Wyalusing State Park

Wyalusing State Park
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Wyalusing State Park
Location	Grant, Wisconsin, United States
Nearest city	Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Coordinates	42°58′47″N 91°6′31″W
Area	2,628 acres (10.64 km2)
Established	1917
Governing body	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1973
Website	Wyalusing State Park

View of the Mississippi River valley at the confluence of the Wisconsin River from Wyalusing State Park

Wyalusing State Park /waɪ.əˈluːsɪŋ/ is a 2,628-acre (1,064 ha) Wisconsin state park at the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers in the town of Wyalusing, just south of Prairie du Chien. 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. 500-foot-high (150 m) bluffs dotted with prehistoric Native American mounds look out over the river valleys. Two park resources have been recognized nationally: the Wyalusing Hardwood Forest is a National Natural Landmark and the Wyalusing State Park Mounds Archaeological District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geology

The park is in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, a portion of territory that remained ice free during the last ice age, 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 State Park seen from the west

History

The park was named Nelson Dewey State Park when it was established in 1917. The name 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

• Bluff Trail - 0.9 miles (1.4 km)
• Mississippi Ridge Trail - 1.8 miles (2.9 km)
• Old Wagon Road Trail - 0.8 miles (1.3 km)
• Sand Cave Trail - 1.6 miles (2.6 km)
• Sugar Maple Nature Trail - 1.5 miles (2.4 km) loop
• Turkey Hollow Trail - 2.3 miles (3.7 km) loop
• Walnut Springs Trail - 0.5 miles (0.80 km)
• Whitetail Meadows Trail - 1.7 miles (2.7 km) or 3.1 miles (5.0 km) loop

Canoe Trails

• Canoe Trail - 6.0 miles (9.7 km) - Canoeists travel down stream (with the current) until they reach an area of backwater that then leads back to the boat landing. At every major intersection of waterways, there are blue and white canoe trail signs. There are no signs at the end of the sloughs leading back to the canoe trail, only at intersections.

Astronomy Center

The Lawrence L. Huser Astronomy Center, named after a park ranger who worked at Wyalusing for 30 years, is located inside the park. It is one of only two astronomy observatories located in Wisconsin state parks. Groundbreaking for the Center took place in October 1999.

The Center and observatory are run by the Starsplitters, a local nonprofit group that conducts astronomy programs at the Center.

Passenger Pigeon Monument

In 1947, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology (WSORC) erected a monument to the Passenger Pigeon in Wyalusing State Park. 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 rededicated on May 17, 2014. At the rededication ceremony, Stanley Temple, Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, delivered a keynote speech.

External links

• Wyalusing State Park Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
• Wyalusing State Park History
• Friends of Wyalusing State Park
• Starsplitters at Lawrence L. Huser Astronomy Center