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,…
Tag: Wisconsin
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…
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…
