La Crosse River Trail Prairies

State Natural Area (No. 184)

Location: Along the La Crosse River State Trail between Bangor and Sparta, Monroe and La Crosse Counties. T16N-R5W, Sections 2, 3. T17N-R4W, Sections 27, 28, 29, 31, 32. T17N-R5W, Sections 35, 36. 70 acres.

Access: From the La Crosse River State Trail in Rockland, bike or hike the trail east or west. The segments can also be accessed by town and county road crossings.

Description: The La Crosse River Trail Prairie is situated in the Western Coulees and Ridges ecoregion of Wisconsin and features stretches of dry-mesic to dry prairie in a former railroad right-of-way. The long, linear remnants lie on a sandy terrace of the La Crosse River and are indicative of the once vast prairie and savanna complex that covered this portion of the state. The prairie flora is diverse with big and little blue-stem, Indian grass, and switch grass dominating. The drier Monroe County remnant includes species such as white wild indigo, cream wild indigo, white and purple prairie clover, lead-plant, prairie bush-clover, plains larkspur, pasqueflower, prairie coreopsis, stiff cinquefoil, sky blue and silky aster, thimbleweed, and more. The La Crosse County segment is more mesic with a different assemblage of species including heath aster, compass plant, stiff and showy goldenrod, and New Jersey tea. A few wet pockets also exist with cat-tail, sedges, prairie cord grass, cup plant and Canada milk-vetch. Scattered along the right-of-way are young bur oak openings and small sand blows being stabilized by false heather. The La Crosse River Trail Prairie is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1983.