Bluff Road
Monroe County, Illinois
618-826-2706

Kidd Lake State Natural Area is an example of the once expansive wetlands of the Mississippi floodplain known as the American Bottom. This particular marsh was historically part of an 800-acre lake bed, and is home to a variety of wetland birds, some now rare in Illinois. It is an important rest stop for migrating waterfowl and continues to provide critical habitat to a diverse range of birds, as well as amphibians and reptiles.

Nature Watching
In the spring visitors will be able to listen to a number of different frogs looking for mates in early spring make a lot of noise on warm humid nights. Calls that can be heard are the western chorus frog (sounds like running a finger along a comb), northern spring peeper (high-pitched, repetitive peep), American toad (high-pitch, extended trill), southern leopard frog (cackle-like call), and bullfrog (deep, mournful call "glu-ub, glu-ub"). In the winter dome-shaped mounds can be seen throughout the marsh are muskrat houses. These aquatic mammals are smaller than a beaver and have a rat-like tail. Muskrats are mostly vegetarian, but also eat clams, frogs and fish on occasion. Muskrat houses are made of wetland plants, and each is home to one family.

Kidd Lake State Natural Area is a primitive area primarily devoted as a home to wildlife. There are no man-made improvements to provide visitors easy access to the area such as trails, parking lots, etc.

Bird Watching
In the summer wetland birds such as great blue herons, little blue herons, great egrets, sora, and coots are common. When the fall migration starts, Kidd Lake Marsh is home to flocks of Canada geese, snow geese, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, mallards, wood ducks, and gadwall.

Visiting Kidd Lake State Natural Area
Visiting Hours
Open daily, for foot traffic only, from dawn to dusk
There is no charge to visit Kidd Lake State Natural Area.

Directions: Kidd Lake State Natural Area is located south of the small town of Valmeyer. From the Great River Road (IL-3) in Waterloo take IL-156 (Park Street) west to Valmeyer. In Valmeyer take Bluff Street south to S. Michael Street. Take S. Michael Street, which turns into Bluff Road, south approximately 8.2 miles to the Kidd Lake State Natural Area. There is no parking lot, but visitors can park in a grassy area at the south end of the area. Kidd Lake State Natural Area can also be accessed taking Bluff Road in Prairie du Rocher (near the grain elevator) and travelling north approximately 8.2 miles 5.3 miles to Kidd Lake.