The area is good for spring and fall passerine migration. Warblers can be plentiful and fairly easy to find along the Thousand Hills Trail. Late fall, early winter and early spring can offer a very good variety of sparrows in the 270 acres of savanna and 225 acres of old fields. Henslow's Sparrows have been found in breeding season.

In addition to the savanna and old fields, there are more than 500 acres of forest and woodland, mostly along the 2.5 mile stretch of Big Creek that traverses the area.

The area is adjacent to the west side of the City of Kirksville. From the south, enter via Royal Oaks Drive. This is a gravel road off MO 11 about a mile west of Troy Mills. Where MO 11 makes a 90 degree curve south, stay straight and immediately turn right onto Royal Oaks Dr. The road runs through a rural neighborhood and ends at a parking lot.

To access the east side, Rainbow Basin Trail goes west from Rt. H (Rt. H goes north from Troy Mills on MO 11). The intersection of Rt. H and Rainbow Basin Trail is just north of where Shepherd Ave. (a.k.a. MO 6 coming from the east) Ts into Rt. H.

West Michigan Street, going west from Rt. H, ends at a parking lot on the north boundary of the area.

The lot off the end of Rainbow Basin Trail is the trailhead for the multi-use Thousand Hills Trail. The conservation area portion is about a 3/4 mile-long trail down through woods and old fields to and through Big Creek valley. It can be very productive for migrant songbirds and resident woodland species. Three half-acre ponds provide additional variety in habitat are along this trail.