Snow Bottom

State Natural Area (No. 262)

Location: Grant County. T7N-R1W, Sections 27, 28, 34, 35. 444 acres.

Access: From the intersection of State Highway 18 and County G west of Montfort, go north on G 4.6 miles, then east on Bowers Road 1.6 miles to a small parking area just west of the Blue River. Walk north into the site.

Description: Snow Bottom State Natural Area features a diverse and spectacular landscape encompassing the most significant remaining pine relicts in Wisconsin, as well as many other important and uncommon native plant communities including fen and springs, southern dry-mesic forest and oak woodland, riparian areas, and geological features. Located on the scattered sandstone outcrops are the pine relicts-- isolated stands of white and red pine with occasional jack pine. Understory plant species include numerous evergreen and ericaceous species such as blueberry, huckleberry, pipsissewa, and partrigeberry. Red oak dominates the dry-mesic forest with white oak, sugar maple, basswood, and red maple and the herbaceous understory is diverse with jack-in-the-pulpit, enchanter's nightshade, large-flowered bellwort, interrupted fern, lady fern, tick-trefoils, and hog peanut. To the detriment of the oaks, more mesophytic, shade-tolerant tree species are becoming established under current management practices and fire suppression. Also present is a diverse wetland of calcareous fen and springs that supports numerous calciphitic plants such as shrubby cinquefoil, grass-of-parnassus, Kalm's lobelia, Ohio goldenrod, boneset, and swamp thistle. Snow Bottom is owned jointly by the DNR and private landowners and was designated a State Natural Area in 1992.