Barneveld Prairie represents a small piece of the prairie and grasslands that once dominated the southwest portion of Wisconsin. Now, this SNA consists of five parcels in Iowa and Dane Counties that themselves are part of additional natural areas, or more accurately, project areas, including the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area, which is itself embedded…
Tag: Wisconsin
Hulburt Creek Woods, SNA #371 (47/674)
Hulburt Creek Woods is comprised of 3 separate, though nearby, parcels within the Hulburt Creek Fishery Area in Sauk County. The creek is a picturesque trout stream winding through northern and southern dry-mesic forests and areas with sandstone cliffs and alder thickets. I have visited the easatern and western parcels so far. The western parcel…
Dells of the Wisconsin River, SNA #283 (46/674)
Dells of the Wisconsin River is a wonderful site, with beautiful views and a diversity of protected natural communities. It is the only SNA that can be found in 4 different counties. The protected land is comprised of cliffs overlooking the Wisconsin River, which in this portion of the state, forms the boundaries between several…
Lower Narrows, SNA #533 (45/674)
Lower Narrows is a beautiful and great example of the geologic history of our state. It represents a break in the Baraboo Range and was likely carved by a preglacial river. Today, the Baraboo River flows through the 900-foot wide, 230-foot high gorge. Further to the west, another SNA, Ableman’s Gorge, represents a similar break…
Lost Lake, SNA #198 (44/674)
Lost Lake was once prized for the clarity of the ice that formed there in the winter. Now it is protected as a State Natural Area and comprises an interesting mix of natural communities. From the parking area, the bulk of the site slopes gently downward toward the lake. In some places, large quartzite outcrops…
Blackjack Springs, SNA #308 (43/674)
Blackjack Springs is part of Blackjack Springs Wilderness, which in turn, is part of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Complicated, eh? My visit here was with my mother, precluding much off-trail exploration. There is a large parking area off of FR2178 (gravel) and a trail that starts west of the road and skirts the northern edge…
Giant White Pine Grove, SNA #118 (42/674)
Continuing in the vein of aptly named SNA’s, today’s post is on Giant White Pine Grove in Forest County. This is a relatively small site in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, located in a part of the forest known as the Headwaters Wilderness. After driving on gravel forest roads, there is a small gravel parking area…
Anvil Lake Trail, SNA #449 (41/674)
Anvil Lake Trail represents my first visit to an SNA “up north”. I visited this site with my then-girlfriend (now-wife) and my mother, which precluded much off-trail exploration here. Located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, use of the property requires at least a day-pass which can be purchased by leaving money in an envelope in…
Mirror Lake Pine-Oak Forest, SNA #406 (40/674)
Mirror Lake Pine-Oak Forest is exactly what it sounds like: a nice forest consisting of pine (mostly white) and oak (a mixture of red, black, and white) on an undulating terrain on the shores of Mirror Lake. Access is available from a couple of boat landings or by actual boat from the main portion of…
Fern Dell Gorge, SNA #407 (39/674)
Fern Dell Gorge is aptly named as Dell Creek eroded the Upper Cambrian sandstone over time leaving a gorge filled with a variety of ferns. As this site is within Mirror Lake State Park, a sticker is required for visiting. From within the park, one can take the Northwest Trail from the park office which…
Empire Prairies, SNA #146 (38/674)
Empire Prairies consists of three separate remnant drumlin prairies, two of which are open to the public. The Westport Drumlin and and Hagen units are open to the public and fairly straightforward to reach, the latter being the easiest with a parking area off the road and a short walk to the drumlin. Westport Drumlin…
Cherokee Marsh, SNA #130 (37/674)
If you say ‘Cherokee Marsh’ to someone in the area, they will most likely know what you are talking about. There is a reason for that, however. ‘Cherokee Marsh’ is a name applied to several nearby, adjoining, and/or overlapping properties near the northwest corner of Lake Mendota in Dane County. Cherokee Marsh SNA is itself,…
Goose Lake Drumlins, SNA #375 (36/674)
Six drumlins and two lakes can be found at Goose Lake Drumlins, found within Goose Lake Wildlife Area. As is the custom with SNA’s embedded in State Wildlife Areas, there is no demarcation of which portion is SNA and which is not. Access is fairly straightfoward and can be accomplished from a number of SWA…
Deansville Fen, SNA #311 (35/674)
Deansville Fen contains a variety of natural communities including wet-mesic prairie, sedge meadow, and calcareous fen as part of the larger Deansville Wildlife Area. As is typical of SNA’s found within State Wildlife Areas (SWA’s), there are no signs marking SNA-land from non-SNA land, and hence a GPS will come in handy (or a topo…
Audubon Goose Pond, SNA #86 (34/674)
Audubon Goose Pond is a hotspot for birding, particularly during spring or autumn migrations when many species of shorebirds and waterfowl, in particular, stop here. Also known as Goose Pond Sanctuary, over 240 species of birds have been spotted here. Hundreds of tundra swans and Canada geese congregate here during migration season. The site itself…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 