Franklin & Butternut Lakes Area
A wonderful 1,000-acre site for the hiker/birder. A 13-mile loop of trail winds around a number of beautiful and remote lakes. A one-mile interpretive nature trail (brochures available on site) takes you through a 400-year-old hemlock and pine forest. A boardwalk crosses an open bog. Woodpeckers, Wood Pewee, Winter Wren, Blackburnian Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Ovenbird. Waterfowl on and near the lake include Loon, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Spotted Sandpiper, and Willow Flycatcher.
Directions
From Eagle River travel east 7.5 miles on Hwy. 70, turn south 2.5 miles on Forest Road 2178 (Military Road), then east on Butternut Lake Road (FR 2181) to the parking area at the Franklin Nature Trail trailhead. Parking lot for about 10 cars.
