Southern Arboretum Trails

This is one of my favorite hikes in Madison. There are plenty of trails to explore and within each trail it takes you to a different environment. It is well maintained, very beautiful in the summer and spring time. Not a very popular area, don't let the ratings fool you however, I recommend and encourage you to give this place a chance to truly take the time to explore the trails and see for yourself

One of our favorite hiking spots. It’s hidden and that kinda makes it better. The cons: a tiny parking lot and the place floods often and it’s so muddy that it’s better to avoid the place for a couple days. The pros: You’ll go from woodland to prairie to marshland within a 15-30 minute walk. It’s great for bird watching or seeing animals like deer, possum, or raccoons. There is a lot of space to explore.

Overall, this is a decent alternative to the main Arboretum. The terrain is hilly-er making it a more interesting place to walk. However, the trails mostly end up looking like roads and large sections have had controlled burns. Parking will be more of a pain here if you don't arrive earlier as there are only a handful of spots, so considering parking at the Arboretum and walking here via the underpass below 12 (slightly difficult to find, but if you follow the maps you'll find it). All in all, if you want a more forested area, check this out but it you are just passing through Madison, focus your attention on the main Arboretum.

There's a small parking lot where you can park free so you can go in and visit the arboretum from this end there are several different entrances into the arboretum. This is a beautiful place to take an afternoon walk during lunch break or even throughout the weekends and the nights there are lots of wild animals through here many trails a lot of good coverage from the Sun so it's really a nice place to be it's a little bit of the woods in the city

Very nice place for hiking and birding. Much less populated than the Main Arboretum, much more heavily wooded.