Cave Point-Clay Banks features a variety of wetland and forest natural communities spread across 3 named units consisting of 4 total parcels of land. The three units are known as the Sturgeon Bay unit, the Shivering Sands unit, and the Kellner Fen unit. All three are described on the DNR page, but there is no…
Tag: Door County
Little Lake, SNA #554 (183/675)
Little Lake is the only inland lake on Washington Island and is a literal stone’s throw away from Lake Michigan, with a 250-foot cobblestone ridge separating the two bodies of water. The DNR says that Little Lake requires permission to visit from the owner, the Door County Land Trust, but the DCLT’s own information makes…
Rock Island Woods, SNA #382 (182/675)
Rock Island Woods features several forest types and cliff communities on Rock Island off the tip of Door County. As it is an island accessible only by boat, there is no parking. Many people take the ferry from the tip of Door County to Washington Island, drive their car across the island, and then take…
Big & Little Marsh, SNA #391 (181/675)
Big & Little Marsh features marsh, fen, and northern wet-mesic habitats on the eastern side of Washington Island in Door County. Take the ferry from mainland Door County and then park along any of several roads including: Deer Lane Road, Michigan Road, Town Line Road, Wickman Road, or North Hemlock Drive. I would classify my…
Coffey Swamp, SNA #276 (180/675)
Coffey Swamp features a seepage pond surrounded by a fen and northern wet-mesic forest on Washington Island in Door County. As mentioned in prevous posts on Detroit Harbor and Jackson Harbor Ridges, the most common access to the island is via ferry. This natural area consists of two parcels, one of which is found along…
Jackson Harbor Ridges, SNA #110 (179/675)
Jackson Harbor Ridges features a series of sand dunes and swales on the northeastern corner of Washington Island in Door County. As previously discussed in the Detroit Harbor post, the customary way to reach the island is to take the ferry at the end of STH 42 which will take you to Detroit Harbor. Then…
Detroit Harbor, SNA #413 (178/675)
Detroit Harbor contains a mixture of wetlands and a northern mesic forest on Washington Island in Door County. A car/passenger ferry leaves from Gils Rock at the northern tip of Door County and arrives a stone’s throw from the natural area on Washington Island. As I recall, it is not cheap as you must pay…
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…
Whitefish Dunes, SNA #175 (117/675)
Whitefish Dunes features the largest landscape of sand dunes along the Great Lakes. Found within Whitefish Dunes State Park, both active and stabilized dunes are home to various stages of succession with those dunes further from the lake being more wooded and stabilized. Parking is available near the park office. From there, we walked north along…
Logan Creek, SNA #543 (116/675)
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…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 