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The Raasch Trail is part of the Hagerman Wildlife Refuge trail system and runs along the old Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad (Locally known as KATY). The old rail bed trail is a 3 mile there-and-back trail with a few small side trails along the way that cuts through the north east part of the refuge.
During your hike you will cross over the Myers Branch Creek using a modern bridge. Through out your walk you will come across wildlife, forested areas, and pastures that could be planted with winter wheat in the fall or full of sunflowers and other wildflowers during the summer.
About a mile and half into your hike you will come to a gate and a paved county road called Terry Lane. This is the end of the trail and the turn around point. The other side of the road is part of the refuge but is part of an undisturbed area.
This trail was originally called the Old Trains and Terry Lane. Also Raasch Trail is the midway point for Meadow Pond Trail. Both trails follow Wildlife Lane along the original railroad route to the town of Hagerman.
Raasch Trail was named in honor of long-time volunteer, Doug Raasch.
Raasch Trail – Directions
From the Visitor center turn left on Refuge Road and drive to Wildlife Road. Turn right at the gate. Park near the gate but do not block the gate. The gate is the start of the trail. When you get to the gate at Terry Lane, turn around and head back.
Raasch Trail – Review
In March 2018 I had the chance to hike Raasch Trail at Hagerman Wildlife Refuge with family from out of town. We ended up hitting the trail in the afternoon about an hour before sunset.
Below is my detailed version of the hike on the Raasch Trail.
When you arrive at the trail head you will mostly likely find the gate locked. Just find yourself a way around the gate. Its alright to hope over. Its locked to keep unauthorized vehicles off the trail. If its closed they will tell you at the trail head.
As you walk along the trail you start out in open pasture land that is full of whatever the wheat, rye grass, or native growth vegetation that is in season. Whatever crop that is growing in the fields at the time of your visit is designed to attract wildlife.
After a few minutes of walking you leave the pastures and enter the woods and cross a somewhat modern concrete bridge. This section of woodlands is small and you will enter once again into more pasture land.
During the summer months you may find fields of sunflowers or other wildflowers that would be found in our native Blackland Pairie land.
Along the way you may see side trails. I’m not sure if these are official trails but I’ve been told your best bet to see wildlife is along the main trail.
As you continue along the pasture land trails you will see bluebird boxes every 50 to 100 feet. These boxes will be full of young birds. Please do not tap or open the boxes for a look. This could stress the young and cause them to fledge early.
After passing this large section of pasture land you will enter into the woods again. This section will shade you from the sun for a few minutes. Its longer than the first section of trees but it doesn’t last. After leaving this stand of trees you will enter another section of pasture land. This is a smaller section of pasture. Off to your left you will see a wind block of trees that blocks off the neighboring pastures. On your right you will see a large pasture. As you continue to walk, you will see a red farm gate and county road. Continue to the gate.
Once you reach the gate, you will see that the trail continues across the road. But it doesn’t, that section of the refuge is currently an undisturbed area. Turn around and return the way you came.
Final Thoughts About The Trail
This is a great trail but really needs to be hiked early in the morning to see the wildlife. For us, it was just to late. It was quiet and peaceful. Which is perfect for those looking for a quiet leisurely walk in the pastures and forests. But for those trying to do a little birding or wildlife photography it isn’t all that great.
The trail is very easy to walk. Its a primitive dirt mixed with gravel trail. I would suggest not using the trail for few days after it rains.
Bring plenty of water in the summer months. This trail shouldn’t take more than hour to complete if you do not stop to take in the wildlife. Most of the walk is in direct sunlight and there isn’t much of a breeze. Even in March it got a little warm on the trail. I was thankful to have a bottle of water in pack.
This isn’t my favorite trail but I do want to hike it one more time. I want to try it out in the morning and see if I can see more wildlife on the trail.
About the Images
The images were shot by hand near sunset. Many of the pictures in this set were not usable. I will be returning in the fall to re-shoot the trail. The pictures were shot with a Sony a6000 Camera and with a Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 Lens. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom, Google Nik Collection to remove noise and clean up the images. For some images I may have used Topaz Labs to enhance the images.
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