Chamberlain Woods Scientific and Natural Area

Chamberlain Woods Scientific and Natural Area (SNA)
Le Sueur, Le Sueur, MN
302 acres; river floodplain forest, adjadent hillsides

Park Notes
Wedge-shaped Chamberlain Woods SNA is nestled in a meander of the Minnesota River (to its west and north) and bounded on the east by railroad tracks. Most of the acreage is floodplain forest and, in any wet season, will be covered in water. The elevation of the southeast corner is high enough to keep it above most seasonal flooding.

Floodplain forest contains: Silver Maple, Cottonwood, Basswood, and Elm
Elevated terrace contains: Pin Oak and Bur Oak

There are no maintained trails however there are footpaths through the upper terrace part. Hiking the floodplain is possible during (persistently) dry seasons and in the winter. Much of the info agrees that the best times to visit are in the spring when early wildflowers are blooming and in fall when the area is open and dry enough to walk down to the river's edge. In terms of greenery, the upper paths were easily passable in mid-May but one review said they were heavily overgrown in mid-summer.

There are no facilities. Parking is off road and should accommodate at least four cars. We didn't encounter any nuisance flying insects (flies, gnats, mosquitoes) in our Mid-May visit but it has been an especially dry spring. If the lower plain were flooded, I would expect those to be more present. Ticks are found on the property and tick precautions would be highly advised.

Visits
Mid-May 2021
This has been a dry spring for Minnesota and the perpetually flooding Minnesota River. There was no muddiness to the paths on the upper terrace SE corner. One of our party hiked just a bit onto the floodplain and it was not muddy or mucky. That would certainly not have been the case in previous years when the Minnesota River flooded enough to damage municipal infrastructure. So it's hard to assess how our visit might vary from visits in other circumstances.

We were late enough in the spring to have missed the early bloomer although there was evidence of Trout/Fawn Lilies, Bloodroot and Trillium. We did find stands of blooming Blue Phlox, spots of Downy Yellow Violet, developing Virginia Waterleaf and a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. This site also contains a Kentucky Coffeetree which the MN DNR rates as uncommon or rare: "Given its limited distribution in the state and the concerns over reproduction, the species was listed as special concern in 2013."

Birds seen or heard: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Jay, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole, Common Crow, Blue-winged Warbler.

our Chamberlain Woods SCNA observations

We combined our trip to Chamberlain Woods SNA with a stop at Kasota Prairie SNA and Kasota Prairie (Conservation Area). These two prairie sites are close to each other and about 15 miles south of Chamberlain Woods.

Useful links/info
Parking and access into the SNA is at the corner of 380th St and Exchange Street Rd. This puts you on the upper terrace portion of the property.

Minnesota DNR webpage
iNaturalist Chamberlain Woods SNA Point of Interest page
iNaturalist Chamberlain Woods SNA Open Space page
eBird Hotspot reports
Wildlife Viewing Areas webpage
MinnesotaSeasons.com webpage - has photos of the site
MN DNR Kentucky Coffeetree plage
Guide to State Natural Areas; 1990 draft