Sugar Creek bluff features a dry prairie and southern dry-mesic forest overlooking the Mississippi River in Crawford County.  Access is via Lagoon Street.  Park beyond a gravel driveway and walk ~100 feet to the trailhead going north.  A series of long switchbacks eventually leads you to the top and the dry prairie and scenic overlook.  Alternatively, from a parking area off of North Buck Creek Road, follow the trail ~3/4 mile to the same prairie/overlook.

I followed the first access described and found it to be tedious, with several long switchbacks.  Eventually, I just decided to hike up the not-all-that-steep bluff before reaching the top and heading south to the dry prairie and overlook.  I found this dry prairie to be one of the more intact remnants of all of the bluff prairies that I have observed.  Woody species were at a minimum, flowering species were diverse including prairie coreopsis, harebell, butterfly milkweed, and sunflowers, and the views are once again spectacular.  I would not mind visiting this site again, perhaps in a different season such as autumn to see what the prairie shows as the seasons change.

Prairie

Prairie & Overlook

Wild Columbine

Prairie & Overlook

Butterfly Milkweed

Harebell

Prairie Phlox

Prairie

More of my photos (and full-res) from Sugar Creek Bluff can be viewed here.

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