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. Winter activity ratings may be greater than projected depending on snow conditions. 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.
presenter and topic TBD
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
8:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Warbler Wednesdays are a fixture for summer birding, but we don’t have a counterpart to winter birding… until now! Join us this winter for a couple of winter birding field trips. The intention of these field trips is to give you an introduction on how to approach birding in the Sax-Zim Bog in the winter months. We will not be targeting owls, but will look at any we come across. This is a good field trip for folks to attend if you are looking to learn more about how to approach winter birding in the vast Sax-Zim Bog.
Register for Winter Birding Field Trip #1:
Register for Winter Birding Field Trip #2:
Minnesota Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Winter Bog Ecology
Registration (not yet open!) and more information can be found on the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website.
10:00 am- 1:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 4
Why not break in the new year by learning how to participate in Citizen Science! iNaturalist is a platform that we use in the Sax-Zim Bog quite a lot and it is a very powerful tool not just for identification, but for exploring species diversity. This course will spend time looking at the desktop version of iNaturalist and also consider the mobile app out and about in the field! Join us to learn more about iNaturalist or to simply give it a try!
Register for this field trip here:
presented by Charles Foely, Author, Conservation Scientist, and co-host of the Mammalwatching Podcast
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
Though West Papua and the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem might not be similar in the species that call them home, they are similar as major destinations for bird watchers and mammal watchers alike! Join us for an adventure to warmer climates for our second speaker of the 2026-2027 Winter Friday Speaker Series!
This talk will feature a report from a 2023 mammalwatching expedition by Charles Foley to the Volgenkop Peninsula of West Papua. This area was closed to westerners for many years and little was known about the mammal fauna of the region. Using thermal imagers and operating mostly at night, the team discovered a mammal previously known only from 6,000 year old fossils and found a species of egg-laying mammal that had not been seen by scientists for 50 years. The talk shows photographs of a wide suite of extraordinary creatures, including birds-of-paradise, pythons and tree kangaroos, and describes the community conservation efforts that have taken place since the trip to protect some of these species.
If you have interest in mammals and the intersection of ecotourism and conservation, this talk will be of interest to you!
Charles Foley has spent most of his career working in conservation in East Africa, co-leading the Tanzania Mammal Atlas Project, and along with his wife Laura, studied elephants in Tarangire National Park for 26 years. After moving from Tanzania to the US in 2019, Charles became a Senior Conservation Scientist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, leading the Zoo’s wildlife conservation efforts in Tanzania, with a focus on the protecting wildlife migration corridors in the Tarangire ecosystem and establishing wildlife monitoring programs on community land across the country. An avid mammal-watcher, he travels the world looking for rare and unusal species. Charles also co-hosts the ‘Mammalwatching’ podcast. Charles has published numerous scientific and popular articles and wrote the ‘Field Guide to Larger Mammals of Tanzania’. He lives in Minnetonka with his wife, mother-in-law and a recalcitrant corgi.
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 4
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for the first snowshoe hike of the season on one of our most familiar trails: Gray Jay Way! This hike will explore sections of Gray Jay Way that many folks don’t get to see, even if you have hiked the trail once or twice before. Snowshoes are required for this field trip and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center. Please email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two for this trip.
Register for this field trip here:
10:00- 11:30 am Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Our Closer Look Series continues into its second season! This winter will have a mammal focus, kicking things off with weasels! Like last season, these talks will feature groups of organisms that you might have a chance to see in the Sax-Zim Bog. Feel free to attend both talks consecutively or just choose one or the other.
Register for this field trip here:
1:30- 3:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Our Closer Look Series continues into its second season! This winter will have a mammal focus! Our second talk of the day will feature Bobcat and Canada Lynx! Like last season, these talks will feature groups of organisms that you might have a chance to see in the Sax-Zim Bog. Feel free to attend both talks consecutively or just choose one or the other.
Register for this field trip here:
10:00- 11:30 am Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Our Closer Look Series continues into its second season! This winter will have a mammal focus, however, the first talk of this pairing features a mammal predator: Rough-legged Hawk! Like last season, these talks will feature groups of organisms that you might have a chance to see in the Sax-Zim Bog. Feel free to attend both talks consecutively or just choose one or the other.
