Huiras Lake State Natural Area contains a seepage lake, dry-mesic forest, and an assortment of wetland natural communities in northwestern Oazaukee County. Owned by the Ozaukee-Washington County Land Trust (OWLT), Huiras Lake is open to a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, birding, fishing, hunting, boating (though there is no easy way to get…
Tag: Southern Dry-Mesic Forest
Cudahy Woods (299/686)
Cudahy Woods features several forested natural communities: mesic, dry-mesic, and wet-mesic just a short distance from the Milwaukee Airport. An unmarked driveway on the south side of College Avenue, approximately 1.5 miles east of I94. The driveway leads to a small parking area and subsequently a paved loop closer to the trailhead. The trail forms…
Upper Black River (290/681)
Upper Black River features a variety of natural communities along stretches of the Black River and a few of its tributaries. Floodplain forest, mesic forest, and dripping cliffs line these waterways. As one would expect with a property this large containing several parcels, there are numerous ways to access it. A DNR parking area and…
Arbutus Oaks (288/681)
Arbutus Oaks features a southern dry-mesic forest with stately oaks and white pine as well as a swamp on the border of southern Clark County and northern Jackson County within the Black River State Forest. Campground Road leads to a large parking area near Lake Arbutus with Arbutus Oaks SNA to the west and the…
Kettle Moraine Red Oaks (251/679)
Kettle Moraine Red Oaks features a southern dry-mesic forest with a significant red oak component on rolling topography in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest (KMSFN). This natural area is one of 11 found in the KMSFN and one of 18 total in the KMSF. I reached the site by parking on…
Magnolia Bluff (243/679)
Magnolia Bluff includes southern dry-mesic forest and a small dry prairie on a rocky ridge overlooking eastern Rock County. Found within the eponymous county park, Magnolia Bluff can be reached on Croak Road, south of STH 59. Lower and upper parking areas provide access to the site. Trails lead from the parking areas and loop…
Northeast Coulee Oak Woodland, SNA #597 (231/679)
Northeast Coulee Oak Woodland comprises a southern dry-mesic forest on a north-facing slope within the Coulee Experimental Forest in La Crosse County. It is directly adjacent to the north boundary of the Billy Goat Ridge unit of Berg Prairie & Billy Goat Ridge SNA. I reached this site by continuing north through the latter natural 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….
Adiantum Woods (210/675)
Adiantum Woods features a gradient of forest types from mesic to dry on a slope overlooking the Wisconsin River across from Wauzeka. An access road leads north from CTH C to a parking area. Walk 1 mile north and then west on an old two-track logging road through a field to the southern boundary of…
Wyalusing Hardwood Forest (199/675)
Wyalusing Hardwood Forest features a mixture of southern forest types (wet-mesic, mesic, dry-mesic, and dry) near the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers in Wyalusing State Park. The closest parking area is a pull-off from the main park road near the Paul Lawrence Interpretive Center with room for 3-4 cars. From there, take the…
Milwaukee River Floodplain Forest (194/675)
Milwaukee River Floodplain Forest features floodplain and dry-mesic forests along a stretch of the East Branch of the Milwaukee River in Washington County. Parking is along the roadside on Oak Drive, just north of CTH H, where the gravel shoulder widens a bit near the Ice Age Trail. My first visit here was in too-early…
Sander’s Park Hardwoods (191/675)
Sander’s Park Hardwoods features a southern dry-mesic forest on two swells flanking a swale. It is found in the center of Sander’s County Park on Wood Road in Racine County and is bounded by the main park loop, Exculpating Road. Two parking areas are found near the northwest corner of the site. A network of…
Muskego Park Hardwoods, SNA #112 (173/675)
Muskego Park Hardwoods features southern dry-mesic and lowland forests within the confines of Muskego Park, a Waukesha county park. The park is found on CTH L just southwest of Muskego. There is a day use fee of $4 per car payable at the entrance station. There are self-pay stations available if an attendant is not…
Weir White Oaks, SNA #347 (169/675)
Weir White Oaks contains a southern dry-mesic forest in Lafayette County. The site is privately owned and so its exact location will not be disclosed here. I was fortunate to be allowed by the DNR to visit this site. It is your prototypical southern Wisconsin forest. White oak is abundant here along with red oak,…
Pecatonica River Woods, SNA #260 (168/675)
Pecatonica River Woods features several southern Wisconsin forest types including southern mesic, southern dry-mesic, southern dry, and floodplain forest along a stretch of the Pecatonica River. A gravel pull-off in front of a DNR access gate is found on the east side of the river as it cross CTH A in Iowa County. I feel…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 