The Mowed Paths at Lower Mud Lake Are Going Away. Here's Where McFarland Walks This Winter.

In 2026, Dane County Parks directed the Village of McFarland to stop mowing every undesignated trail on both the west and east sides of Hidden Farm Road at the Lower Mud Lake Natural Resource Area. Those routes had been there for several years, but they were never official and never appeared on a Dane County Parks trail map. The paths are part of a longer plan for the land south of the village, which the county is restoring and, in one section, replanting as woodland. McFarland's year-round walking now runs along the county routes that were designed, mapped and plowed for it.

Paths the County Never Drew

The county gave two reasons for closing the paths. The first is biological. Bird's-foot trefoil, an invasive plant, spreads on mowing equipment and on shoes, so every pass of a mower and every walk down a mowed lane could carry it into ground the county is trying to restore.

The second reason is the property's designation. Lower Mud Lake is a Natural Resource Area, a county category that puts habitat, open space and greenbelt corridors first. Natural Resource Areas have limited or no developed facilities, and the county expects public use there to be low impact and compatible with restoration. The property covers 351 acres south of McFarland and protects Yahara River wetlands and wildlife habitat. Measured against that purpose, a network of mowed lanes was always out of step with what the land was set aside to do.

Restoration work was already under way before the mowing stopped. The county had put these areas on a regular prescribed-fire rotation, inter-seeded them with native grasses and wildflowers, and finished several years of large-scale tree and shrub removal. Joe pye weed, swamp lousewort, native asters and rattlesnake master were coming back. In that setting, the informal paths had become a way for the very plant that threatens the recovery to travel.

A Prairie That Has to Start Over as a Forest

The open prairie east of Hidden Farm Road is where the trefoil took hold. The infestation grew heavy enough that the county could no longer manage it efficiently over the long term without restarting the planting entirely.

The county ruled out re-farming the ground at Lower Mud Lake because of the site's cultural and historic sensitivity, and it changed the ecological goal instead. The area will move from prairie to forest.

The new forest covers twenty acres. The planting mix includes native oaks, hickories and other hardwoods, along with walnut, cherry and big-toothed aspen, species already growing in nearby forest patches. Over time, the county expects the area near the mound site along Hidden Farm Road to become open oak woodland.

The county's published timeline shows the steps:

1. Summer 2026: Mowing of the undesignated trails stops on both sides of Hidden Farm Road. Crews mow the east-side prairie to prepare for planting and to treat the invasive plants.
2. Fall 2026: More mowing to prepare the ground, and tree planting on the northwest portion of the unit.
3. Spring 2027: Tree planting finishes.
4. Summers of 2027 and 2028: Crews mow the planting once or twice each growing season so grasses and forbs don't crowd out the young trees. They also watch for trefoil and treat it in the mowed fire breaks so it doesn't spread to the west units.

The county's schedule puts planting on the northwest portion in fall 2026, which means this season. This winter, and the two growing seasons after it, belong to the saplings. Mowing will keep happening across the former prairie through 2028, but it is there to help the trees, not to keep paths open.

What Access Remains at Alsmo Lane

Lower Mud Lake is still open. Access is walk-in from 3465 Alsmo Lane. The county lists hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing and ungroomed cross-country skiing on the property.

The Alsmo Lane lot also appears on the county's plowed winter parking list. That matters because the county plows only the lots on that list.

Once you're on the property, the walkable routes are the perimeter fire breaks. They hold firelines for prescribed burns and also serve as trails, but the county doesn't map them because their routes can change from year to year. The county describes the fire breaks as appropriate and sustainable public access. A walk at Lower Mud Lake now means following the edge of a working restoration, and the route you took in October may not be in the same place next fall.

The Winter Map Was Already Built

Everyday walking in McFarland now centers on the Lower Yahara River Trail. Its first phase opened on August 27, 2017. It runs nearly 2.5 miles between Madison and McFarland and includes a mile-long boardwalk across Lake Waubesa that ends at McDaniel Park. The trail is open for hiking and biking, and you don't need a trail pass. The county's winter recreation page lists the Lower Yahara River Trail for winter biking and hiking.

The second phase opened on July 3, 2024. It adds 1.6 miles of boardwalk and paved path from Fish Camp County Park toward Lake Kegonsa State Park, with a 2-mile on-road connection back to McFarland. One seasonal item has already closed. The trail's fishing pier was scheduled to stay open only through Sunday, October 4, 2026, but the schedule doesn't show the trail itself closing.

At the McFarland end, McDaniel Park has bicycle paths, walking paths, parking, restrooms and a bicycle hub, and the northern part of the park is where the boardwalk comes ashore.

Here is how the mapped options near the village compare for the months ahead:

Compared with Lower Mud Lake, each of these routes is fixed in place and drawn on a map, and most of them start from a lot the county has promised to plow. The fire breaks off Alsmo Lane can't offer that, because their routes move.

Two Rules for When Snow Falls

The biggest winter change is at Capital Springs Recreation Area. The county lists groomed cross-country skiing there, along with snowshoeing on undesignated trails. Countywide, snowshoeing, winter hiking and dogs are not allowed on designated cross-country ski trails once snow is on the ground, even before grooming starts. The county explains that skiers can set their own track on thin cover, and other uses wear down the trail for people who hold ski permits. If you bring a dog to Capital Springs in January, plan to stay on the hard-surface loop at the dog park property.

Babcock County Park has its own changes coming. The county expects the boat launch to close from winter 2026 through July 2027, and the campground to stay closed for the 2027 season. Those notices don't mention closing the day-use area or the paved trail, and the county still lists plowed winter parking at 6214 U.S. Highway 51.

Conditions on any of these routes can change fast after a storm. The county posts a Winter Recreation Guide that maps plowed parking, groomed ski trails, signed snowshoe trails and plowed hard-surface trails across the park system.

At Lessing Real Estate, we follow changes like these because they shape what a regular week in McFarland looks like, from the boardwalk at McDaniel Park to the edge of the new forest at Lower Mud Lake. If you're weighing how these trails and parks factor into your own plans, or just want to know what your home is worth, we're glad to talk it through. Get Your Free Home Valuation.