Kieper Creek includes a variety of natural communities in northwestern Florence County, sandwiched between the two previous blog posts, directly east of Lauterman Lake and just west Fox Maple Woods. A few possible access routes exist for this site. FR 2154 forms a joint border between Lauterman Lake and Kieper Creek SNA’s. Lauterman Creek crosses beneath…
Lauterman Lake (304/687)
Lauterman Lake encompasses rolling terrain, a mesic hardwood forest, lakes, creeks, and a braided esker system in northern Florence County. The site can be reached via parking areas on Brule River Road (FR 2154) to the east of the namesake lake and FR 2553 to the west; both are just south of STH 70. Note…
Fox Maple Woods (303/687)
Fox Maple Woods contains a block of northern mesic forest and sedge meadow in northwestern Florence County. STH 70 bisects the property, though the vast majority and more interesting portions lie north of the highway. A parking area provides easy access to the forest. A faint trail leads northwest from the parking area, but I…
Upper Buckatabon Springs (302/687)
Upper Buckatabon Springs encompasses a variety of wetland habitats including springs, ponds, alder thickets, northern sedge meadow, fen, and tamarack swamp across two parcels in central Vilas County. Access to the western parcel is available directly from CTH K on the south side or 3 Springs Road on the west side. The eastern parcel appears…
Haymeadow Flowage (301/686)
Haymeadow Flowage is a sprawling mix of forested landscapes, lakes, creeks, bogs, and swamps across a 5-mile swath of Forest County in the northeastern part of Wisconsin. It is accessible from a multitude of National Forest roads, campgrounds, and boat launches. My first visit to Haymeadow Flowage was a fortuitous one and I simply sought…
Carver-Roehl Woods (300/686)
Carver-Roehl Woods, the subject of this, my 300th blog post, features a southern mesic forest on and around the hillside and rocky overhangs along Spring Brook Creek in Rock County’s Carver-Roehl Park. The park entrance is found on South Carver’s Rock Road just north of East Creek Road. The park road eventually forms a loop…
Cudahy Woods (299/686)
Cudahy Woods features several forested natural communities: mesic, dry-mesic, and wet-mesic just a short distance from the Milwaukee Airport. An unmarked driveway on the south side of College Avenue, approximately 1.5 miles east of I94. The driveway leads to a small parking area and subsequently a paved loop closer to the trailhead. The trail forms…
Warnimont Bluff Fens (298/686)
Warnimont Bluff Fens represents a rather unusual place to find a fen, on tall bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. The location is not disclosed by the DNR and will not be here either, but I was allowed some special dispensation by the county. So as not to not tread on the fragile ecosystem, I enjoyed the…
Franklin Savanna (297/686)
Franklin Savanna contains the bones of an oak savanna within the decidedly urban Milwaukee County. It is one of just 3 SNA’s found within the county. It can be found on Oakwood Road, south of the city of Franklin, in the southeast corner of the county. Parking here is dicey at best. The road is…
Little Bear Hemlocks (296/686)
Little Bear Hemlocks encompasses a block of northern mesic forest in Portage County, one of very few left in the central portion of Wisconsin. It is easily accessible via a parking area near the southeast corner of the parcel off of STH 34. No trails exist here, but none are needed. The canopy is composed…
Mead Conifer Bogs (295/686)
Mead Conifer Bogs includes northern wet forest, shrub-carr, and bog habitats spanning the intersection of 3 counties in central Wisconsin: Wood, Portage, and Marathon. The larger eastern parcel spans the northwest corner of Portage County and crosses into south-central Marathon County while the smaller western parcel rests in the northeast corner of Wood County. It is part…
Castle Mound Pine Forest (294/681)
Castle Mound Pine Forest is a forested butte rising nearly 200 feet above the surrounding landscape. Found within the Black River State Forest, access is easy from the Castle Mound Campground unit of the forest on USH 12 south of Black River Falls. Park in the picnic parking area. Trails wind up and around the…
Catfish Eddy Terraces (293/681)
Catfish Eddy Terraces is comprised of northern dry-mesic forest and various gorges and wet terrain along the eastern bank of the Black River in Jackson County. There are no trails or parking areas here, so I found it easiest to park along Clinton Road and walk approximately 1/3 mile west into the natural area. After…
Bauer Brockway Barrens (292/681)
Bauer Brockway Barrens features dry prairie and barrens natural communities in a rectangular parcel of land in the Jackson County Forest in the central portion of the county. North Brockway Road runs along the site’s eastern border and West Bauer Road bisects the site from west to east. Parking ares are found near the northeastern…
Brockway Ponds (291/681)
Brockway Ponds consists of 5 separate ponds and associated wetlands within the Jackson County Forest. The ponds can be reached via Funmaker Road, just south of STH 54. From there, sandy trails, more or less, lead to the ponds. On my visit, water covered the road adjacent to the northernmost pond, which precluded access to…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 