Dewey Heights Prairie features a dry prairie on a bluff 800 feet above the Mississippi River. Found within Nelson Dewey State Park, a lesser known site in Grant County, this gem is easily reachable and explorable for most. Several parking areas are located along and at the end of the long park road and a trail winds through the prairie.
A prairie with a view! Typically, bluff prairies like this are difficult to reach, involving steep climbs up the sides of bluffs. This one is certainly one of the easiest bluff prairies to reach. A number of flowering species were observed including prairie phlox, bird’s-foot violet, wood betony, prairie blue-eyed grass, and fringed puccoon. Along the way you pass through a sea of prairie grasses including big bluestem, little bluestem, side-oats grama, Indian grass, and needle grass. In some areas, exposed rock punctuates the visual field. I found this to be a wonderful little place and a great place for a lunch break overlooking the mighty Mississipp’.
More of my photos (and full-res) from Dewey Heights Prairie can be viewed here.
Additional Information
| SNA # | 10 |
| County | Grant |
| Natural Communities / Geology | Dry Prairie |
| Size (Acres) | 30 |
| Parking | Parking Area (paved) |
| Trails | Yes |
| Easy to Find | Yes |
| Best Seen By | Foot |
| Marked Boundaries | No |
| Ownership | Wisconsin DNR |
| Located Within | |
| Dates Visited | 5.28.11 |
|
|
|---|
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 