Hardscrabble Prairie features a dry prairie and oak openings near Hazel Green in southwestern Lafayette County. Park near the end of the cul-de-sac on Crawford Lane near the sewage treatment plant and walk along the fence on the west side of the plant. Walking along the fence brought me to what seemed to be an…
Tag: Wisconsin DNR
Aurora Lake, SNA #127 (163/675)
Aurora Lake features, well, Aurora Lake surrounded by a northern wet forest. The lake is known for its wild rice population. Access is via a boat launch at the end of Aurora Lake Road. This visit was a rather abbreviated one for a couple of reasons. One: no kayak with which to explore the lake. Two:…
Plum Lake Hemlock Forest, SNA #26 (162/675)
Plum Lake Hemlock Forest features an old-growth forest wedged between Plum, Star, and Razorback Lakes. A separate island parcel is found within Plum Lake. Accesss is either form the east via Hook Road or from the west via Rearing Pond Road. This is one of those sites that I don’t have a great recollection of…
Lake Laura Hardwoods, SNA #500 (161/675)
Lake Laura Hardwoods contains an old-growth northern mesic forest on the south shore of Lake Laura in central Vilas County within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. A boat launch that doubles as a parking area is found at the end of Deerfoot Road. As denoted by its number, Lake Laura Hardwoods was the 500th…
Fountain Creek Wet Prairie, SNA #100 (160/675)
Fountain Creek Wet Prairie features a large wet-prairie alongisde Fountain Creek within the Grand Marsh State Wildlife Area in southwestern Green Lake County. A parking area is located off of CTH B. The visit here was abbreviated as try as I might I could not find a suitable route into the bulk of the wet…
Page Creek Marsh, SNA #330 (159/675)
Page Creek Marsh features a variety of wetland natural communities surrounding Page Creek in central Marquette County. A parking area for the largest of three parcels is located off of CTH K, southwest of Montello. From there, a trail leads through the forest and to the creek. The remaining two parcels involve roadside parking. Page…
Summerton Bog, SNA #42 (158/675)
Summerton Bog contains a mixture of wetland communities including bog, fen, and sedge meadow northwest of Endeavor. A parking area is located off of Freedom Road on the west side of the natural area. This is another site that requires a more detailed exploration in the near future. Here, the weather precluded any significant exploration,…
Brooks Bluff, SNA #232 (157/675)
Brooks Bluff features an oak barrens community on the top of a sandstone mesa in Adams County. It is located adjacent to CTH B and parking is on the side of the highway. My time here was limited by my uneasiness parking on the side of the highway here. The shoulder is not particularly wide,…
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…
French Creek Fen, SNA #546 (154/675)
French Creek Fen features three fen areas embedded with a semi-open wetland complex. A wet prairie, sedge meadow, and springs are also present. Found within the French Creek Wildlife Area in northern Columbia County, there are several parking areas around the periphery, though the easiest access is probably via the parking area at the end…
Muir Park, SNA #96 (153/675)
Muir Park features a variety of natural communities within the boundaries of Muir County Park in Marquette County. A parking area and boat ramp are available off of Fox River Road. The Ice Age Trail forms a loop around Ennis Lake. The prairie was in full force during my mid-June visit. Butterfly milkweed, spiderwort, prairie…
Observatory Hill, SNA #223 (152/675)
Observatory Hill is an rock outcropping rising 300 feet above the surrounding landscape and forming the highest point in Marquette County. A parking area is found on Gillette Avenue and a trail winds from there to the summit. The trail can be uneven in some places with exposed rock and tree roots. Observatory Hill presents some…
Springvale Wet Prairie, SNA #547 (151/675)
Springvale Wet Prairie includes a wet prairie, sedge meadow, and small fen on a site bisected by Duck Creek east of Pardeeville. There are no great parking options as even the roads here have narrow shoulders and steep ditches on the sides. Luckily for me, CTH I was closed at the time and so I…
Hub City Bog, SNA #80 (150/675)
Hub City Bog encompasses a bog and relict pine stands in northern Richland County. Part of the site is owned by the University of Wisconsin via the Arboretum and as such, access is restricted. A parcel south of Hub City is DNR-owned and open to the public. Parking for this parcel is on CTH I…
Kickapoo Valley Reserve, SNA #354 (149/675)
Kickapoo Valley Reserve is a massive property containing a range of forest types, as well as sedge meadow, shrub0-carr, alder thicket, swamp, sandstone cliffs, and the Kickapoo River. Located adjacent to Wildcat Mountain State Park, the natural area is accessible via numerous roads and highways that course through it. A few trailheads have parking areas…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 