Woodland Dunes

State Natural Area (No. 252)

Location: At Woodland Dunes Nature Center, Manitowoc County. T19N-R24E, Sections 2, 3, 10. 387 acres.

Access: From the junction of State Highways 42 and 310 in Two Rivers, go west on 310 about 1.2 miles to Woodland Dunes Nature Center on the north side of the road. Trailheads are located at the nature center and off Goodwin Road. Pick up a trail guide at the office.

Description: Woodland Dunes features a low area of ridge and swale topography near Lake Michigan, similar to that at Point Beach State Forest a few miles to the north. The series of narrow, parallel sand ridges represent former beach lines of Lake Michigan as water levels fell during post-glacial times. The ridges are separated by perennially wet swales. About two-thirds of the ridges are timbered with aspen, white birch, and red maple; the remaining third support a mature forest of yellow birch, beech, hemlock, and white pine. The understory contains elements typical of northern mesic forest, including shining club-moss, spinulose wood fern, American starfower, naked miterwort, and yellow-blue-bead-lily. Ash, elm, and alder dominate the swales with occasional patches of dogwood, willow, and sedges. White cedar, with occasional tamarack, is also found in the swales and on the ridge edges. Sweet colt’s-foot (Petasites sagittatus), a threatened plant species, is found here in small numbers. Woodland Dunes, with its variety of habitats and proximity to Lake Michigan, is used by a great diversity of birds. Shorebirds utilize a nearby river marsh and often forage in adjacent farm fields. Songbirds, especially warblers and thrushes, make use of the forested portions of the dunes during migration. Southern bird species such as hooded warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher, and white-eyed vireo are at the northern edge of their range here. The natural area is an excellent place to view all of Wisconsin’s raptors during their fall migration down the lakeshore. Woodland Dunes is owned and managed by Woodland Dunes Nature Center and was designated a State Natural Area in 1992.