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…
Tag: Bluff
Cherney Maribel Caves (259/679)
Cherney Maribel Caves features a limestone bluff indented with what could loosely be described as caves (and more accurately referred to as cracks, crevices, and the like). The natural area is found within the namesake park, located on the east side of CTH Z south of Cooperstown in northern Manitowoc County. A large parking area…
Sugar Creek Bluff, SNA #338 (216/675)
Sugar Creek bluff features a dry prairie and southern dry-mesic forest overlooking the Mississippi River in Crawford County. Access is via Lagoon Street. Park beyond a gravel driveway and walk ~100 feet to the trailhead going north. A series of long switchbacks eventually leads you to the top and the dry prairie and scenic overlook….
Romance Prairie, SNA #418 (213/675)
Romance Prairie features a dry prairie remnant and overgrown oak savanna and forest overlooking Cox Creek and the nearby town of Romance. The site is located nearly 6 miles east of Genoa on STH 56 and approximately 1/2 mile east of the North Fork of the Bad Axe River. The DNR site references an access…
Bergen Bluffs, SNA #415 (212/675)
Bergen Bluffs features a southern oak forest on and below the bluff slopes. Park at a wayside/scenic overlook on STH 35 between Stoddard and Genoa. There are no trails to be found at Bergen Bluffs aside from the occasional deer trail, so the degree to which you explore this site is really at your discretion….
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…
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…
Brooks Bluff, SNA #232 (157/675)
Brooks Bluff features an oak barrens community on the top of a sandstone mesa in Adams County. It is located adjacent to CTH B and parking is on the side of the highway. My time here was limited by my uneasiness parking on the side of the highway here. The shoulder is not particularly wide,…
Kickapoo Valley Reserve, SNA #354 (149/675)
Kickapoo Valley Reserve is a massive property containing a range of forest types, as well as sedge meadow, shrub0-carr, alder thicket, swamp, sandstone cliffs, and the Kickapoo River. Located adjacent to Wildcat Mountain State Park, the natural area is accessible via numerous roads and highways that course through it. A few trailheads have parking areas…
Roche-A-Cri Mound, SNA #183 (134/675)
Roche-A-Cri Mound is comprised of the eponymous mound which was once an island in Glacial Lake Wisconsin. Found within Roche-A-Cri State Park, a parking area is located at the trailhead which in turn leads to the steps which will take you to the top. No stairmaster required after hiking this natural beauty. Meaning “crevice in…
Quincy Bluff & Wetlands, SNA #272 (133/675)
Quincy Bluff & Wetlands is a massive natural area with a great variety of natural communities. Originally acquired by The Nature Conservancy, the property was transferred in recent years to the DNR. It has been the site of intensive restoration activities as well as land acquisition over the years and will continue to be in…
Bayshore Blufflands, SNA #377 (118/675)
Bayshore Blufflands contains a mixture of forest communities on the steep slope of the Niagara Escarpment. Access is available from above or below with parking areas off of CTH I and B, respectively. We parked below the bluff and walked the faded trail through the old field to the base of the bluff, across a…
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…
Peninsula Park Beech Forest, SNA #12 (101/675)
Peninsula Park Beech Forest is the second of two SNA’s found with Peninsula State Park (the other being Peninsula Park White Cedar Forest). Several parking areas are found near the observation tower (which is closed indefinitely) and from there, the Sentinel trail leads across the road toward the northern edge of the SNA. The Eagle…
Blue River Bluffs, SNA #316 (80/674)
Blue River Bluffs is one of my favorite sites. Easy to find, easy to access, great views, a wide variety of species; all in all, just a great SNA. There are two parcels for Blue River Bluffs; both can be accessed by parking along the road, either Old County C Road for the west parcel…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 