Register for this field trip here:
1:30- 3:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Our Closer Look Series continues into its second season! This winter will have a mammal focus! The finale of our winter Closer Look talks features perhaps the most important organism in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem: Voles! Like last season, these talks will feature groups of organisms that you might have a chance to see in the Sax-Zim Bog. Feel free to attend both talks consecutively or just choose one or the other.
Register for this field trip here:
Winter Speaker Series #3
presenter and topic TBD
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
INFORMATION COMING SOON Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 4
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for the second snowshoe hike of the season which will explore part of the massive Great Gray Peatland! This is our largest parcel at over 23,000 acres! This means we have lots to explore over the next few years. This hike will head into the Great Gray Peatland… and the unknown! If you are looking to see some places that folks (including Head Naturalist Clinton) have not seen, this is the trip for you! Snowshoes are required for this field trip and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center. Please email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two for this trip.
Register for this field trip here:
INFORMATION COMING SOON Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Winter Speaker Series #4
presenter and topic TBD
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 4
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for the final snowshoe hike of the season to an excellent trail at Zim Wildlife Management Area! This is a neat area in the summer but is rarely explored during the winter months. Expect snowshoeing through open habitats and head into some bog habitat on the edge of the larger Great Gray Peatland! Snowshoes are required for this field trip and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center. Please email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two for this trip.
Register for this field trip here:
9:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, magpies, jays, treepies, ground-jays, and more! This group of birds is found all over the world, from the tropics to the high arctic, and most habitats in between. In northern Minnesota, this group of birds is one a few that can be found all year round. Because they are found year-round, there are lots of opportunities to observe these birds in your backyard, local park, or here in the Sax-Zim Bog. This field trip will be a mix of indoor learning and outdoor observation to explore this amazing group of birds!
Register for this field trip here:
Minnesota Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Introduction to Tracking and Animal Sign
Registration (not yet open!) and more information can be found on the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website.
10:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Feathers are the first thing we see when we look at birds! But how much do you know about these structures that allow birds to fly, become insulated against water and wind, or display fitness to potential mates? This Advanced Training will take a deep dive into everything feathers from basic feather structures, to how feathers influence bird evolution, and more!
Register for this field trip here:
Winter Speaker Series #5
presenter and topic TBD
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
9:00- 2:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 2-3
It is no secret that much of the biodiversity seen in the greater Sax-Zim Bog region is observable in the warm weather months. However, there is a very distinct set of creatures that can only be seen (or seen more reliably) during the winter months. Join us on this mini-bioblitz to see what kind of species diversity exists during the winter months in the Sax-Zim Bog! This will be an informal, generalist oriented bioblitz, which will visit FOSZB Properties and beyond. Join us for this third ever effort to document some winter biodiversity!
Register for this field trip here:
Program- 4:00- 5:00pm, with field trip until 8:00 pm
Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1-2
Most often, visitors to the Sax-Zim Bog are looking for owls, but do you really know “hoo” owls are? Come and learn a little about some of the owls that can sometimes be found in the Sax-Zim Bog and the surrounding area. Following a short talk, we will caravan looking for some owls at dusk!
Register for this field trip here:
Minnesota Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Introduction to Bird Song
Registration (not yet open!) and more information can be found on the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website.
Winter Speaker Series #6
presenter and topic TBD
12:00- 1:30 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 1
10:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 2-3
Winter offers a lot of opportunities in our area to find and interpret animal sign! Many mammal species are hard to see in the Sax-Zim Bog, but their sign is all around us. This field trip will work to hone your skills finding, interpreting, and documenting animal tracks and sign. Do you need practice determining if you are looking at a dog or wolf track? What is the difference between Black-backed Woodpecker and Pileated Woodpecker sign? This field trip will hope to answer these questions and more while investigating the roadsides and trails around the Welcome Center and beyond. Snowshoes will be helpful during this field trip, but are not required. If you wish to use a pair from the Welcome Center, please email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two!
Register for this field trip here:
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting in the Lois King Education Center at the Welcome Center
Activity Rating- 2-3
Throughout the winter, there are a number of insects that are active as the winter air warms during bright, sunny days. Spiders, craneflies, caddisflies, and springtails all can be found wander across the surface of the snow, looking for prey or even to breed during the deep winter months. This final field trip of our winter season hopes to explore the later part of winter to see a few of these interesting critters and learn about how in the world these cold-blooded creatures can survive the frigid north.
Register for this field trip here:
*** 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
