James P Amon Biodiversity Reserve

"Be aware, if you Google map to here, it won't take you to a lot or main entrance. It just takes you into a subdivision where you dead end into an entrance to the park. I felt weird parking, but did anyway because it's a public road. After entering, nothing is clearly marked at all and the first "trail" (I think) we went down was overgrown and had many trippy roots and tons of fallen trees and was marked with pink flags on twigs. After leaving that "trail", I found one that was kind of marked, but half the sign was broken off and the lettering was 40% gone. So we took that for a while until we came to where two trails intersected and the sign was completely blank like it had just withered away in the elements, so I didn't feel comfortable continuing without knowing which trail I was taking. Also, the previous review is correct. There are a TON of ticks here. Of course you'll have ticks in any wooded area, but my dogs came back with an exorbitant amount that I can't remember dealing with at any other metro park. I would skip this place in the future unless they put some more care and work into making it less confusing and I felt safer to navigate it. Signage is important in places like this and it's obvious that has been neglected for a long time. Also things that are not trails should be clearly marked."

"BEWEAR DO NOT GO!!! TICKS EVERYWHERE!!! Went with my 3 dogs and 2 kids under 4 and brought back over 50 ticks on our 20 minute walk. So scary!"

"Nice, open area with a good walking loop. Unfortunately, our dog has now brought back multiple ticks after our walks there. He has good flea and tick prevention but they’re getting in his fur and ending up in our home and on us."

"Walked the Marsh Path in late December. All the grasses and flowers are dried in varying shades of straw, tans, and browns. Large pods, leaves, and mosses are all over the ground and on fallen logs. The water was frozen. Several kinds of birds can be seen and heard. Gnarled trees are beautiful. There were even a few patches of green to be seen. Finished the walk on the Prairie Path. I was amazed to find this beautiful natural area hidden deep in the back of a housing development. I look forward to seeing this place in all seasons."

"This is both a marsh and a prairie. The prairie has well kept walking paths, but the wood next to the marsh has a walking path that could use some work. However, it is a very quiet and isolated area for a nice hike. The numerous tree swallows are a delight and there are many wildflowers. A boardwalk to the marsh would really be a nice addition."