on finding one of the coolest groups of ferns: Grapeferns! While this group might not be incredibly diverse, the species diversity in the Sax-Zim Bog is quite good. These cool ferns are somewhat sensitive, but oddly, prefer disturbed habitats! This field trip will require some hiking, but lots of time on your hands and knees searching for this small and delicate ferns!
Register for this field trip here: Species Finding: Grapeferns
Starry Skies in the Sax-Zim Bog Evening Program
presented by Todd Burlet, President Starry Skies North
Join us for the 3rd Starry Skies program in the Sax-Zim Bog! We are excited to welcome back Todd Burlet with Stary Skies North to teach us about light pollution and do some stargazing in the Bog! This program will be held at night, with a talk preceding some sky watching. Please bring a head lamp, flashlight, or any stargazing items you wish to bring for the evening!
Todd Burlet is a Delegate of DarkSky International, president of Starry Skies North, the Minnesota chapter of DarkSky International, and a member of the American Astronomical Association. Todd is a retired staff engineer whose 37-year career in the aerospace industry spanned commercial, military, and
space programs. Todd is a lifelong amateur astronomer and photographer, and when he’s not advocating for dark skies he enjoys canoeing, biking, and scuba diving.
Registration and Program Details coming soon!
*** Field trip list subject to updates and changes! ***
ADDRESS: The address is Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center 8793 Owl Avenue, Toivola, MN 55765
[NOTE: THIS IS NOT A MAILING ADDRESS…but put this address into Google Maps or Apple Maps.]
Directions from Cotton, MN on US HWY 53:
*Go West from Cotton on CR52/Arkola for 11 miles
*Turn South (left) on Owl Avenue
*Go 1.75 miles (second curve) to Welcome Center
Directions from Meadowlands, on CR133…
*Go East on CR133 to CR229/29
*Turn North (left) on CR229/29
*Go North to T at Correction Line Rd
*Turn West (left) on Correction Line Rd
*Road curves North and becomes Owl Ave
*Go North on Owl Avenue for 2.5 miles to Welcome Center
