Meridian Park features an interesting collection of natural communities approximately equidistant between the equator and the North Pole (hence the name).  It is accessible from a wayside on the west side of Hwy 57.  It is an official Door County Park, though there is little more than you’d find at a smaller wayside and scant mention of it around the web.

I have visited this site twice and plan to do so again, in part because I ended up here twice at the end of long, gloomy days.  Most of my time was spent perusing the forest area.  The forest floor seemed to be a mosaic picture put together from variously shaped rocks, as if a step into the wrong crack would send you to Middle Earth.  That said, the forest was pleasant enough with various mosses lending a deep green hue to most services.  Large-flowered trilliums and yellow forest violets were scattered about and patches of forget-me-nots added a blue tint in spots.  Elsewhere the site features a sedge meadow and sand ridges that represent former Lake Michigan shorelines.  I have always found these to be intriguing spots to explore and hope to do so soon.

Forest Floor

Sign

Forest on Outcropping

Forest Floor

Forest

Large-flowered Trillium

Yellow Forest Violet

Forest

More of my photos (and full-res) from Meridian Park can be viewed here.

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