rules for visiting

The trails at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge are currently open to visitors every day of the week from dawn to dusk. Rules, maps, and other visitor information can be found below.

Walking one of the many trails at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.

Walking one of the many trails at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.

Please help us maintain the ecological health of the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge and ensure that others enjoy their visit by following these rules:

  • The Refuge is open to the public from dawn to dusk.

  • To avoid disturbing plants and wildlife, please stay on the trails during your visit.

  • Dogs must be leashed and are allowed only on trails. If dogs get off-trail they might run into Canada wild rye, which can be fatal to them. Please clean up and carry out any dog waste from the trails.

  • No motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed anywhere beyond the parking lots. Please do not drive on the trails or the levee.

  • No bicycles are allowed on any Refuge trail except the Marquis Oak Ridge Trail.

  • No horseback riding is allowed anywhere at the Refuge.

  • No drones are allowed anywhere at the Refuge.

  • No hunting or trapping of wildlife is allowed in any season.

  • No collecting of plants, shrubs, trees, or fungi is allowed, including seeds, flowers, or any other part alive or dead.

  • Picnicking is allowed only at picnic tables (next to most Refuge parking lots), and all trash must be carried out. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed anywhere at the Refuge.

  • No camping or campfires are allowed anywhere at the Refuge.

  • The Refuge or a portion of it may be temporarily closed to visitors on short notice when legally protected birds or other wildlife are present, or when there is severe weather.

Trail closure notice: January 19 to February 28, 2026

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Wildlife Division will be conducting targeted white-tailed deer removals at the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge to support monitoring and management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).  This effort is part of IDNR’s broader CWD Surveillance and Management Program, which seeks to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of the disease and to identify new infected deer populations across northern Illinois.

Putnam County lies within the CWD “leading edge buffer,” an area where the disease is spreading southward across the state; CWD was first detected in Putnam County in November 2024. The goals of IDNR’s CWD program are to:

  1. Protect and maintain healthy deer populations throughout Illinois

  2. Minimize the geographic extent of CWD within the state

  3. Provide continued deer hunting opportunities statewide

As landowners and stewards of the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, the Wetlands Initiative (TWI) is supporting this management activity by allowing IDNR to conduct deer removal operations on the west side of the Refuge between January 19 and February 28, 2026.  During this period, the southern portion of the Marquis Oak Ridge Trail and surrounding areas will be temporarily closed to visitors to ensure public safety (see map).  In areas of the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge that remain open, visitors are asked to stay on designated trails and follow all posted rules and policies.

To maintain a higher proportion of adult bucks on adjacent and nearby private lands where private hunting is permitted, TWI has requested that IDNR limit removals to antlerless deer at the Refuge.  This CWD management activity also supports TWI’s site-level restoration goals by promoting a healthy and sustainable deer herd and by helping reduce pressure from abundant browsers, which can hinder the establishment and long-term success of native plant communities that are critical to the site’s ongoing restoration efforts.

More information about CWD in Illinois is available on the IDNR website at https://dnr.illinois.gov/programs/cwd.html. Please contact Mitch Oswald, IDNR-Wildlife Division-Field Ops Section Head at 217-299-9469 with questions.

maps and other visitor information

Driving directions to the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge can be found here.

For information on parking and access to trails and other amenities, please see the Dixon Refuge site map here.

Information on summer paddling and fishing can be found here.

Download the Refuge bird checklist here. The file prints best on 8.5x14 paper.

For bird and plant photo guides for several areas of the Refuge, scroll down the BioBlitz page here.

Birdwatching at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.

Birdwatching at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. Photo by David Miller.