Bear Bluff features a mixture of wet and dry forests and open wetlands in the Jackson County Forest. Situated within the basin of the former Glacial Lake Wisconsin, Bear Bluff can be accessed via Goodyear Road north of CTH HH. Note that at the time of my visit in 2013, this stretch of road was sandy to the point of being beach-like and was rather inappropriate for the sedan I was driving at the time. In general, Jackson County Forest roads are the sandiest and trickiest roads to drive that I have encountered in all my travels across the state.
Most of the visit was spent in the open wetlands portion of the southernmost parcel of Bear Bluff. A water-filled ditch separated the property from the road, but also proved to be floralistically interesting with bog St. John’s wort, cranberries, and sundews amidst a sphagnum moss carpet. Interestingly, despite being named Bear Bluff, the site nearby bluffs are specifically excluded from the natural area. This is another site to add to the revisit list as I would very much like to explore the northern parcels further.
More of my photos (and full-res) from Bear Bluff can be viewed here.
Just under 400 more blog posts to go! Well, actually a few more than that remain; counting SNA’s delisted since I started and a few SNA’s to be designated, the current total is 689, though hopefully, that will increase!
If you would like to help support this project, please consider a donation. There are many SNA’s yet to visit and even more to revisit and I ultimately plan to write a book about my adventures. Thank you!
Additional Information
| SNA # | 529 |
| County | Jackson |
| Natural Communities / Geology | Northern Dry Forest, Northern Wet Forest, Fen |
| Size (Acres) | 307 |
| Parking | Roadside |
| Trails | No |
| Easy to Find | Yes |
| Best Seen By | Foot |
| Marked Boundaries | No |
| Ownership | Jackson County; More info: Wisconsin DNR |
| Located Within | Jackson County Forest |
| Dates Visited | 8.17.13 |
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State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 