Cave Point-Clay Banks features a variety of wetland and forest natural communities spread across 3 named units consisting of 4 total parcels of land. The three units are known as the Sturgeon Bay unit, the Shivering Sands unit, and the Kellner Fen unit. All three are described on the DNR page, but there is no…
Tag: Wisconsin
Little Lake, SNA #554 (183/675)
Little Lake is the only inland lake on Washington Island and is a literal stone’s throw away from Lake Michigan, with a 250-foot cobblestone ridge separating the two bodies of water. The DNR says that Little Lake requires permission to visit from the owner, the Door County Land Trust, but the DCLT’s own information makes…
Rock Island Woods, SNA #382 (182/675)
Rock Island Woods features several forest types and cliff communities on Rock Island off the tip of Door County. As it is an island accessible only by boat, there is no parking. Many people take the ferry from the tip of Door County to Washington Island, drive their car across the island, and then take…
Big & Little Marsh, SNA #391 (181/675)
Big & Little Marsh features marsh, fen, and northern wet-mesic habitats on the eastern side of Washington Island in Door County. Take the ferry from mainland Door County and then park along any of several roads including: Deer Lane Road, Michigan Road, Town Line Road, Wickman Road, or North Hemlock Drive. I would classify my…
Coffey Swamp, SNA #276 (180/675)
Coffey Swamp features a seepage pond surrounded by a fen and northern wet-mesic forest on Washington Island in Door County. As mentioned in prevous posts on Detroit Harbor and Jackson Harbor Ridges, the most common access to the island is via ferry. This natural area consists of two parcels, one of which is found along…
Jackson Harbor Ridges, SNA #110 (179/675)
Jackson Harbor Ridges features a series of sand dunes and swales on the northeastern corner of Washington Island in Door County. As previously discussed in the Detroit Harbor post, the customary way to reach the island is to take the ferry at the end of STH 42 which will take you to Detroit Harbor. Then…
Detroit Harbor, SNA #413 (178/675)
Detroit Harbor contains a mixture of wetlands and a northern mesic forest on Washington Island in Door County. A car/passenger ferry leaves from Gils Rock at the northern tip of Door County and arrives a stone’s throw from the natural area on Washington Island. As I recall, it is not cheap as you must pay…
Red Banks Alvar, SNA #332 (177/675)
Red Banks Alvar features a rare natural community in Wisconsin known as an alvar. This natural area consists of three parcels near Benderville in Brown County. Two parcels are found on either side of STH 57, just southeast of the town, with a parking area accessible from the northbound lanes. The second parcel is found to…
High Cliff Escarpment, SNA #176 (176/675)
High Cliff Escarpment features a more than one-mile long exposure of the Niagara Escarpment, a limestone cliff that extends from Waukesha County through Door County and then on into Canada and New York. This natural area is found within High Cliff State Park along the northeastern shore of Lake Winnebago and is accessible via the…
Oakfield Ledge, SNA #190 (175/675)
Oakfield Ledge features a substantial exposure of the Niagara Escarpment in southern Fond du Lac County, south of Oakfield. Two parcels, each with their own parking area, are accessible form CTH Y and Breakneck Road, respectively. I have visited the southern parcel twice. A trail leads from the parking area along the edge of the…
Waupun Park Maple Forest, SNA #51 (174/675)
Waupun Park Maple Forest features a mature southern mesic forest dominated by maple within the confines of Waupun County Park, on the northwest corner of the city of Waupun. Two parking areas are available on the delightfully named CTH MMM and yes, that’s 3 M’s. A trail begins from the northernmost of the two parking…
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…
Cherry Lake Sedge Meadow, SNA #120 (172/675)
Cherry Lake Sedge Meadow contains a southern sedge meadow, as well as northern wet forest, tamarack bog and surrounding uplands. A parking area for the encompassing Honey Creek Wildlife Area is located on CTH W midway between Waterford and Burlington. I started off from the parking area by following one of several foot-trails that wander…
Beulah Bog (171/675)
Beulah Bog encompasses two bog lakes surrounded by a northern wet forest in northeastern Walworth County. A parking area is located on Stringers Bridge Road, south of CTH J. From there, a trail leads east over undulating glacial terrain before turning south to reach a boardwalk, which in turn leads to one of the bog…
Pickerel Lake Fen, SNA #209 (170/675)
Pickerel Lake Fen (not to be confused with Pickerel Lake SNA – subject of a future post) features a large alkaline fen around the namesake lake in northern Walworth County. There are two main access points: parking along Pickerel Lake Road and walking east or west into the southern parcel or parking in the small…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 