A Belted Kingfisher in flight, wings spread wide and rusty-belted belly exposed. Photo by Upal Sengupta.

Bring your friends and family and join us for a walk along the shores of Lake Waubesa as we bird Lake Farm Park and then the inland boardwalk that connects the Capital City Trail with McDaniel Park in the Village of McFarland.

Fun fact: Did you know that this boardwalk is the longest bridge constructed solely for non-motorized transportation in North America?

We love new birders! As always, birders of all skill levels are welcome and we have child- and adult-sized binoculars available for those who’d like to borrow a pair.

Parking Information

We will meet at the first parking lot at Lake Farm Park near the observation tower at 9:00 AM (address: 4330 Libby Rd., Madison — see map here).

What to Expect

The estimated round-trip length is roughly 3 miles of walking the Lake Farm path and part of the boardwalk. There are multiple types of trail surface encountered when taking the trail from the first lot (near the observatory tower). It starts as grass before transitioning to packed dirt. There are some low-lying areas where it gets mucky after a rain. Some sections of the trail are more packed dirt, some are crushed limestone. The bike path that runs along the prairie and to the boardwalk is asphalt. The boardwalk is wooden planks (in very good condition).

See the Birdability website for more information about Lake Farm Park and the Lower Yahara River Trail Boardwalk, where accessibility assessments are submitted by local volunteers.

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