There are no trails and no realistic access routes into Mara Meadows Ecological Reserve. Until recently hikers could not enter the park/protected area without a permit. Just this year, hikers may explore the reserve, but without established trails, fixed signage, or route information, we are left to figure it out on our own. There are two backroads that can be used to get close to the central area, but from wherever you choose to park, you will have to navigate, following traces of tracks and trails to get to the central marsh area. We hiked two routes from the west following old double tracks, then bushwhacking to the edge of the marsh, and back retracing our route. We were able to discuss access with a local resident and he suggested another route, one we had spotted earlier, so we drove south and then east to a hidden trailhead for an overgrown track.
On our third route, we followed the old double track and spotted a sign. From that point the route was an overgrown single track with lots of windfall.
We fortunately had the “trail” on our mapping app and with some extra searching found a track (with lots of fallen trees and overgrown shrubs) down to the southern edge of the marshes where beavers had dammed Violet Creek.
This area is an ecological reserve for the “unique calcareous fen ecosystem” which has diverse flora, including species of rare orchids. We hunted the shoreline to spot some of these.
We did spot a number of of species in the orchid family, some in flower and some which will flower later in the season.
Thrashing around in the thick undergrowth had some more difficult moments. We followed our route back out, completing our explorations for the day. We spotted many flowering plants on our three hikes to the meadows, a few of which are shared in this Google Photos gallery – Mara Meadows.
Would we return to the fens again? Yes, but we would be better prepared next time. Exploring seldom-visited places is always a bit of an adventure, and this was one more in the long list.