If taking Lexington, go to Hwy 18 and turn RT. (it's a split turn, the west section comes first, do not turn L or west, the east turn comes in about another 1/2 mile), go east approx. 3-4 miles to Zodiac, turn L or north. At the T, go Rt, and follow the roads around; keep making left turns at the intersections and soon you'll be out in the pools.
If taking I-35, take the Forest Lake exit for Hwy 18 or Broadway (may also be called Hwy 2 since you're in Washington Co when on the east side of the Fwy), go west approx. 5-6 miles to Zodiac. Follow the directions above to get to the pools. You can also get into Carlos from Lexington and from Hwy 22, but those are harder to describe and find on the map. You can download a map of Carlos from the DNR so you know which pool you're looking at. Please report what you see! Even tho Carlos is a GREAT place to go birding, I must remind people that it is not necessarily managed for birders, (gasp!).... It's a hunters' mecca, so is managed for waterfowl, not shorebirds. That said, this year there *may* be some wetlands or exposed edges of pools due to the low amount of rainfall. Report on that as well, so the rest of us know what pools to look at! Holly Peirson Columbus, SE Anoka Co. PS: Stop for turtles, please! They are out now. I saw a lg. salad plate-sized box turtle on our road the other day. PPS: If you have time when done looking at the pools and checking the woodland sections for early arrivals in the main part of Carlos Avery, you could go back to I-35 and go north a few miles to the Stacy exit. Go east from the Fwy, and the NE section of Carlos opens up before you in about 1 mile. There is no shoulder on the road and lately not that many wetlands to look over, but there are parking areas after you get over the open area, and you can see a bridge to the south that is good to look out from. Use the map you downloaded and you should not get lost in the wilds of Chisago Co! Although if you want to, there is plenty of good birding habitat there, including the Nickerson bog area on the border with the St. Croix and Pine Co to the north... -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Fr. Paul Kammen Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 9:40 PM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Getting to Carlos Avery Great to hear the roads are open, but for those who have been could you let me know how to get to the unit? I'd come up 35 to Lexington I believe to 197th according to a google map. I'm real curious to see what's back there and am guessing this is a good spot in April and May for shorebirds? Thanks for the help, Fr. Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
