Last October, the volunteers planning Log Cabin Day at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge had to tell everyone to stay home. The federal government shutdown had closed the refuge visitor center and everything connected to it. The Muscatatuck Wildlife Society said it couldn't get the event ready in time even if the shutdown ended that week. Organizers thanked the musicians and demonstrators who had been preparing and said they were looking forward to next year.
Next year is this Saturday. On October 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Myers Family Cabin and Barn east of Seymour will have music, a cooking fire and a line for ham and beans again. The return also shows how the refuge's fall and winter work. Volunteers and their nature store pay for much of what draws people out. A federal funding calendar sets the outer limits. The refuge's biggest wildlife moment of the year comes in December and January, right after the next of those deadlines.
What Came Back, and Who Brought It Back
The 2026 lineup has the Squirrel Butter Band playing old-time music, costumed storytellers, tours of the Myers Cabin, pioneer demonstrations and blacksmithing. Kids can try chores from the 1800s at the Chore-Corral. Artist Maureen O'Hare Pesta will be working on a pastel painting of the cabin during the event. Lunch is free: ham and beans cooked over an open fire, served with homemade cornbread.
The cabin has stood since the late 1800s and is kept as a historic site that teaches what pioneer life was like. The Jackson County Visitor Center's listing adds something regular visitors may want: during the event, people can hike and bird-watch in parts of the refuge that are usually closed. National Wildlife Refuge Week starts the next day and runs through October 17.
The Muscatatuck Wildlife Society, the volunteer group behind both this event and September's Take a Kid Fishing Day, says the people it most wants to reach live nearby.
"Even though we've been here (for a while), there are lots of locals who haven't been here. Every time we have something, we try to make new people come," said Sally Crouch, board treasurer of the Muscatatuck Wildlife Society, speaking to The Tribune in September.
In the same interview, society members said federal funding for wildlife refuges has been shrinking for years. That is why they are recruiting volunteers and why their own fundraising now pays for major projects.
The Pier at Lake Linda Came Out of the Nature Store
The clearest example of that fundraising sits on Lake Linda. "We run the nature store; all that money comes back for projects on the refuge," Crouch told The Tribune, adding that the group put in a $50,000 pier the year before.
The new pier is fully accessible and replaces one that had rusted out. It floats, meets ADA standards and has two benches. A grant from the Jackson County Visitor Center helped pay for it. Local coverage at the time described it as a place to bird-watch and enjoy the lake as well as to fish. If you haven't been out since before the September 2025 dedication, this is the newest thing on the property. Our research turned up no other new refuge facility, road project or trail construction announced in 2025 or 2026.
The pier fits with the refuge's short, easy walks, several of which work for strollers, wheelchairs or a slow afternoon with visiting family:
- Chestnut Ridge Trail: a 0.46-mile asphalt loop that starts and ends at the visitor center, marked wheelchair-friendly
- Discovery Pond Trail: a 0.16-mile concrete sidewalk to the pond, also marked wheelchair-friendly
- Endicott Overlook Trail: a 0.19-mile gravel and dirt walk to the Endicott Observation Deck
- Hunt-Richart Trail: a 0.88-mile loop to the Hackman overlook on Richart Lake, through old farmland and beech woods
- Myers Cabin Trail: a 0.15-mile path from the road to Myers Barn, then uphill to the cabin
Barkman Trail, which passes the old Barkman Cemetery, plus Persimmon Ponds, Sandhill Ponds, Turkey-Bird and Wood Duck trails round out the list for longer outings. The visitor center also has a Bird Viewing Room that looks out on the feeders, along with a running list of recent bird sightings.
Where the Season Goes After Refuge Week
Once the cabin closes up on October 10, the refuge shifts toward water and birds, and the four-mile auto tour loop is the easiest way to keep up. The loop begins and ends near the visitor center. The Wildlife Society's self-guided version has 12 stops. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service calls the drive an all-season way to look for wildlife from your car.
A few stops change the most as the weather cools:
- Richart Lake may have diving ducks, osprey and cormorants during migration.
- McDonald Marsh is managed by raising and lowering water levels to create shorebird habitat and food plants for waterfowl.
- Moist Soil Unit 4 is usually flooded in fall, winter and spring, and can attract ducks, tundra swans and geese.
- The refuge's west edge, where Sandy Branch drains into Moss Lake, the vegetated swamp, is sandhill crane habitat.
The cranes are the reason to keep coming back after the leaves fall. According to the Indiana Birding Trail, a growing population of greater sandhill cranes winters in the refuge area, and their numbers usually peak in December and January. Whooping cranes sometimes travel with them and stop at the refuge. The Tribune reported this spring that cranes are familiar winter birds in Jackson County, with some staying the winter and others passing through on migration. The same winter wetlands hold ducks, geese, grebes and tundra swans, and bald eagles are on the refuge year-round.
You Share the Refuge With Hunters From Here Through February
Muscatatuck's best birding months fall during hunting season, so the map works differently than it does in summer. Here are the refuge's 2026–27 dates from its hunting brochure:
| Season | 2026–27 dates | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Archery deer | Oct. 1, 2026 – Jan. 3, 2027 | Units A and B |
| Muzzleloader deer | Dec. 5–20, 2026 | Units A and B |
| Duck, coot, merganser | Nov. 7–8, 2026 and Nov. 28, 2026 – Jan. 24, 2027 | Unit B only |
| Goose | Nov. 7–11, 2026 and Nov. 21, 2026 – Feb. 14, 2027 | Unit B only |
The brochure's map puts deer, turkey, rabbit, quail and squirrel hunting in both Unit A and Unit B. Waterfowl and other migratory bird hunting is allowed only in Unit B. The brochure also says posted field boundaries take priority over the printed map. It doesn't list day-by-day closures for visitors, so trust the gates and signs on site and call before planning a walk around a particular route. Lands, roads, trails and the auto tour are open every day from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset for approved activities.
December Is Where Crane Season and the Funding Deadline Overlap
December brings together the volunteer side of the refuge, the federal side and the cranes.
The Wildlife Society held its Holiday Open House at the visitor center the weekend before Thanksgiving last year, Nov. 21–22, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The group offered hot cider, homemade cookies, popcorn and 10% off most nature store merchandise. The shelves carried nature books, gifts, clothing and children's items, and the money went to society programs. The announcement also mentioned that sandhill cranes were already being seen and heard on fall migration. No 2026 date has been announced yet, so watch the society's Facebook page and muscatatuck.org.
On the federal side, the refuge is open this fall because Congress passed a continuing resolution in September. H.R. 6500 funds federal agencies until December 11, 2026, or until full-year appropriations pass, whichever comes first. It prevented a shutdown when the new fiscal year began on October 1. That makes December 11 the next date that matters. Last year's shutdown closed the visitor center and its activities, which is what canceled Log Cabin Day. If you plan a crane outing for mid-December or later, check before you go.
Calling ahead makes sense in any month. The two Fish and Wildlife Service pages give different visitor center hours. The main refuge page says Monday through Friday, and the Visit Us page says Tuesday through Saturday, both 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All facilities close on federal holidays. The refuge's number is 812-522-4352.
If you start this Saturday at the cabin, the next stops are the Lake Linda pier, Moist Soil Unit 4 as it floods, and the refuge's west edge by Moss Lake once the cranes arrive in numbers.
At Hillary Maple | The Nolting Team, we keep track of the Seymour calendar the way our neighbors do, and Log Cabin Day is on ours this year. If you're thinking about what your home near the refuge is worth, or just have a question about life in Seymour, we're glad to talk any time.
