Known as the “Wisconsin desert”, plants you might not think exist in the state actually thrive in the arid, shifting sands of Spring Green Preserve. The site is easy to find amidst a row of houses just north of US14 in Spring Green. A gravel parking area provides ample room for 10 or so vehicles…
Tag: Sauk County
Smith Slough & Sand Prairie, SNA #250 (11/674)
An oxbow lake, shrub-carr, bottomland hardwood forest, oak barrens, and oak savanna are among the 1 variety of plant communities compose Smith Slough & Sand Prairie SNA. There are a couple gravel parking areas and boat launches associated with the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway that provide starting points of exploration. Getting around this site, however,…
Ferry Bluff, SNA #217 (10/674)
Ferry Bluff, along with its sister bluff Cactus, rise more than 300 feet above the Wisconsin River at its confluence with Honey Creek and provide stunning vistas. The gravel road to reach the site is rather narrow but there is ample parking. From there a trail follows the river before beginning a climb to the…
Parfrey’s Glen, SNA #1 (9/674)
A deep sandstone gorge dominates the site at Parfrey’s Glen, Wisconsin’s first State Natural Area. Designated in 1952, the area contains Parfrey’s Glen Creek, having cut through the Cambrian sandstone to form the gorge. The wet rock walls provide the environment for a more northern type of forest containing yellow birch, mountain maple,and red elder…
Baxter’s Hollow, SNA #82 (8/674)
Blankets of wildflowers fill the gorge at Baxter’s Hollow and avian melodies fill the air around Otter Creek. Perhaps a reflection of its glacial origins, Baxter’s Hollow is a site that is in seemingly constant flux. Heavy spring rains flood the gorge and wield immense power. During my first visit, I came upon a washed-out…
Pewits Nest, SNA #200 (7/674)
Shaded cliffs overlooking a 40-foot gorge with Skillet Creek flowing below await you at Pewits Nest. So-named for “an individual who lived in the solid sandstone, like a gnome in a cavern. His abode was some ten feet above a deep pool of water. This dwelling resembled the nest of a phoebe (or peewit, an earlier…
McGilvra Woods, SNA #206 (6/674)
Rich displays of spring ephemeral wildflowers greet visitors to McGilvra Woods, though a visit in any season is a treat. My visits were in summer and fall, the latter providing a colorful display of autumnal sugar maples. As there are no trails, I leisurely meandered around the site, working my way aroudn the occasional downed…
Ableman’s Gorge, SNA #75 (5/674)
Rising 200 feet above the Baraboo River, Ableman’s Gorge is a 3/4 mile long gorge cut through quartzite. It contains world-famous erosional impacts of an ancient sea on the Precambrian quartzite and has been well-studied by geologists, especially at UW-Madison, over the years. My visit here predates the installation of a trail and therefore it…
Cady’s Marsh, SNA #72 (4/674)
Cady’s Marsh is a bit or a misnomer. Although some marsh is present, the focus of preservation at the site is an interesting mix of prairie types (wet/dry) and sedge meadow. It is a site that I have been to twice and still feel I need to see again to see it at its peak. …
Hemlock Draw, SNA #535 (2/674)
Hemlock Draw is a property owned by The Nature Conservancy and the site of recent invasive species control efforts, in particular buckthorn and garlic mustard. The site is seemingly hemmed in by agricultural fields, but natural beauty awaits within. There is a narrow hiking trail that leads beyond a TNC gate through the forest and…
Natural Bridge & Rockshelter, SNA #105 (1/674)
Natural Bridge & Rockshelter was the first SNA I visited and but I did not know much about the SNA program until I returned home later that Memorial Day weekend in 2009. Located in rural Sauk County, the site is relatively easy to find. The SNA is found within the boundaries of Natural Bridge State…
Bakken’s Pond (15/674)
Finding Bakken’s Pond State Natural Area is easy and not so easy at the same time. The open body of water known as Bakken’s Pond as labelled in Google Maps is not within the boundaries of Bakken’s Pond SNA. My interpretation is that Bakken’s Pond is a larger area including the open water of the…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 