Riveredge Creek & Ephemeral Pond State Natural Area encompasses a portion of the Riveredge Nature Center, including a stream and pond, near Newburg in Ozaukee County. Primarily recognized for its diverse aquatic/invertebrate life, this natural area eventually connects with the Milwaukee River to the northwest. I often feel that having an SNA embedded within a…
Tag: Northern Wet-Mesic Forest
Holland Red Maple Swamp (260/679)
Holland Red Maple Swamp encompasses a northern hardwood swamp and northern wet-mesic forest within Holland Wildlife Area in southern Brown County. One of only two SNA’s within the county, Holland Red Maple Swamp can be accessed via a parking area south of the T-intersection of Refuge Road and Mill Road southeast of the town of…
Holmboe Conifer Forest (241/679)
Holmboe Conifer Forest includes a variety of northern forest types on rolling terrain along the Pelican River in the city of Rhinelander. The directions as described by the DNR are a bit out of date and I believe they pre-date the Taylor Park nursing home that was built adjacent to the site on Boyce Drive….
Trout Lake Conifer Swamp, SNA #21 (220/675)
Trout Lake Conifer Swamp is a small, northern wet-mesic forest on a carpet of sphagnum moss found northeast of Woodruff in Vilas County. It is part of the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest and can be reached via CTH N to Perch Lane, just northeast of the intersection of CTH M and CTH N. A…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
Milwaukee River Tamarack Lowlands & Dundee Kame, SNA #256 (92/674)
Milwaukee River Tamarack Lowlands & Dundee Kame features a variety of wetland communities and several glacial kames surrounding a stretch of the Milwaukee River in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It is one of 11 SNA’s found with this forest unit. There are several ways to access this SNA and I would…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 