Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

Weekend Finds: The Diego Rivera Murals, Southern Pastries, and Snowshoeing Paths We Loved

"My first outdoor adventure of the new year took me to Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Zimmerman, Minnesota, about an hour north of the Twin Cities. The mixed-habitat refuge boasts more than 30,000 acres of tall grass prairie, wetlands, oak savannah, and oak forest—all of which take on an otherworldly quality when blanketed in fresh snow. My partner and I strapped on our snowshoes and went clomping along the Blue Hill Trail, a 5.1-mile path with gentle hills and storybook canopies. It was 22 degrees and wildlife was scarce, but folks who are luckier—or simply more observant—have spotted beavers, foxes, river otters, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, and hairy woodpeckers around these parts, which have been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society."