Wauzeka Bottoms encompasses a massive floodplain forest near the confluence of the Kickapoo and Wisconsin Rivers. Parsed with numerous sloughs, channels, and oxbows, the site is best observed via canoe or kayak. A boat launch with parking is available on East Front Street in downtown Wauzeka. Paddle southeast under the railroad trestle to reach the…
Limery Ridge Savanna (205/675)
Limery Ridge Savanna features savanna and dry prairie communities on one of the last remaining undeveloped bluffs in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River. Below the bluff is a southern mesic forest. The site is located along STH 35, aka the Great River Road, but there is no designated parking area. Additionally, it turns out that…
Wyalusing Walnut Forest (204/675)
Wyalusing Walnut Forest encompasses several forest types from wet to dry on and below a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. It is found within Wyalusing State Park, easily in my top 2 Wisconsin State Parks. Great views, wonderful natural areas, and outstanding birding can all be found here. Though a…
Cassville Bluffs – Roe Unit (203/675)
Cassville Bluffs – Roe Unit features dry prairie remants and oak savanna along a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in southwestern Grant County. Parking is at the end of the cul-de-sac on Sand Lake Lane. From there, a trail leads through the forest, across a stream, up the backside of the bluff before petering out…
Dewey Heights Prairie (202/675)
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…
Chase Creek (201/675)
Chase Creek features a rare algific talus slope natural community in Grant County. Parking is on the side of Dugway Road, followed by a squirrelly climb up the side of the bluff. At the time I visited Chase Creek, it had not yet reached the DNR’s website and I was essentially going in blind. The…
Gasner Hollow Prairie (200/675)
Gasner Hollow Prairie features a dry prairie and oak savanna on a bluff overlooking several sloughs of the Mississippi River. It is located in Grant County, just south of Wyalusing State Park, wedged between CTH X and Gasner Hollow Road. Parking is a bit easier on the latter which is much less travelled, but there…
Wyalusing Hardwood Forest (199/675)
Wyalusing Hardwood Forest features a mixture of southern forest types (wet-mesic, mesic, dry-mesic, and dry) near the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers in Wyalusing State Park. The closest parking area is a pull-off from the main park road near the Paul Lawrence Interpretive Center with room for 3-4 cars. From there, take the…
Bass Hollow (198/675)
Bass Hollow encompasses a southern mesic forest amidst a cliff-lined coulee, or hollow, in southern Juneau County. It is found on both sides of Cowan Road east of CTH K. A parking area for the adjacent Bass Hollow County Park is found on the south side of Cowan Road. I have visited Bass Hollow twice…
Lemonweir Bottomland Hardwood Forest (197/675)
Lemonweir Bottomland Hardwood Forest encompasses a floodplain forest amidst a maze of river channels, slough, and oxbows. The site can be reached by parking on the side of Arens Road and walking east into the forest. Parking near the end of Arens Road will lead you to an access road/trail heading east/southeast into the site….
Cedarburg Bog (196/675)
Cedarburg Bog, a National Natural Landmark, features a variety of wetland natural communities surrounding several lakes. Public access is available from the north on STH 33 and from the south on Cedar Sauk Road. A trail leads from the former to one of the lakes. From the latter, a roadside pull-off, an unimproved trail leads…
Kurtz Woods (195/675)
Kurtz Woods features a southern mesic forest with a great variety of trees and nice displays of spring ephemeral wildflowers in an sububrban setting in Ozaukee County. Parking is on the roadside in a residential neighborhood. Two trailheads are are found on Dahlia Lane and West Acadia Drive. Each is between two houses and evident…
Milwaukee River Floodplain Forest (194/675)
Milwaukee River Floodplain Forest features floodplain and dry-mesic forests along a stretch of the East Branch of the Milwaukee River in Washington County. Parking is along the roadside on Oak Drive, just north of CTH H, where the gravel shoulder widens a bit near the Ice Age Trail. My first visit here was in too-early…
Border Lakes (193/675)
Border Lakes, or the Catherine Wolter Wilderness Area as The Nature Conservancy calls it, encompasses 15 undeveloped lakes in northwestern Vilas County. A parking area is located on East Bay Road, southeast of Presque Isle. Numerous trails that are more like access roads, loop through the site. As my mother and I pulled into the…
Renak-Polak Maple-Beech Woods (192/675)
Renak-Polak Maple-Beech Woods features southern mesic and wet-mesic forests on level topography just east of the Root River in Racine County. There is no recommended parking and I would not suggest the roadside due to the lack of a shoulder and narrowness of the road. Linwood Park is located just southwest and would probably be…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 