Birding near the cabin
A cabin near Sax-Zim Bog
Sax-Zim Bog is Minnesota's best-known winter birding spot: more than 300 square miles of spruce and tamarack bog, farm fields and back roads northwest of Duluth, where northern owls and finches come down from Canada each winter.
Cotton sits at the bog's eastern edge. From the cabin, the Welcome Center on Owl Avenue is about 14 miles, or half an hour, so you can be on the roads at first light and back by the fire for lunch.
At a glance
- From the cabin
- About 14 miles, 30 minutes, to the Welcome Center
- Welcome Center
- 8793 Owl Avenue, Toivola. Free, with maps, checklists and an outhouse open all year
- Welcome Center hours
- 10 am to 3 pm daily, early December to mid-March and June through September
- Best time
- December to mid-March for owls and winter finches; May and June for warblers
Winter birds
What birders drive here for. Some winters bring many more than others.
Great Gray Owl
The bird most people come to see, and the one the bog is famous for. Winter is the most reliable time to find one.
Northern Hawk Owl
A daytime owl that sits on the tops of spruces and power poles along the roads.
Boreal Chickadee and Canada Jay
Birds of the northern spruce forest that live in the bog year round.
Black-backed Woodpecker
A woodpecker of the boreal forest, looking for beetles in dead and dying conifers.
Evening and Pine Grosbeaks
Winter finches that visit the feeders around the bog, along with redpolls in the years they come south.
Spring and summer
The bog is quieter in summer, but not empty.
Warblers
May and June bring nesting warblers, including Connecticut and Cape May, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers in the spruce.
Boardwalks and trails
Boardwalks such as the Warren Woessner Bog Boardwalk and Auggie's Boardwalk lead into the bog without damaging it.
Before you go
Plan for cold
Average lows in January are below zero, and the area sees 30 to 40 below-zero days a year. Pack layers for standing still.
Stay on plowed roads
The roads are plowed, but not all at once. Skip the unplowed ones, and pull over only slightly: the ditches are deep.
Respect private land
Much of the bog is private. Bird from the road, keep binoculars off people's homes, and watch your mirror for residents.
Bring food and coffee
There is little to buy inside the bog. Cotton and Meadowlands are the nearest places to stop, or pack a lunch from the cabin kitchen.
Make the cabin your base for the bog
Owls in the morning, then back to the lake, two fireplaces and a quiet, dark night. The cabin sleeps 6.
From $289 / night2-night minimum · 10% off a week
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