Fairy Chasm Natural Area features a deep chasm amidst rolling forest land surrounding a small creek leading to Lake Michigan. It is home to several more typically northern species, due to the cool microclimate in the chasm. Owned by the Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust (OWLT), the site does not currently allow for public visitation. Please contact…
Tag: Southern Mesic Forest
Blackhawk Island (329/693)
Blackhawk Island State Natural Area protects an island in the Wisconsin River that is wooded with a variety of tree species and a plethora of ferns. Owned by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and managed by the UW Division of Extension, the site is operated as an outdoor learning center and self-described “river…
Carver-Roehl Woods (300/686)
Carver-Roehl Woods, the subject of this, my 300th blog post, features a southern mesic forest on and around the hillside and rocky overhangs along Spring Brook Creek in Rock County’s Carver-Roehl Park. The park entrance is found on South Carver’s Rock Road just north of East Creek Road. The park road eventually forms a loop…
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…
Stockbridge Ledge Woods (253/679)
Stockbridge Ledge Woods encompasses a mature forest with a nice groundlayer in central Calumet County. Parking areas are located on either side of Ledge Road approximately 3/4 mile north of CTH F. An informal trail passes through the site more or less in an east-west orientation. The groundlayer was past peak during my visit with…
Cedarburg Beech Woods (240/679)
Cedarburg Beech Woods is comprised of a southern mesic forest on rolling topogrpahy dominated by beech and maple. The site is located on Saint Augustine Road just southwest of the UWM Field Station and pulling to the side of this gravel road is your only parking option. First and foremost, however, permssion to visit this…
Trempealeau Mountain, SNA #356 (232/679)
Trempealeau Mountain is a 425-foot tall forested rock in the Mississippi River, just offshore from Perrot State Park. The formal method of reaching the site, one of only three islands composed of solid rock along the Mississippi River, is to kayak or canoe from the state park boat launch. Canoes and kayaks are available for…
Eureka Maple Woods, SNA #222 (228/679)
Eureka Maple Woods features a primarily maple-basswood forest on the slopes above Timber Coulee Creek in far southwestern Monroe County. It is directly across Oboe Avenue from Portland Maples SNA and both are part of the Coon Creek Fishery Area. Park along the road and you can visit both sites without even moving your vehicle….
Portland Maples, SNA #372 (227/675)
Portland Maples encompasses a southern mesic and floodplain forests on sloped terrtain in the southwestern corner of Monroe County. Part of Coon Creek Fishery Area, the natural area lies along Rutlands Coulee Creek and can be reached by parking on the side of Oboe Avenue for the larger west parcel or Oakdale Avenue for the smaller…
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…
Kickapoo Wild Woods (207/675)
Kickapoo Wild Woods encompasses forest types ranging from dry to mesic and floodplain strecthing from ridgetops down to the Kickapoo River 350 feet below. The site is comprised of two parcels north of Wauzeka with parking areas available from STH 131 and Badger Lane. Well, the rain that had begun at my previous stop, Wauzeka…
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…
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…
Bass Hollow (198/675)
Bass Hollow encompasses a southern mesic forest amidst a cliff-lined coulee, or hollow, in southern Juneau County. It is found on both sides of Cowan Road east of CTH K. A parking area for the adjacent Bass Hollow County Park is found on the south side of Cowan Road. I have visited Bass Hollow twice…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 