Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Wisconsin's northernmost landscape juts out into Lake Superior as the scenic archipelago known as the Apostle Islands. The national lakeshore includes 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland Lake Superior shoreline, featuring pristine stretches of sand beach, spectacular sea caves, remnant old-growth forests, resident bald eagles and black bears, and the largest collection of lighthouses anywhere in the National Park System.
For detailed information on the park's features and programs, fascinating stories, and links to a wide variety of related sites enter our Virtual Visitor Center by clicking the "In Depth" link to the right.
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Located in Wisconsin's Northwoods, are the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forests. The name Chequamegon derives from the Chippewa Indian language and means "place of shallow water." The reference is to Chequamegon Bay, extending from Ashland into Lake Superior. Explore Chequamegon's 845,000 acres any season of the year and discover its many lakes, rivers, and streams; pine, spruce, maple, aspen, and balsam forests; and extensive jack pine plantations.
Eau Galle Flood Control Project The Main Day Use Area is located in a scenic area with steep hills, valleys, bluffs, streams and lakes. Highland Ridge Campground is located in a heavily wooded area approximately 4 miles south of I-94.
Fox River NWR Fox River NWR, approximately 60 miles to the west of Horicon NWR in Marquette County, is managed as an unstaffed unit. The Refuge is an important breeding and staging area for the greater sandhill crane. The Refuge has 10 distinct plant communities ranging from upland coniferous and deciduous woodlands to five wetland communities. This plant diversity is responsible for the presence of about 160 different species of wildlife. Species diversity of this extent within a relatively small confined area is not found in many other parts of Wisconsin.
Horicon NWR Horicon NWR is located on the west branch of the Rock River in southeastern Wisconsin. The Refuge manages the northern two thirds and the Department of Natural Resources manages the southern one third of the Horicon Marsh, a shallow peat-filled lakebed gouged out by the Wisconsin Glacier thousands of years ago. This basin is 14 miles long and from 3-5 miles wide. At 32,000 acres, Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. Horicon Marsh is bounded on the east by a sharply rising ridge of the Niagara escarpment which rises approximately 250 feet above the marsh to an elevation of 1,100 feet. The land to the west of the marsh rises slowly and is dotted with many small potholes and several shallow lakes. Major land types identified on the refuge include wetland, of which the majority are classified as deep, freshwater marsh; and uplands, including forestland/brushland habitat. In 1990, Horicon Marsh was designated a "Wetland of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention. Up to 300,000 Canada geese stage on the Refuge in the fall. The area is also a mecca for ducks, cranes, herons, and shorebirds.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail The Ice Age National Scenic Trail travels through the edges of the glacier that passed into Wisconsin.
