Faville Prairie features a low prairie surrounded by sedge meadow and shrub-carr in Jefferson County. Owned by the UW System and managed by the UW Arboretum, permission is required to visit the site. As denoted by its number (3), Faville Prairie was one of the first SNA’s and was designated in 1952. The fluctuating water…
Category: Jefferson County
Allen Creek Wetlands, SNA #641 (225/675)
Allen Creek Wetlands includes a complex of wetlands including sedge meadow, wet-mesic prairie, and fen. The natural area consists of two parcels, one of which is privately owned and closed to the public and the other which is DNR-owned and open to the public. I have visited only the former, but the directions given…
Fair Meadows, SNA #416 (224/675)
Fair Meadows encompasses a variety of habitats including oak woodland and savanna, wet prairie, and sedge meadow. It is home to the federally threatened and Wisconsin endangered eastern prairie white-fringed orchid. A privately owned natural area, Fair Meadows is generally only open to the public on field trips through conservation organizations and that is how…
Young Prairie, SNA #132 (129/675)
Young Prairie features a wet-mesic prairie amidst a mixture of degraded lands straddling the Jefferson-Walworth County line. It can be reached via a DNR access lane north of Bluff Road or just to the northeast via a parking area off of Young Road. I have visited this site three times and have yet to explore…
Texas Island Woods, SNA #603 (127/675)
Texas Islands Woods is not in Texas, of course, but can be found in Jefferson County, Wisconsin within the Rome Pond Wildlife Area. A parking area can be found off of CTH E south of Sullivan. From there, walk approximately 1/2 mile along a DNR access lane to the “island”. Why this site is called…
Jefferson Tamarack Swamp, SNA #389 (126/675)
Jefferson Tamarack contains a tamarack swamp, of course, along with a southern sedge meadow and marsh, all as part of the Jefferson Marsh Wildlife Area, just east of Jefferson in, you guessed it, Jefferson County. There are several parking areas scattered around the edge of the Wildlife Area either on CTH Y or USH 18….
Kettle Moraine Oak Opening, SNA #229 (84/674)
Kettle Moraine Oak Opening features oak openings amidst an oak woodland with dry prairie remnants. Access is easy with a large parking area on CTH H. From there, the Bald Bluff hiking trail leads throughout the site and doubles as a segment of the Ice Age Trail (IAT). This is one of 7 SNA’s in…
Mud Lake Fen & Wet Prairie, SNA #604 (78/674)
Mud Lake Fen & Wet Prairie is exactly what it sounds like, although the fen is much smaller than the wet prairie. It can be reached from a parking area off of Conservation Road south of Lake Mills. One parking area is directly on that road and another is 1/4 mile north on an access…
Red Cedar Lake, SNA #215 (65/674)
Red Cedar Lake has a maximum depth of 6 feet, but 90% of the lake is 3 feet deep or less. Reaching the lake is fairly easy with a boat landing located right off of Hwy 12. The best way to see this site is via canoe/kayak, but at the time of my visit 6…
Rose Lake, SNA #538 (64/674)
Rose Lake is a shallow seepage lake in Jefferson County surrounded by rich wetlands and prairie/savanna in the process of restoration. Rose Lake SNA overlaps with Dorothy Carnes County Park and vice versa. The main access point is via Radloff Lane which leads to a large parking lot and picnic area. A trailhead is also…
Bean Lake, SNA #111 (63/674)
Bean Lake is a seepage lake found with Lake Mills Wildlife Area in Jefferson County. A large gravel parking area is located at the terminus of Bean Lake Road. From there a trail leads almost to the shore of the lake. As one approaches the lake, a sunken piece of boardwalk is visible but further…
Ancient Aztalan Village, SNA #408 (62/674)
Within Aztalan State Park, restored mounds and stockades from the village and ceremonial complex of an Upper Mississippian Native American culture and are now designated as Ancient Aztalan Village SNA. This is an easy to find and easy to explore site found just southeast of Lake Mills in Jefferson County on County Highway Q. This…
Waterloo Prairie, SNA #63 (61/674)
Waterloo Prairie consists of four prairie parcels east of Waterloo, home of Trek bicycles. The southernmost parcel is the easiest to access with a large gravel parking area off of Blue Joint Road. A smaller parcel is just to the west and can be reached via other DNR lands between the two. A parcel to…
Snapper Prairie, SNA #168 (60/674)
Snapper Prairie is a low prairie surrounded by agricultural fields in Jefferson County. It is not the easiest site to find because access is via an unmarked farm lane off of County Highway G. That dead-ends right at the prairie. I have visited this site three times and the weather has been remarkably similar each…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 