middle creek wildlife management area

Amazing number of migratory waterfowl, when in-season. Stuck between two wooded ridges, there can be literally many thousands of migrating waterfowl all at once in a small area. Spectacular when they take off all at the same time, right out of National Geographic. Adequate parking at the visitor center, which is informative and nice. A number of nice, not-too strenuous hikes in the wetlands and hills. A birder's paradise.

We have been here many times in the past, and decided to stop on a Sunday morning after breakfast. The visitor center is small, but very infomative about the wildlife in the area. During migration season, this is a great place to visit. The hiking trails are enjoyable, with varying difficulty levels. Really a nice place to spend several leisurely hours and commune with nature.

If you're into Nature this place is heaven on Earth; and if you're not into Nature you will love this place anyway! The sights are probably the best in the area. You will forget about everything and be able to relax and destress. If you are in the area you have to go visit. I was too late to see the snow geese but it's definitely something I'm doing next year.

If you go to see the migration of the snow geese, highly recommended, try to go during the week since on the weekend the number of visitors rival the number of geese. We first went this year on a weekend, and decided to go back during the week and we are glad we did. When we visited it was estimated that there were plus 60,000 snow geese and plus 4,000 tundra geese. We were also there on the weekend that the interior tour road first opened for the season.There is a nice visitors center, which is currently having some construction done since they are installing a geothermal system to help reduce the heating costs. The visitors center is a great place to visit and see all the different animals that the preserve plays home to and to view the history of hunting in the area.When we first went on the weekend there was no parking in the lot that is next to the Willow Point Trail where one can view the geese on the water. People were parking out on Hopeland Road and walking in and some of them were parking a good distance away from the trail head. When we returned during the week we had parking in the lot and a short 10 minute walk to the viewing area. It is marvelous to behold all those birds and when they get nervous and take off and fly around and land again it is really spectacular. When we went back during the week I took over 200 pictures.Best part of all this is that this is all free!

Had a wonderful trip to see the migration. The Tour road was closed due to snow and ice. We did see the geese at the one open area and also a Bald Eagle. The visitors center is very nice and kid friendly.

We went for our first visit early in October, 2013, and were just blown away by the visitor center exhibits, the trails, and the beautiful animals and scenery. Kudo's to the staff for such a wonderful place.

I live close by and frequent Middle Creek often. Last time there, saw an Eagle sitting on branch of dead tree. Saw 8 deer, 2 of which were babies , still had there spots. There were 2 pheasants with 6 babies along side of tour road. A nice pleasant way to spend the day if your a nature lover. There are walking trails, an observatory with lots of info, videos, a lg. room to observe the lake with all the birds, bird feeders with humming birds. There are picnic tables and restrooms inside of building. Depends what time of year you visit, from Tundra geese to Eagles with their babies. You can fish in the lake and it is open to canoes and kayaks certain time of the year. Best time to visit is during the week, week-ends can be crowded but never seen it overly crowded. No need to travel great distances, this is in your back yard .

Nice hiking trails and incredible views when the snow geese are in town. Also the visitors center is convenient with educational material and clean restrooms.

The swans and snow geese are awesome in the winter. The warbler migration is pretty good as well. Pack a lunch and enjoy the day hikes.

We visited Middle Creek over Memorial Day weekend and had a great experience. There is a small visitors center that houses a lot of taxidermy as well as animal hides and pelts for the kids to experience. There is also a great room with interactive learning activities/ifnromation. We chose to hike a short trail due to a member of our party recently having foot surgery. The trail was paved and ended with a pavilion that had several picnic tables as well as the pay as you go binoculars so that you could look for wildlife on the small island in the middle of the lake. The views were amazing and we really enjoyed our hike. We then moved over to a location on the other side of the lake and enjoyed our lunch. Afterwards, the kids went down to skip rocks on the lake. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definitely be returning in the near future.

