We continue to monitor the proposal for a service road at the edge of Bill’s Woods. The university is now going through a full Environmental Impact Statement process, which could take until fall 2027. Read our latest updates and background on the situation here.
Field Trips
At a fall 2025 Friends field trip led by Jill Feldkamp and Roma Lenehan, attendees search for migrating birds. Credit: Sky Hershberger
Year-round free public field trips are one of the most valuable contributions the Friends make to the Preserve. Field trips are all led by Friends volunteers. Many are professional naturalists and emeritus faculty and staff. The Friends also partner with other environmental organizations for field trips.
View our upcoming field trips below, or download and print the list of Fall 2026/Winter 2027 field trips.
Join us to learn about the ecosystems and cultural history of the Preserve and meet fellow community members.
For parking and travel information, please see the Getting Here and Parking details page from the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve website. Note that Lot 130 (directly across from the Picnic Point entrance) currently has reduced parking capacity due to Frautschi Center construction.
Upcoming Field Trips
Poetry in the Preserve
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Share your favorite verses & rhymes as we peruse the autumnal prairies & woods with our poet laureate Paul Noeldner.
Bat Acoustic Walk
Friday, October 30, 2026 at 6:15–7:45 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Join Makeela Magomolla, FLNP board member, and the UW’s Bat Brigade for a bat walk at dusk. Learn about bat conservation, acoustic surveying, and the important ecological roles bats play in Wisconsin.
Early Fall Migrating Birds
Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Join Jackie Edmunds & colleagues from the Biocore Prairie Bird Banding Observatory in scanning the skies, branches and grasslands for avian visitors passing through the Preserve.
Late Fall Migrating Birds
Sunday, November 22, 2026 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Chuck Henrikson leads us into the trees and onto the prairies to scan the lands & waters for birds heading south to warmer climes.
Preserve Trees in Winter
Sunday, December 13, 2026 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Tom Zinnen delves into ways to ID different trees even as the deciduous ones stand leafless against the winter sky by using clues from their form, bark and buds.
Friends Favorite Places
Sunday, December 27, 2026 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Cruise the Preserve with Paul Noeldner to visit your favorite hibernal destinations a week after the snowy solstice.
Testing for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, including Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer
Sunday, January 10, 2027 at 1:30-3:00 PM
Room TBD Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, 45 Easterday Lane
FLNP member Ben Johnson of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab shares insights into the diagnosis and distribution of TSE diseases, including CWD that infects deer and affects the deer-hunting culture of Wisconsin.
Winter Wonderland
Sunday, January 24, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Trek the trails of the Preserve with Paul Noeldner to take in the wintry sights and crystalline delights of frozen Lake Mendota, and then warm up with hot chocolate at a Picnic Point fire pit.
Mapping Teejope
Sunday, February 14, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Location: TBD Outdoor walkabout to follow, weather permitting
Join Professor Kasey Keeler on this “Indoor Expedition” as she describes Mapping Teejope, a digital mapping project that guides users on Indigenous walking tours of the UW-Madison as an entry point into learning and reflecting on the Indigenous history and presence here.
Winter Birds
Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Join Chuck Henrikson to get a crisp look at our hardy winterovers, some of whom are already singing out mating territories and a few (like Great Horned Owls) that might already have young to care for.
Language & Landscape
Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
FLNP board member and linguist Sarah Lundquist discusses the Indigenous linguist landscape of Wisconsin.
Early Migratory Birds in the Preserve
Sunday, March 28, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Join Chuck Henrikson as we keep our eyes and ears open for Turdus migratorious (Wisconsin’s state bird) and other rufous harbingers of spring.
Friends’ “Exploration Stations” for UW Science Expeditions
Sunday, April 11, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Explore a constellation of hands-on Exploration Stations spangled across Picnic Point as part of UW-Madison’s annual science open house.
Spring Wildflowers
Sunday, April 10, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Glenda Denniston, Eve Emshwiller and Paul Noeldner help uncover the ephemeral beauty of plants that flower amidst the warming sun and late snows of spring in Wisconsin.
Lichens of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Sunday, April 18, 2027 at 1:30–3:00 PM
Picnic Point Entrance Kiosk, 2000 University Bay Drive
Join botanist Susan Will-Wolf as we trek in search of lichens, the quintessential symbiosis, a kind of mutual-aid society of algae, fungi and bacteria that are like few other creatures in the panoply of Nature.
Do you have an idea for a future field trip? If so, please email Tom Zinnen at preservefriends@gmail.com.