Big Eau Pleine Woods State Natural Area

This 105-acre SNA is located in Big Eau Pleine County Park occupying a peninsula jutting into 6,700-acre Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. It is the area’s best example of old growth mesic forest. Look for Bald Eagles and Red-shouldered Hawks. Red-necked and Eared Grebes can be seen along with a variety of shorebirds and herons. Overhead, Hooded Warblers hunt for insects in the sugar maple canopy. In the spring, White-throated Sparrows scratch for seeds and insects among the blooming carpet of bloodroot, trillium, violets and hepatica. In the fall, the sugar maple, yellow birch, and red oak put on a colorful show.

Directions: From Mosinee, go west 5.5 miles on Hwy 153, then south 6.3 miles on Eau Pleine Park Road to a parking area for the Giant Hardwoods Nature Trail west of road.

Gazetteer: Page 64, B-2 (prior to 10th edition). | Page 57, C-8 (10th edition).

Phone: 608/785-9000 (La Crosse WDNR).

Web site: WDNR Big Eau Pleine Woods State Natural Area

Signature Species: Cerulean Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher.

Rare species: American White Pelican, Winter Wren and Solitary Sandpiper.

Parking: Parking lots.

Nearest food & lodging: Mosinee.