Gfp-wisconsin-wyalusing-state-park-river-valley

Wyalusing State Park is a

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 ...

state park at the confluence of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

rivers in the town of Wyalusing, just south of

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...

. Wyalusing means "home of the warrior" in the Lenape language spoken by Munsee-Delaware tribes who settled in the area in the 19th century after being displaced from farther east. bluffs dotted with prehistoric Native American

mounds A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * ...

look out over the river valleys. Two park resources have been recognized nationally: the Wyalusing Hardwood Forest is a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

and the Wyalusing State Park Mounds Archaeological District is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geology

The park is in the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the las ...

of Wisconsin, a portion of territory that remained ice free during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

, while land to the east and west was crushed by glaciers. The high bluffs along the Mississippi River and the large deep canyon of the Wisconsin River are evidence of glacial meltwaters reshaping this region. Wyalusing

History

John Nolen John Nolen (June 14, 1869 – February 18, 1937) was an American landscape architect, planning consultant, founding member of the American City Planning Institute and a writer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nolen was orphaned as a child a ...

recommended Wyalusing as one of four locations for Wisconsin’s first state parks in a 1909 report to the State Parks Board. It became Wisconsin's fourth state park when it was established in 1917 on land originally belonging to former State Senator Robert Glenn. Originally named Nelson Dewey State Park after Wisconsin’s first governor, it was changed to Wyalusing State Park in 1937.

Visitor Information

Hours

The park is open year-round from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Map

PDF Map

Hiking Trails

Wyalusing has more than of hiking trails with varying difficulty. * Bluff Trail - * Mississippi Ridge Trail - * Old Wagon Road Trail - * Sand Cave Trail - * Sugar Maple Nature Trail - loop * Turkey Hollow Trail - loop * Walnut Springs Trail - * Whitetail Meadows Trail - or loop

Canoe Trails

* Canoe Trail - - Canoeists travel down stream (with the current) through the backwaters of the

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a ,

Bird Watching

Over 100 bird species have been observed in Wyalusing State Park, including

yellow-throated warbler The yellow-throated warbler (''Setophaga dominica'') is a small migratory songbird species breeding in temperate North America. It belongs to the New World warbler family (Parulidae). Description In summer, male yellow-throated warblers displ ...

prothonotary warbler The prothonotary warbler (''Protonotaria citrea'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is named for its plumage which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (named prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic church. ...

Bell's vireo Bell's vireo (''Vireo bellii'') is a songbird that migrates between a breeding range in Western North America and a winter range in Central America. It is dull olive-gray above and whitish below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint wing bar ...

Henslow's sparrow __NOTOC__ Henslow's sparrow (''Centronyx henslowii'') is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus ''Emberiza'' and called ''Hens ...

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

and

red-shouldered hawk The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...

, and bald eagle. The area is listed as one of the “Wisconsin Important Bird Areas” by th
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative
Th
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks
organization presented Wyalusing State Park System the 2018 Gold Seal Award for Best State Park System for Eagle Watching.

Camping & Group Camp

Camping

There are two main campgrounds: Homestead and Wisconsin Ridge, offering a total of 114 campsites

Hugh Harper Indoor Group Camp

The Hugh Harper Indoor Group Camp is the largest of only three indoor group camps in the Wisconsin State Park system. It has four dorm buildings (two are fully accessible) that can house up to 27 people each. There are two bathrooms in each dorm that have showers, toilets and sinks.

Astronomy Center

The Lawrence L. Huser Astronomy Center is located inside the park. It is one of only two astronomy observatories located in Wisconsin state parks and features a 16-inch telescope. Groundbreaking for the Center took place in October 1999 and it was dedicated on June 8, 2003. It is named for Lawrence Huser, a park ranger who worked at Wyalusing for 30 years, beginning in 1952. The Center and observatory are run by th
Starsplitters
a local nonprofit group that conducts free seasonal astronomy programs at the Center.

Passenger Pigeon Monument

In 1947, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology (WSORC) erected a monument to the now-extinct

passenger pigeon The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (''Ectopistes migratorius'') is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word ''passager'', meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits ...

in Wyalusing State Park. It is the only monument in the United States dedicated to the passenger pigeon. The inscription on the monument, drafted by ornithologist Arlie W. Schorger, reads: "Dedicated to the last Wisconsin Passenger Pigeon shot at Babcock, Sept. 1899. This species became extinct through the avarice and thoughtlessness of man."
Aldo Leopold wrote the essay “On a Monument to the Pigeon” on the occasion of the dedication of the monument in 1947. A version of this essay appeared in his book A Sand County Almanac.
The monument was restored and rededicated in 2014, in observance of the centenary of the pigeon’s extinction. At the rededication ceremony, Stanley Temple, Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, delivered a keynote speech.

References

External links

Wyalusing State Park
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Friends of Wyalusing State Park

Starsplitters at Lawrence L. Huser Astronomy Center
{{authority control Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Driftless Area IUCN Category V National Natural Landmarks in Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1917 Protected areas of Grant County, Wisconsin Protected areas on the Mississippi River State parks of Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Grant County, Wisconsin 1917 establishments in Wisconsin