Nature Watch Areas
Our Woodlands Nature Watch Areas offer optimum opportunity to see native
wildlife thrive at Land Between the Lakes. We manage the area to keep
the forest healthy and to keep invasive species from taking control of
our native landscape. We also plant crops to help native wildlife build
habitats for healthy living and hide from predators.
Check out USDA Forest Service Nature Watch Areas
at https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/destination/woodlands-nature-station-land
-between-lakes.
South Nature Watch
Here, you’ll enjoy scenic hiking all year round. Different types of
birds, not usually seen in other areas of Land Between the Lakes can be
seen in the South Nature Watch Area. The Fort Henry Trail System has
connecting trails that wind through this area off Forest Service Road
230.
Bear Creek Trail | FS Rd #230
You’ll find this trail to be the most diverse hiking trail for
wildflowers from March thru May.
Devil’s Backbone | FS Rd #230
This trail offers unique plant communities.
Woodlands Nature Watch
The Woodlands Nature Watch Area hosts the best opportunity to view a
wide array of wildlife. The 6,800-acre Nature Watch Area is managed for
wildlife viewability. It contains uplands, prairie, wetlands, lakeshore,
and bottomland forest. Close to 260 species of birds and 55 species of
mammals have been documented in Land Between The Lakes.
Mulberry Flat Road | FS Rd #135
As one of the best wildlife viewing paved roads in Land Between The
Lakes, you may see several species at anytime of the day or year. Wild
turkey, box turtles, coyotes, and the occasional bobcat cross frequently
as they forage on the forest floor. You’ll find a mature oak and hickory
forest with openings allowing viewings of woodpeckers, wild turkeys,
tanagers, coyotes, gray foxes, white tailed deer, and gray squirrels.
Bugg Spring Pond | FS Rd #134
Located across from Hematite Lake, you may find herons, waterfowl,
wetland birds, muskrats, bats, gars, and turtles. This observation pond
offers a great place for families to bring their kids to explore.
Hematite Lake Trail | FS Rd #134
Encircling 80-acre Hematite Lake, this 2.2 mile loop trail is known for
its high diversity of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and woodland
wildflowers. The landscape is marked with remnants of the iron industry.
This forest patch hosts the closest to “old growth” forest in Land
Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.
Hematite Lake Trail Boardwalk | FS Rd #134
Canebrake and willow border this ¼ mile long wetland boardwalk. The
boardwalk allows the visitor to peer into a beaver marsh without a muddy
foot or scraped knee. Look for spring cress in April, jewelweed and
purple fringeless orchids in July, and the cardinal flower in September.
Center Furnace Field | FS Rd #133
Groundhogs, fallow deer, and roosting vultures make this historic
structure from the 1840s home. It was once the hub of a large iron
industry that shaped the landscape of the Nature Watch Area today. A
colony of groundhogs inhabit the flat area below the furnace where the
pig iron bars were formed. Eurasian fallow deer often graze in the
area. Land owners introduced this remnant herd of fallow deer in the
early 1900’s after the white-tailed deer were hunted out. Turkey
vultures and black vultures sun themselves with morning rays on the
crumbling bricks of the nicknamed “Great Granddaddy Furnace.” Its
proper name, Center Furnace, comes from its location in between Fulton
Furnace to the north and Empire Furnace to the south.
Nature Station Prairie | FS Rd #133
Blue grosbeaks and indigo buntings forage in this restored tall grass
prairie, the result of a successful habitat improvement project. This
restoration project demonstrates our dedication to control non-native
grasses that, if left unchecked, would make the 30-acre field a
“biological desert.”
Nature Station Backyard | FS Rd #133
Native plants, flowers, and wildlife surround you as you step inside the
“secret garden” of the Nature Station. This tucked away nature center
offers opportunities to view many different songbirds like prothonotary
warblers, orchard orioles, and parulas. The nature center hosts one of
the best views inside a bat roosting box, a working bee hive, and a busy
purple martin colony. Woodlands Nature Station is best known for its
hundreds of ruby-throated hummingbirds that hover up close and personal
to all visitors during their migratory season. Open March through
November | Daily programs | Admission Fee 5-12 $3 | 13+ $5 | under 5years Free
Long Creek Paved Trail | FS Rd #134
Peek into the bottomland forest of Land Between the Lakes as this ¼ mile
paved path leads you through sycamores, sweet gums, and oak stands.
Kingfishers, green herons, and beaver inhabit these deep woods. This
trail offers a great escape in intermittent weather.
Empire Point | FS Rd #135 #137
Birds of prey, cormorants, and deer combine with spectacular sunrises
and scenic shoreline vistas. Hike the old road beds amongst the old farm
buildings looking for grassland birds and fleeting glimpses of foxes,
bobcats, and coyotes. Empire Point once served as the headquarters for
the Kentucky Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge founded in the
1930s. Later it transformed to an agricultural education center in the
1960s, 70s, and 80s. Empire Point’s open grasslands have been maintained
by cooperative farmers who still gather hay for livestock, keeping trees
from overtaking its views.
Honker Lake and Trail| FS Rd #138
Originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s for
waterfowl management. Honker Lake, a shallow 180-acre impoundment, hosts
several wildlife reintroductions such as beaver, osprey, giant Canada
geese, and otters. The lake offers three great ways to view wildlife: by
foot, by canoe or kayak, and by car.
A 4.5 mile loop trail circles the lake, taking the hiker through
lakeshore, uplands, and bottomland forest. Kayaking and canoeing provide
a different vantage point to wildlife in these calm waters. You can also
drive to Honker Dam and view wildlife from there. Watch osprey dive for
fish, lotus flowers blooming, and beavers slap the water with their
paddle-like tail. You can rent canoes and kayaks from the Nature
Station.
Honker Dam | FS Rd #138
Summer breezes bring in nesting osprey, herons stroll the rocky banks,
and mink pop up seeking an easy meal amongst the driftwood. Winter
chills host hundreds of weary coots, mergansers, teal, pelicans, and
grebes. Northern eagles inspect the back bays for potential prey. Search
the shallows as occasionally one can catch a peek at resting Sandhill
cranes, a patrolling bobcat, or an ornery otter enjoying a cool swim.
Bobcat Point | FS Rd #135
Scenic lakeside views allow you to enjoy an amazing glimpse of sunrises
and sunsets. The offshore mudflats encourage shorebirds, pelicans,
cormorants, and rafts of diving ducks during winter’s frosty touch.
Summertime viewing is best done via kayak or canoe. For a loop paddling
experience, put in on Honker Bay and pull out on Lake Barkley.
Taylor Bay | FS Rd #135
Paddle to wooded islands guarding the mouth of this bay. Flowering vines
cover the shorelines along with snowy egrets — drawing wildlife
enthusiasts to spend some time
campground in the Nature Watch
watercraft. August is the best
as eagles, osprey, wood ducks,
exploring. Taylor Bay serves as the only
Area. It is best utilized with
month to view an array of wildlife such
and the occasional otter.
Energy Dam | FS Rd #134
Thousands of pelicans collect in March and October, settling in after a
long migration. This southern exit of the Nature Watch Area is well
known to fishermen and a fantastic location for spotting waterfowl and
wading birds. Energy Lake, a 300-acre impoundment, was created in the
1930s for waterfowl and fish management. Now, black-crowned night herons
inhabit the summer shores and ruddy ducks occupy its wintery waters.