Alvin Creek Headwaters encompasses several natural communities centered around, appropriately enough, Alvin Creek and its headwaters in north-central Forest County. The site lies southwest of the intersection of STH 70 and STH 55. Access can be made directly from west on FR 2175 and from the east on FR 2427. Both lightly traveled (and lightly…
Tag: Spring
Upper Buckatabon Springs (302/687)
Upper Buckatabon Springs encompasses a variety of wetland habitats including springs, ponds, alder thickets, northern sedge meadow, fen, and tamarack swamp across two parcels in central Vilas County. Access to the western parcel is available directly from CTH K on the south side or 3 Springs Road on the west side. The eastern parcel appears…
Catfish Eddy Terraces (293/681)
Catfish Eddy Terraces is comprised of northern dry-mesic forest and various gorges and wet terrain along the eastern bank of the Black River in Jackson County. There are no trails or parking areas here, so I found it easiest to park along Clinton Road and walk approximately 1/3 mile west into the natural area. After…
Bass Lake Fen (248/679)
Bass Lake Fen encompasses an area that is much as it sounds, a fen along the shore of Bass Lake. A parking area is located on the south side of CTH YY east of STH 22. From there, walk approximately 3/4 mile due south to the north shore of the lake. The fen is primarily…
Upper Fox Headwaters (245/679)
Upper Fox Headwaters is comprised of a wide array of natural communities in 5 parcels of land divided amongst 3 units spanning 9 miles, 2 counties, and a total of 195 acres. The Upper Chaffee Creek Meadow unit (formerly known as the Chaffee Creek unit) is accessible from a wayside off of southbound I-39/USH 51…
Fair Meadows, SNA #416 (224/675)
Fair Meadows encompasses a variety of habitats including oak woodland and savanna, wet prairie, and sedge meadow. It is home to the federally threatened and Wisconsin endangered eastern prairie white-fringed orchid. A privately owned natural area, Fair Meadows is generally only open to the public on field trips through conservation organizations and that is how…
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…
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…
Butler Lake & Flynn’s Spring, SNA #257 (89/674)
Butler Lake features the namesake lake and spring, as well as a short segment of the Parnell Esker. It is one of 11 SNA’s found within the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Access is easy via a large parking area at a bend in Butler Lake Road. There is a boat landing…
Snow Bottom, SNA #262 (82/674)
Snow Bottom certainly packs a punch in terms of natural community diversity in a small area. Though there are 3 parcels to this site, only 2 are accessible as one is landlocked. The western parcel is accessed off of Cedar Rock Road, while the eastern parcel can be reached from a parking area on Bowers…
Waterloo Prairie, SNA #63 (61/674)
Waterloo Prairie consists of four prairie parcels east of Waterloo, home of Trek bicycles. The southernmost parcel is the easiest to access with a large gravel parking area off of Blue Joint Road. A smaller parcel is just to the west and can be reached via other DNR lands between the two. A parcel to…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 