Midway Railroad Prairie

State Natural Area (No. 18)

Location: La Crosse County. T17N-R7W, Sections 29, 30. 3 acres.

Access: From the southernmost intersection of State Highway 35 and County Highway OT in Midway (north of Onalaska), go west on OT less than 0.1 mile, then south on County Highway ZM 0.1 mile. Park along the road near the Midway Prairie sign on the right. Walk down slope into the prairie. Also accessible from the Great River State Trail.

Description: Midway Prairie is a small dry-mesic sand prairie remnant on a western-facing slope of a Mississippi River terrace. Soils are Sparta and Plainfield sands and loamy sands. Although the site was originally established to preserve the early spring show of pasque flower, the prairie is diverse and contains more than 70 species of prairie plants. The prairie contains two rare plants - clustered poppy mallow (Callirhoe triangulata) and small-flowered wild bean (Strophostyles leiosperma). Representative forb species include lead-plant, puccoons, poppy mallow, silky aster, and purple prairie-clover; the dominant grasses are porcupine grass, switch grass, June grass, big blue-stem, and little blue-stem. Common animals are brown snake, field sparrow, red-winged blackbird, and American goldfinch. Midway Railroad Prairie is owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 1955.