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Description
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area provides habitat for waterfowl, forest wildlife and farmland wildlife and includes a 400-acre shallow water lake and a 70-acre impoundment. Throughout the season, over 280 species of birds might be found, with over 110 species of breeding birds. The most popular time of year is in February to March when Snow Goose is migrating. Their numbers can be anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000! Snow geese, Tundra swans and a variety of ducks are the most easily seen at Willow Point. Park at the Willow Point lot and walk less than half a mile down to the Willow Point Viewing Area. The best time to go is during the sunrise and sunset.
While Middle Creek is most famous for the thousands of wintering waterfowl attracted by its reservoir, it is also an excellent location for grassland birds and migrant passerines. Herons, egrets, bitterns, rails, plovers, and sandpipers are also found and nesting Bald Eagle, Osprey, owls and hawks. A concentration of nesting grassland species includes Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark and Grasshopper Sparrow. A wide variety of migrant passerines can be found in the wooded hills to the south and southwest of the lake. Along Conservation Trail, a loop starting behind the visitors center you can observe birds such as White-eyed Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler and Indigo Bunting. Good numbers of migrants are found as well, sometimes including Cape May Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler.
Details
Access
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, on the border between Lebanon and Lancaster counties near the small town of Kleinfeltersville. It is 25-30 minutes from the Pennsylvania Turnpike (or Route 422). Middle Creek hosts an interactive visitor center, seasonal wildlife driving tour, and over twenty miles of hiking trails. Middle Creek's Visitors Center is open from the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Day to Thanksgiving. Monday - Closed. Tuesday - Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday - 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area does not charge an entrance fee for visitors. Click on the P in the map for directions to a parking. All parkings indicated on the map have restrooms. The Middle Creek Wildlife Drive is a scenic 6 mile loop drive that is open seasonally from March 1 to September 30.
Terrain and Habitat
Wetland , Forest , Grassland , LakeConditions
Open landscapeCircular trail
YesIs a telescope useful?
Can be usefulGood birding season
All year roundBest time to visit
SpringRoute
Paved road , Wide pathDifficulty walking trail
EasyAccessible by
Foot , Bicycle , Car , WheelchairBirdwatching hide / platform
NoExtra info
Middle Creek offers a diversity of hiking opportunities, from forested slopes of the Furnace Hills, to the rolling grasslands around the Visitors Center, and everything in between. Lengths also vary from short walks that are less than a mile like the Deer Path Trail, to hikes over 8 miles, like the Horse- Shoe Trail (the entire Horse-Shoe Trail runs from the Valley Forge National Historic Park to the Appalachian Trail north of Hershey).
Indicated on the map below are the Conservation Trail (Loop from Visitors Center, up to a Spicebush Trail ridge, through forest, field and wetlands, 1.4 Miles), the Willow Point Trail (Level, paved path to a lakeside vista 0,5 Miles for observing waterfowl) and the Wildlife Drive (6 miles, open seasonally from March 1 to September 30).
Photo migration of Snow Goose by Concord, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.