Natural Bridge & Rockshelter was the first SNA I visited and but I did not know much about the SNA program until I returned home later that Memorial Day weekend in 2009. Located in rural Sauk County, the site is relatively easy to find. The SNA is found within the boundaries of Natural Bridge State Park. This is not the type of state park with which most are familiar. There is no beach or large body of water. A small picnic area and vault restrooms will be your manmade luxuries on this adventure. A series of trails loop into the forest and along the way you will find the natural bridge, formed over the millenia by erosion. Though much larger examples of natural bridges are found in the western US, this is the largest such feature in Wisconsin. Below this sandstone natural bridge, a primitive rockshelter was carved by indigenous peoples in approximately 9000-8000 B.C. This is a very pretty site for spring wildflowers with nice displays of hepatica and pasqueflower in the early part of the season. Though birding was not my primary focus, I did observe my first yellow-bellied sapsucker here on a cloudy April day. I plan to revisit this site in autumn to capture the bridge amidst the fall colors.

More of my photos from Natural Bridge & Rockshelter can be viewed here.

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