An oxbow lake, shrub-carr, bottomland hardwood forest, oak barrens, and oak savanna are among the 1 variety of plant communities compose Smith Slough & Sand Prairie SNA.  There are a couple gravel parking areas and boat launches associated with the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway that provide starting points of exploration.  Getting around this site, however, is not the easiest.  The amount of the site that you can see by foot is limited by the oxbow lake and associated streams.  Even within that on-foot area, progress can be slow-going through the tussocks and shrub-carr areas which dominate the walk-in area.  I would recommend rubber boots and ultimately would suggest a kayak or a canoe to reach the more interesting portions.  The small forget-me-not (Myosotis laxa), a Special Concern species in Wisconsin, can be found here and I have spent quite a few hours over the last couple of years looking for another rare plant, which I cannot disclose here, but also did not locate at this site.

More of my photos from Smith Slough & Sand Prairie can be viewed here.

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