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DNR brochure, May 2026
Trail 5, 1.0 mile, Easy, is the short loop 'pass[ing] wetland and woods.' Trail 6, 0.5 mile, Moderate, is the system's shortest numbered walk. The Friends Wetland Trail, 0.75 mile, Easy, 'passes three wetland observation decks' — the park's purpose-built wildlife-watching walk, putting visitors over the marsh on decks to see waterfowl, herons, rails and shorebirds in the restored wetlands. The Peppermint Loop Trail, 0.9 mile, Easy, starts at the Nature Center, follows Trail 1 'on old Peppermint Road along the lake,' cuts through young woods and rejoins Trail 1's end — a named-road ghost inside a trail name, the farm-era road preserved as the walk's own title.
The system's accounting, printed as its carriers give it: the DNR brochure lists six numbered trails totaling 9.2 miles (2.2 + 2.0 + 1.0 + 2.5 + 1.0 + 0.5), plus the Friends Wetland (0.75) and Peppermint Loop (0.9) trails; Visit South Bend likewise totals the six hiking trails at 9.2 miles. Secondary park guides print higher hiking totals (10.85 miles in one) by counting connectors and the nature trails differently — the conflict stands unreconciled, with the maintaining body's brochure preferred as the count of the named system.