Logan Creek features northern wet-mesic and upland hardwood forests along the northern shore of Clark Lake and a short stretch of Logan Creek. A large parking area is found on Loritz Road. This site is owned by The Ridges Sanctuary, LLC and similar to their eponymous sanctuary, a day-use fee is required for use of…
Toft Point, SNA #57 (115/675)
Toft Point contains a wide range of natural communities on a peninsula between Moonlight Bay and Baileys Harbor. To reach the site, take the access lane off of Ridges Road, about 1.5 miles east of the intersection of STH 57 and Ridges Road. A parking area and trailhead can be found there. Alternatively, continue on…
The Ridges Sanctuary, SNA #17 (114/675)
The Ridges Sanctuary contains a series of ridges and swales marking former shorelines of Lake Michigan from the last 1400-1500 years. This topography results in an array of different natural communities and resident species. A large parking lot and visitor’s center can be found off of CTH Q just east of Hwy 57. Note that…
Moonlight Bay Bedrock Beach (113/675)
Moonlight Bay Bedrock Beach protects a small dolomite bedrock beach and adjacent boreal forest near Baileys Harbor. The site is easy to reach from W Cana Island Road, just south of its intersection with E Cana Island Road. A sign and short trail leading west from the road takes you into the site. Hands-down this…
Mud Lake, SNA #125 (112/675)
Mud Lake features a shallow drainage lake surrounded by a sedge meadow. It is one of 6 SNA’s with ‘Mud Lake’ in the name and one of 2 SNA’s with 3 owners. There is room to park at dead-ends on Lime Kiln and Birch Roads, on the north and east sides of the site, respectively….
Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest & Wetlands, SNA #284 (111/675)
Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest & Wetlands features a rocky shoreline and interior boreal and northern wet-mesic forests on the Lake Michigan side of Door County. Access is readily available anywhere along several of the bordering roads; simply pull to the side, park, and walk into the site. There are a total of five separate parcels…
North Bay, SNA #381 (110/675)
North Bay features a long list of natural communities including various forest and wetland types (see table below) and certainly is more diverse than its name implies. Such is the case sometimes with SNA names. At times a site may be named X Lake and it really is just the lake. Other times it is much…
Mink River Estuary, SNA #218 (109/675)
Mink River Estuary features one of the most pristine freshwater estuaries in the country as well as associated wetland communities including marsh and conifer swamp. Land access is availabe from two spots: a large parking area off of CTH NP where it turns sharply north and off of Mink River Road. This site is best…
Europe Bay Woods, SNA #379 (108/675)
Europe Bay Woods is the second of two SNA’s found within Newport State Park, along with Newport Conifer-Hardwoods as previously discussed here. It features a mixed forest located on an isthmus between Europe Lake and a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. Access is available via the Hotz and Europe Bay trails with trailheads on Europe…
Newport Conifer-Hardwoods, SNA #90 (107/675)
Newport Conifer-Hardwoods features a mixture of forest types in a parcel embedded within Newport State Park. Put your hiking shoes on because this one will require a bit of a walk from the nearest parking area. Newport State Park is a “wilderness” state park so amenities are limited and the campsite are all a couple…
Ellison Bluff, SNA #378 (106/675)
Ellison Bluff features nice view from atop a 200-foot bluff overlooking the Green Bay side of Lake Michigan. The site is easily reached via Ellison Bluff Park Road to its end, a large parking area and trailhead. Ellison Bluff is formed by the Niagara Escarpment, a rock formation that forms the spine of Door County…
Meridian Park, SNA #544 (105/675)
Meridian Park features an interesting collection of natural communities approximately equidistant between the equator and the North Pole (hence the name). It is accessible from a wayside on the west side of Hwy 57. It is an official Door County Park, though there is little more than you’d find at a smaller wayside and scant…
Kangaroo Lake, SNA #355 (104/675)
Kangaroo Lake features forest and wetland communities surrounding the north end of Kangaroo Lake. The site is owned partly by the Door County Land Trust and by The Nature Conservancy. The bulk of the SNA land is owned by TNC with a smaller portion owned by the DCLT. Both organizations give the Kangaroo Lake name…
White Cliff Fen & Forest, SNA #383 (103/675)
White Cliff Fen & Forest features a calcareous fen and mixed forest between the Niagara Escarpment and Green Bay. The trailhead is found on White Cliff Road with limited parking available on the roadside there. Additional parking can be found just east of the trailhead at a public boat launch. This was my first visit…
Thorp Pond, SNA #403 (102/675)
Thorp Pond contains several wetland communities centered around a bog lake, though the most interesting portions of the site are not publicly accessible. To reach the site, park at dead-end on Quarterline Road East and walk southeast. You will pass though a shrubbery-covered landscape grading into a pine forest and finally into a wet-mesic forest….
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 