Other distinct wildlife recreational opportunities include hiking and cross county skiing on miles of developed and undeveloped trails, snow shoeing, photography, and nature study. Twenty-five percent of the visitors come to hunt or trap. With the exception of the 2400 acre refuge, the entire area is open to hunting and trapping. Crex provides abundant hunting opportunities for deer, bear, waterfowl, and a variety of small game. It is one of the few places in Wisconsin which offers good opportunities for sharp-tailed grouse hunting.
Trappers have opportunities for nearly every furbearer found in Wisconsin.
Wildlife Management Practices Crex Meadows is intensively managed using a wide variety of wildlife management practices. Wetland and prairie restoration and maintenance practices are employed to a greater degree here than at any other wildlife area in Wisconsin. Water levels are managed with thirty-four water control structures, eight miles of water transfer ditches, and a diversion pump. Clearing and prescribed burning were used to restore seven thousand acres of brush prairie. Approximately, thirty-five hundred acres of brush prairie and sedge marsh are burned annually for maintenance purposes.