Which Missisquoi Refuge Trails Stay Open Through Swanton's Hunting Season?

From November 14 through December 13 this year, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge has one open walking trail. It's Black Creek & Maquam Creek, which starts at a small lot on Route 78 west of Swanton village. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says all refuge trails close during the rifle and muzzleloader deer seasons, with the exception of Black and Maquam Creek trail. Vermont's 2026 deer seasons put those closures back to back, so for about a month the rest of the refuge is off the table for walkers.

This also happens to be the refuge's busiest wildlife season. The Fish & Wildlife Service calls Missisquoi one of the most important duck stopovers in the northern Atlantic Flyway, with up to 25,000 ducks, plus geese, woodcock and snipe, stopping here each fall on their way south. If you want to see that from a trail and not a duck blind, you need to know which weekends work.

The 2026 calendar, weekend by weekend

The closures follow the state's deer seasons. The refuge doesn't publish separate dates. The 2026 Vermont deer season guide sets the October muzzleloader season for October 29 to November 1, the regular season for November 14 to 29, and the December muzzleloader season for November 30 to December 13. Here's how that maps onto the trails from today, October 12:

That adds up to 34 days when the refuge has one trail. Thirty of them run straight through from mid-November to mid-December. Between the October muzzleloader weekend and the start of regular season, there's an open stretch from November 2 to 13. The Fish & Wildlife Service asks visitors to call the refuge for current hunting-season advisories and closures, so check before you go if you're planning a trip near one of these dates.

Duck hunting on the water runs on its own schedule. Vermont Fish & Wildlife's 2026 to 2027 migratory bird announcement sets the Lake Champlain Zone duck season for October 10 to November 1 and November 21 to December 27. The refuge has six areas open to hunting. Most can only be reached by boat, and some allow hunting only from a blind. So waterfowl hunting is underway right now, but it mostly happens out in the marsh, away from the walking trails.

Why Black Creek & Maquam Creek is the exception

The refuge's trail brochure answers this directly. It describes Black Creek & Maquam Creek as a 2.5-mile round trip with no hunting on or near the trail. It's the only route on the refuge described that way, and it's the only one that stays open during the closures.

The parking area is on Route 78, about 2½ miles west of Swanton village, according to the Friends of Missisquoi. From there the trail crosses the railroad tracks and follows both creeks through forest on boardwalks and gravel paths. You'll find a 2005 trail guide online that gives a shorter total distance. The 2019 brochure's 2.5 miles and roughly hour-and-a-half walk is the current figure.

What the one open trail actually offers in November

The trail runs along water, which is a big part of why it's worth walking when it's your only option. The brochure lists beaver, muskrats, leopard frogs and ducks as wildlife to look for. The refuge's older guide to this trail points out active beaver houses along Maquam Creek. It also says abandoned lodges can shelter mink, otter, raccoons and ducks. Lodges are easier to spot once the leaves come down.

The Black Creek side is shaded and damp. The same guide describes sedges, mosses and four kinds of fern there: sensitive, royal, cinnamon and interrupted. In late fall, the ferns turn bronze and the creek edges are about the only open view of the water.

The volunteer bird walks follow the same pattern

The Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge hold a monthly bird monitoring walk. Board members Ken Copenhaver and Julie Filiberti lead it at 8 a.m., usually on the third Saturday, but on the second Saturday in December and May. The group logs what it sees in the Vermont eBird database. The walks are open to birders at every skill level, and you don't need to register, according to the Friends' calendar.

The locations for the rest of 2026 line up with the closure table:

1. Saturday, October 17, 8 to 9 a.m. Discovery Trail, meeting at 29 Tabor Road. All trails are open that weekend.
2. Saturday, November 21, 8 to 9 a.m. Maquam / Black Creek Trail, during the regular deer season.
3. Saturday, December 12, 8 to 9 a.m. Maquam / Black Creek Trail, during the December muzzleloader season.

The two walks set for closure weeks are both on the trail that stays open. If you've never been birding with a group that keeps long-term counts on one creek, either of those Saturdays is a good place to start.

Before October 29, the whole refuge is open

The weeks before the first closure are the last chance until regular deer season ends to walk the rest of the refuge. After that, only the November 2 to 13 stretch reopens everything. The refuge brochure lists several walks:

• Discovery Trail: a 1-mile loop from Refuge Headquarters past ponds, fields and woods, with boardwalk sections.
• Stephen J. Young Marsh Trail: a 1.25-mile loop through freshwater wetland and forest on elevated boardwalks, with owls, woodpeckers and deer among the wildlife listed.
• Old Railroad Passage Trail: a 3-mile round trip along an old railbed through meadow and into Maquam Bog. The brochure says the bog has rare plants, including pitch pine and the state-threatened Virginia chain fern.
• Jeep Trail: a 4-mile round trip through floodplain forest and along the shoreline. It's open only from August 1 to April 1, so fall is its season. During the deer-season closures it shuts down like every trail other than Black Creek & Maquam Creek.
• Mac's Bend Road: a 2-mile round trip on a gravel road along the river, where the brochure says you may see bald eagles, osprey and great blue herons.

Parking at Mac's Bend may change this season. In his August 2026 update in the Friends' Fall 2026 newsletter, Refuge Manager Ken Sturm said the refuge planned to expand the Mac's Bend lot in September to fit a few more vehicles at that popular boat launch. A mallard nesting where the gravel was supposed to go had pushed the work back from summer. The update doesn't say whether the work is finished.

The Visitor Center runs on weekday hours and volunteers

A few phone numbers and posted notices only help if someone's there to answer. The Visitor Center at 29 Tabor Road is listed as open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and closed weekends and federal holidays. In this window, the federal holidays are Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, and Thanksgiving, November 26. A volunteer newsletter from summer 2025 listed a 7:30 a.m. opening instead, so a quick call before an early visit is a good idea.

According to Sturm's August update, the refuge couldn't fill its seasonal biological technician job this year because every candidate turned it down. Volunteers staffed the front desk Monday through Friday over the summer, which kept the building open while staff were in the field. The Friends also paid for bird-strike film on the Visitor Center windows, installed earlier this year. If you'd like to get involved, the group's next bi-monthly board meeting is on Zoom on Wednesday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. Members are welcome, and you can request a link at [email protected].

For Swanton residents, it comes down to this: through October 28 and from November 2 to 13, any refuge trail is fair game. From October 29 to November 1 and from November 14 to December 13, head to the Route 78 lot for Black Creek & Maquam Creek.

At Northern Vermont Realty Group, we keep track of Swanton's seasons because they affect how your weekends actually go here, and buyers ask us about this kind of thing all the time. If you're weighing a move closer to the refuge or along the Missisquoi, schedule a consultation and we'll walk you through what each part of town is like across the whole year.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.