Park Info

Quick stats:

2,882 acres
75,594 annual visits

Naturalist:

Due to budget reductions, naturalist programs at this park will no longer be available.

Wildlife

Raccoon, fox, deer, warblers (blue-winged and Cerulean), tufted titmice, and blue-gray gnat catchers are just a few of the residents in the park.

History

When the first settlers arrived in 1854, they discovered an island of woods in the vast oak savanna prairie which now makes up Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. Sugar maple, basswood, elm, green ash, and ironwood trees shaded the land. Over 50 varieties of wildflowers, along with countless varieties of ferns and mushrooms grew in the Big Woods.

Geology

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park comprises two nearly horizontal layers: a layer of glacial drift about 150 feet thick overlying a layer of Platteville Limestone. The limestone is visible only where the drift has been eroded away at Hidden Falls and along Prairie Creek.

Landscape

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is a wildflower garden in the spring. Feast your eyes on sharp-lobed hepatica and the dwarf trout lily which blooms in April. The dwarf trout lily is listed on the Federal endangered species list.