Cowling Arboretum

One of the highlights of Northfield, and great to visit in any season. The summer of course offers miles of hiking trails through prairies, forests, and rivers with lush green vegetation. The fall has amazing displays of foliage, especially in upper arb. During the winter, many of the trails are groomed into cross country skiing trails, and the rest are open for snowshoeing. And in the spring, it's always nice to see life re-emerge from the cold. There are plenty of places to park, enter, sit, or have a picnic throughout, so there's no need to plan your day meticulously to have a good time

Great trail with mix of sun and shade. Trail changes from dirt to sand them pea rock with long stretches of grass. It's not TOO hilly but is a very good hike. Flies found us near the end...bring bug spray.

Miles of trails! This is a great place to come to enjoy nature. I used Gaia Maps to help me navigate around the trails because it is a bit of a maze. There are trail signs which is very helpful but Gaia was still helpful. My last hike in mid-August was in the evening/dusk (after sunset) on the trails by the river (upper arboretum). I saw so many deer and saw a beaver on the river. After nightfall, the fireflies came out! That was really fun to see. Not too many birds as it was not the right time of day but I did see a flock of geese on the river.

In winter, I come here for the cross-country skiing.

It is a very peaceful place to relax and go for a walk.