The Kettle Moraine State Forest is a

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

in southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The chief feature of the reserve is the

Kettle Moraine Kettle Moraine is a large moraine in the state of Wisconsin, United States. It stretches from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north. It has also been referred to as the ''Kettle Range'' and, in geological texts, as the ' ...

, a highly glaciated area. The area contains very hilly terrain and glacial landforms, such as

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

s and

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

s. The forest is divided into two large and three small units, which are spread across a hundred miles. The forest includes of hiking trails, almost of cross-country ski trails, of equestrian trails, of snowmobile trails, of off-road bicycle trails including of

singletrack Singletrack (or single track) describes a type of mountain biking trail that is approximately the width of the bike. It contrasts with double-track or fire road which is wide enough for four-wheeled off-road vehicles. It is often smooth and flow ...

trail, and 750 campsites. All units include a portion of the

Ice Age National Scenic Trail The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice ...

and most units have horse/snowmobile trails. Several areas of trail loops for hiking, biking and skiing can be found in the northern and southern units.

Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive The Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive is a designated scenic route in southeastern Wisconsin that links the two units of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. The route traverses through scenic and historic areas, including landscape shaped by glaciers from ...

is a scenic route that winds across southeastern Wisconsin, and through all five forest units.

Forest units

*The Northern Unit is located in western

Sheboygan County Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At th ...

, southeastern

Fond du Lac County Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

and northern Washington County. It is over twenty miles (32 km) long, and extends from just outside Glenbeulah, on the north end, southward to just east of Kewaskum. The Forest Headquarters is located in Campbellsport. Features of the Northern Unit are Greenbush Recreation Area, with a group camping area and hiking trails; Parnell Observation Tower; Long Lake Recreation Area, with a campground, a beach and boat launch; Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center;

Spruce Lake Bog Spruce Lake Bog is a bog in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. It is located within Kettle Moraine State Forest. The bog was designated a Wisconsin State Natural Area in 1968 and a National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) ...

; Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church; and Mauthe Lake Recreation Area, with a campground. Kettle Moraine State Forest Sign Southern Unit Looking North

Kettle Moraine State Forest Sign Southern Unit Looking North

*The Southern Unit extends from just west of North Prairie, southwestward to Whitewater Lake, south of

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

. Other nearby towns include

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

and

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

. Features of the Southern Unit include Ottawa Lake Recreation Area which has boating, campgrounds and hiking and ski trails, and Whitewater Lake Recreation Area, which also features camping and boating. The Forest is host to

Old World Wisconsin Old World Wisconsin is an open-air museum located near Eagle, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It depicts housing and the daily life of settlers in 19th-century Wisconsin, with separate areas representing the traditions of different ...

, a collection of farmsteads, recreating the homes and lives of settlers, and also to the McMiller Sportsmen Center, public hunting practice ranges. *The Pike Lake Unit is on the eastern side of Pike Lake. It is located on state Highway 60 in between Slinger and

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. The park offers camping, hiking, biking and swimming, and has an observation tower overlooking the park and lake. *The Loew Lake Unit is a small recreation area located in the town of

Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go h� ...

, on the Oconomowoc River and Loews Lake in southwestern Washington County. It offers hiking, hunting and horse riding. * Lapham Peak Unit is south of Delafield in

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

. It has over of trails, and an observation tower. *The Mukwanago River Unit is in Waukesha and

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

Counties, adjacent to the Mukwonago River.

References

External links

*
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Northern Unit

Southern Unit

Pike Lake Unit

Loew Lake Unit

Lapham Peak Unit

Mukwonago River Unit
{{authority control Wisconsin state forests Ice Age National Scientific Reserve Nature centers in Wisconsin Kames Protected areas of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Jefferson County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Walworth County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Washington County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1936

Forest units

See also

References

External links