A favorite of my husband since childhood, Middle Creek is quickly becoming a favorite place of our entire family. We like to hike the trails behind the visitor's center, which gives a much different feel than near the water. Nice place to bring a picnic lunch, and never seems very crowded.

This was the first time my husband and I visited Middle Creek Wildlife. The drive coming from Berks county on Route 897 is country pretty. If you come in from the entrance where the chapel is located, it is a bit tricky to find the visitor's center. After you pass the chapel, take the first right and then follow small wooden signs pointing to visitor's center eventually via Hopeland Road. It is easier to enter the area from the entrance that is Hopeland/Rte 897. A good tip is to download the self auto tour and map from the website ahead of time. The online auto tour download is actually more up to date than the driving tour pamphlet they have available at the center. The center is a nice size with plenty of parking and restrooms. There are mounted wild animal exhibits and some interactive videos on banding ducks and shooting ducks. If you are against hunting, you may not want to visit the center. There are many informative sheets on animals in PA and someone from the game commission available for questions. A large room offers lectures and programs year round. There are vending machines for snacks. The best part of the building is that one section is all glass windows overlooking the bat condo, pond and wild bird feeding station with binoculars for you to use. We enjoyed watching the barn swallows flying from the rafters and over the land from this perch. If you want a short hike, esp with children, take the Conservation Trail that is accessed from the Visitor's Center. It is a bit over a mile thru fields and mainly forrest. Lots of shade wild violets along the path. Be careful of tree roots on the trail. After the trail, we started off on the self drive tour. This tour can be as quick or as long as you want it to take. There are places alongside Hopeland Road that you can pull over and a few parking lots located off the road once you turn off Hopeland. Grounds areas are cordoned off to prohibit people from crossing the propagation areas so that our wildlife are protected. Please respect that request so future generations can enjoy. Our highlights that we saw were a ring tailed Pheasant, heron and a water snake. The snake was at the boat dock area at stop #6. There are other trails you can take, some longer and more strenuous than others. The Willow Point Trail is an easy walk and ends at a pavilion where you can look out over the water and search for birds. There are many bird boxes along the roads where we mainly saw barn swallows peeking out. So pretty with their blue flashes of color when they fly. If you have a low car, you have to be careful that you don't go off the road as ditches alongside in some areas and some deep ruts on the road to the boat lot. There are picinic tables available at the White Oak Picnic Area. People that we saw the day we were there included birders, bicycle riders, photographers, families, people with their dogs which must be kept on their leashes at all times, and fishermen. There were license plates from all over, even Idaho. Another interesting point is to see the Canadian Geese mommas nesting in the large plastic container bottom type nests - you just see their heads and necks sticking out - cute! We were not there during the bird migration, but you don't have to only go during that time. It is worthwhile at any time.

Middle Creek is THE place to go for nature photography, relaxing ambles and family picnics away from the hustle and bustle of today's world. Meditate, ride a bike, skip stones on the lake, watch the wildlife and enjoy nature without a megaphone. Life is good.

We visited Middle Creek on March 2 and March 9. This is my third year visiting during the winter bird migration. The number of snow geese, tundra swans, and canadian geese are quite impressive. At one point, all of the snow geese went up into the air and flew around before landing in the same spot they started. It was something I've never seen anywhere else. The staff at Middle Creek are very willing to help with information. It's best to visit early in the morning before the birds leave for the day. We went after lunch and still got to see an extraordinary number of birds. Worth the trip!

Whether you are a birder or nor, Middle Creek is a wonderful place to visit. We were there a little after peak time for the snow geese but still were able to experience the wonder of watching them all fly at once. Thousands of them! The visitor's Center is modern and informative and the property is well kept and accessible. We saw many different birds, Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, Canadian Geese, various ducks, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Broad wing Hawk, Red Wing Blackbirds. Recommended time for visit is "however long you want!" But sunrise and sunset are the best times to go. Just a great time! Highly recommended.