High Cliff Escarpment features a more than one-mile long exposure of the Niagara Escarpment, a limestone cliff that extends from Waukesha County through Door County and then on into Canada and New York. This natural area is found within High Cliff State Park along the northeastern shore of Lake Winnebago and is accessible via the…
Oakfield Ledge, SNA #190 (175/675)
Oakfield Ledge features a substantial exposure of the Niagara Escarpment in southern Fond du Lac County, south of Oakfield. Two parcels, each with their own parking area, are accessible form CTH Y and Breakneck Road, respectively. I have visited the southern parcel twice. A trail leads from the parking area along the edge of the…
Waupun Park Maple Forest, SNA #51 (174/675)
Waupun Park Maple Forest features a mature southern mesic forest dominated by maple within the confines of Waupun County Park, on the northwest corner of the city of Waupun. Two parking areas are available on the delightfully named CTH MMM and yes, that’s 3 M’s. A trail begins from the northernmost of the two parking…
Muskego Park Hardwoods, SNA #112 (173/675)
Muskego Park Hardwoods features southern dry-mesic and lowland forests within the confines of Muskego Park, a Waukesha county park. The park is found on CTH L just southwest of Muskego. There is a day use fee of $4 per car payable at the entrance station. There are self-pay stations available if an attendant is not…
Cherry Lake Sedge Meadow, SNA #120 (172/675)
Cherry Lake Sedge Meadow contains a southern sedge meadow, as well as northern wet forest, tamarack bog and surrounding uplands. A parking area for the encompassing Honey Creek Wildlife Area is located on CTH W midway between Waterford and Burlington. I started off from the parking area by following one of several foot-trails that wander…
Beulah Bog (171/675)
Beulah Bog encompasses two bog lakes surrounded by a northern wet forest in northeastern Walworth County. A parking area is located on Stringers Bridge Road, south of CTH J. From there, a trail leads east over undulating glacial terrain before turning south to reach a boardwalk, which in turn leads to one of the bog…
Pickerel Lake Fen, SNA #209 (170/675)
Pickerel Lake Fen (not to be confused with Pickerel Lake SNA – subject of a future post) features a large alkaline fen around the namesake lake in northern Walworth County. There are two main access points: parking along Pickerel Lake Road and walking east or west into the southern parcel or parking in the small…
Weir White Oaks, SNA #347 (169/675)
Weir White Oaks contains a southern dry-mesic forest in Lafayette County. The site is privately owned and so its exact location will not be disclosed here. I was fortunate to be allowed by the DNR to visit this site. It is your prototypical southern Wisconsin forest. White oak is abundant here along with red oak,…
Pecatonica River Woods, SNA #260 (168/675)
Pecatonica River Woods features several southern Wisconsin forest types including southern mesic, southern dry-mesic, southern dry, and floodplain forest along a stretch of the Pecatonica River. A gravel pull-off in front of a DNR access gate is found on the east side of the river as it cross CTH A in Iowa County. I feel…
Belmont Mound Woods, SNA #167 (167/675)
Belmont Mound Woods featuers southern mesic and dry-mesic forests within Belmont Mound State Park. An access road leads north form CTH G on the west side of the state park. Warning: it is not a very well-maintained road and I felt my car get several scrapes underneath along the way. Park on the road, narrow…
Belmont Prairie, SNA #364 (166/675)
Belmont Prairie features a dry-mesic prairie remnant along a former railroad bed midway between Belmont and Platteville. Though the DNR describes it as being along the Pecatonica River State Trail, that is a tad misleading. First, the state trail is not suitable for road bikes and probably not even hybrids west of Belmont. The trail…
Ipswich Prairie, SNA #195 (165/675)
Ipswich Prairie encompasses a narrow, 1.2 mile long stretch of mesic prairie straddling the Lafayette-Grant County line along Ipswich Road southeast of Platteville. Park anywhere along the road. I don’t recall the width of the shoulder in this area, but the road was not a very busy one. Much of the area in this part…
Hardscrabble Prairie, SNA #322 (164/675)
Hardscrabble Prairie features a dry prairie and oak openings near Hazel Green in southwestern Lafayette County. Park near the end of the cul-de-sac on Crawford Lane near the sewage treatment plant and walk along the fence on the west side of the plant. Walking along the fence brought me to what seemed to be an…
Aurora Lake, SNA #127 (163/675)
Aurora Lake features, well, Aurora Lake surrounded by a northern wet forest. The lake is known for its wild rice population. Access is via a boat launch at the end of Aurora Lake Road. This visit was a rather abbreviated one for a couple of reasons. One: no kayak with which to explore the lake. Two:…
Plum Lake Hemlock Forest, SNA #26 (162/675)
Plum Lake Hemlock Forest features an old-growth forest wedged between Plum, Star, and Razorback Lakes. A separate island parcel is found within Plum Lake. Accesss is either form the east via Hook Road or from the west via Rearing Pond Road. This is one of those sites that I don’t have a great recollection of…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 