The nature trails begin at the back of the parking lot.  The red numbers will lead you in a loop, providing views of Hoffman Pond before returning to the northeast corner of the parking lot. A green numbered trail takes you alongside the Portage River and through the swamp forest.  All together the trail system is about 3/4 of a mile.

RED LOOP - "High Banks Trail"

1.  This area is an old field plot of the farm that is now being filled in with plants common to disturbed areas such as Vetch (Vicia sp.), Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), Black cherry (Prunus serotina), and Red oak (Quercus rubra).  The forest edge-parkland environment provides habitat for a variety of birds such as Rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles.  As you walk through the arbor, look to the right for the Hawthorn or Thornapple (Crataegus sp.) with its menacing spines. 

2.  Along the path is Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) and White ash (Fraxinus americanus).

3.  The path takes you from the previously used agricultural area to the high banks along Hoffman Pond.   You will pass through a fence row of Osage orange (Maclura pomifera).

4.  The large display of May apple (Podophyllum peltatum) surrounds a Black cherry .  Along the trail you will see numerous stands of Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides).

5.  The RED LOOP returns toward the parking lot by way of the 2-track away from the river while the GREEN LOOP continues toward the river .

6.  The large dead tree is American elm (Ulmus americana).  Live native elms of this size are rare

because most have died of Dutch elm disease in the past several decades.  Nearby are other bare skeletons of dead elms about the same size.

7.  Native to the South-central U.S., Osage orange was once widely planted as a "living fence."  The large fruits, hedge apples, are inedible.  The large leaves visible as you look up are not Osage orange but POISON IVY (Toxicodendron radicans) vines climbing up the trees.  Beware of this three-leaved plant on the ground and wrapped around trees. 

8.  The fruit-bearing vines are Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculata).  Bittersweet is abundant on the Sanctuary, forming dense, climbing masses.  On either side of the 2-track is Ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) which is characteristic of disturbed areas.  Beware of POISON IVY.  Just ahead turn left off the 2-track onto the path to take you to the parking lot.

9.  Along the path is the Spindle tree (Euonymus eurpaeus) with four-lobed fruits.  Closely related to the American wahoo (E. atropurpurea), it is probably a relic of the nursery period of the land.  Up ahead is the parking lot; on your right will be  a large Mulberry tree (Morus alba).

GREEN LOOP - "Hidden Marsh Trail"

1.  The vista overlooking Hoffman pond, an impoundment once used for power generation.  Horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) lines the bank along with Asters (Aster sp.) and Goldenrods (Solidago sp.).  In the pond is the alien Purple loosetrife (Lythrum salicaria) growing among the long arching stems of a large colony of native Swamp loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus).  Look for Swan, Great Blue Heron and Sandhill Crane.  The view here is largely maintained by the work of Beaver.  The large mound of sticks and mud that make up its lodge is sometimes visible out in the marsh.

2.  The south edge of Hidden Marsh Sanctuary.  Please do not cross into the private property past the sign.  From here you can see a large Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) on the bank overlooking Hoffman Pond.

3.  This path leads from the 2-track to the shore of the river.

4.  Overlook of the Portage River, one of the rivers that joins in the city of Three Rivers.  Looking upstream (left), you can see the mosaic of Marsh and Shrub-carr (a dense thicket of various shrubs) that lies between the upland and the river and forms a large part of the Sanctuary.  Look for various waterfowl such as Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Kingfisher, and Great Blue Heron.

5.  The short cut back to the RED LOOP on your left takes you under a young canopy and understory of Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), White ash and Basswood  (Tilia americana) that will, in time, produce a more mature forest.  The GREEN LOOP includes a narrow zone of Floodplain forest with Red Maple (Acer rubrum) on the lowland.  On the higher ground is a Dry-mesic forest with a large Red oak.  It has spreading branches, indicating an earlier time when the area was more open.

6.  This low wet area is characterized by Arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), Lizard-tail (Saururus cenuus), Swamp dock (Rumex verticillatus) and Blue flag iris (Iris virginican).  Along the trail are numerous seedlings of Sassafras (Sassafras albidum).

7.  The Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) fills in the low area in the marsh along with Blue flag iris, Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), and more Arrow arum.  On the Red maples you can see Poison ivy twining up the tree.  Nearby are five-leaved Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus

quinquefolia) and Wild grape (Vitis aestivalis) vines draped over the branches.  Behind you are Black cherry and Dogwood.  Along the trail you may see the distinctive Cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamonea) with the large brown fruiting fronds.

8.  To your left up the slope is a large dead White oak (Quercus alba) with a circumference of 104", an indication of succession taking place.

9.  A Swamp forest and Floodplain.  From here you can see a long stretch of the Marsh and  Shrub-carr.  Vegetation includes Skunk cabbage, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), American elm, Green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and Red maple.  Small mammals such as Raccoon and Opossum make their home in this area.  As you continue up the trail, you will make a short winding climb from the marsh to the upland area.

10.  From here you can see the long row of Osage orange that will lead you to the end of the GREEN LOOP at No. 7 of the RED LOOP.