Shaded cliffs overlooking a 40-foot gorge with Skillet Creek flowing below await you at Pewits Nest.  So-named for “an individual who lived in the solid sandstone, like a gnome in a cavern. His abode was some ten feet above a deep pool of water. This dwelling resembled the nest of a phoebe (or peewit, an earlier name for this bird), hence dubbed by early settlers the ‘Peewit’s Nest’.” (H.E. Cole).  The gorge was formed during the retreat of the last glacier as Glacial Lake Baraboo drained.  When I first visited this site in 2009, I had it all too myself.  A return visit in 2013 saw the entire place overrun by swimmers and people jumping off the cliffs into the water below.  Though this activity is illegal and is destroying the ecosystem, the crowds are undeterred.  The parking lot was recently expanded with allows more scofflaws.  Do not park on the side of the highway nearby if the lot is full, however, as the Sauk County sherif is known to aggressively ticket in this area.  A trail leads from the parking area and diverges into the woods and to the cliff edge.  If you go, please respect the land.

Skillet Creek at Pewits Nest

Pewits Nest

Pewits Nest

Lesser Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis)

Pewits Nest

Pewits Nest

More of my photos from Pewits Nest can be viewed here.

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