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…
Tag: Wisconsin
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…
Mt. Pisgah Hemlock-Hardwoods, SNA #15 (148/675)
Mt. Pisgah Hemlock-Hardwoods features a forest with relict hemlock and birch trees along the Kickapoo River within Wildcat Mountain State Park. Access is vai the Hemlock Trail which begins from the parking lot for the Lower Picnic Area. The hike up Mt. Pisgah is fairly easy with no steep slopes and overall a gentle climb…
Fort McCoy Barrens, SNA #228 (147/675)
Fort McCoy Barrens includes one of the largest remaining barrens communities as well as two pristine creeks. Found within the Fort McCoy Military Installation in Monroe County, a visit requires some special hoops to jump through including calling ahead to ask permission and displaying an informational card in your windshield as you park along the…
Rock River Prairie, SNA #289 (146/675)
Rock River Prairie features a dry prairie overlooking the Rock River approximately halfway between Janesville and Beloit. A parking area can be found on South Walters Road. This site is a very pretty one topographically with the low undulations of the land continuing off in the distance seemingly ad infinitum. Puncuated by dots of color from…
Kessler Railroad Prairie, SNA #199 (145/675)
Kessler Railroad Prairie encompasses a wet-mesic prairie along a former railroad grade in central Rock County. A small area to pull off the road is avaiable in front of an access gate. A 1.1 mile stretch of prairie lines the old grade including several crossings of ditches and streams via the old trestle ties. Though…
Newark Road Prairie, SNA #113 (144/675)
Newark Road Prairie features a wet-mesic prairie found in southern Rock County. A grassy pull-off with room for perhaps 2 cars is located on the north side of Beloit Newark Road, just west of the intersection with Knutson Road. From the pull-off, a trail of sorts winds its way through the prairie. I am not…
Chub Lake Oak Savanna, SNA #607 (143/675)
Chub Lake Oak Savanna features, appropriately enough an oak savanna on the southwest shore of Chub Lake. It borders Chub & Mud Lake Riverine Marsh SNA on its northern edge and quite frankly, I do not know why it was designated as a separate natural area. Its size (21 acres) pales in comparison to its…
Chub & Mud Lake Riverine Marsh, SNA #606 (142/675)
Chub & Mud Lake Riverine Marsh is a nearly 2000 acre site situated just south of the northern unit of Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops and adjacent to Chub Lake Oak Savanna (see tomorrow’s post). There are several parking areas and boat launches around the site, particularly on the south and west sides, from which to begin…
Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops, SNA #605 (141/675)
Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops features two outcrops approximately 6.5 miles apart in southern Dodge County. The northern outcrop is within the Waterloo Wildlife Area while the southern outcrop is within the Mud Lake Wildlife Area. Both are within the boundaries of the Glacial Heritage Area. The northern outcrop is accessible via an access lane from a parking…
Franklin & Butternut Lakes, SNA #119 (140/675)
Franklin & Butternut Lakes encompasses a variety of habitats over rolling glacial topography, more or less centered around the aforementioned lakes. Found within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, parking for this site is available at either of two parking area on FR 2181 (Butternut Lake Road). Alternatively, there are several stopping points along various forest roads….
Frog Lake & Pines, SNA #187 (139/675)
Frog Lake & Pines features a northern dry-mesic forest and wetlands surrounding a wilderness lake. A small pull-off is located on the west side of STH 47 just south of Manitowish. From there, a walkable access lane leads to a short trail to the lake. I made a stop at Frog Lake & Pines after…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 