Buena Vista Quarry Prairie provides habitat for the the state-threatened Greater prairie chicken (Tympanachus cupido). Parking areas in the form of a gravel cul-de-sacs can be found at the end of 130th Street, 2/5 mile south of CTH W and 120th Street 2/5 mile east of CTH F. Truth be told, I did not find this…
Tag: Dry-Mesic Prairie
Berg Prairie & Billy Goat Ridge, SNA #596 (230/679)
Berg Prairie & Billy Goat Ridge features dry prairie and dry-mesic forest in two disjunct parcels within the Coulee Experimental Forest. Berg Prairie is the largest dry prairie remnant left in Wisconsin and is found on CTH II just south of Anthony Road. There are a couple of DNR parking areas in the general vicinity,…
La Crosse River Trail Prairies, SNA #184 (229/679)
La Crosse River Trail Prairies includes 2 segments of dry-mesic and dry pairie along the La River State Trail straddling the La Crosse-Monroe county line. The trail can be accessed at numerous points including from Bangor to the west, Sparta to the east, or Rockland in the center. I parked on E May Street in…
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…
Chiwaukee Prairie (190/675)
Chiwaukee Prairie features a variety of prairie and wetland natural communities bordered by Lake Michigan on the east and Illinois on the west. Through the cooperative efforts of The Nature Conservancy, the Wisconsin DNR, and the Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund, a large portion of this landscape has been preserved. What once was intended as a…
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…
York Prairie, SNA #348 (155/675)
York Prairie is composed of three dry-mesic prairie remnants along with cliffs and springs in northwestern Green County, west of New Glarus. A grassy parking area is available at the middle of three parcels off of York Valley Road. During my two visits to York Prairie, I explored the middle parcel fairly completely. In late…
Genesee Oak Opening & Fen, SNA #153 (125/675)
Genesee Oak Opening & Fen is well-described by its name. An bur oak opening and fen are found at the site, just north of North Prairie. An access lane leads west from STH 59 to a small pull-off for parking. Continue walking west into the site. I have visited Genesee Oak Opening & Fen twice,…
Kettle Moraine Low Prairie, SNA #88 (120/675)
Kettle Moraine Low Prairie features an array of prairie types with upland islands near Eagle in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. There is an access lane and parking area located north of Eagle on the west side of STH 67 (Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive). Beyond the parking area, the access lane…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 