High Cliff State Park is a 1,187-acre (480 ha) Wisconsin state park near Sherwood, Wisconsin. It is the only state-owned recreation area located on Lake Winnebago.[2] The park got its name from cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, a land formation east of the shore of Lake Winnebago that stretches north through northeast Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and Ontario to Niagara Falls and New York State.[2]
| High Cliff State Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location of High Cliff State Park in Wisconsin  High Cliff State Park (the United States) | |
| Location | Calumet, Wisconsin, United States |
| Nearest city | Appleton |
| Coordinates | 44°09′33″N 88°17′22″W / 44.15917°N 88.28944°W |
| Area | 1,187 acres (4.80 km2) |
| Established | 1956 |
| Governing body | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |
| Website | High Cliff State Park |
High Cliff Mounds | |
| Location | Calumet County, Wisconsin, USA |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Sherwood |
| Built | 500–1500 AD |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001629 |
| Added to NRHP | January 25, 1997[1] |
A new Master Plan for the park created in 2013 aims to nearly double the size of the park, to add new amenities, and expand conservation efforts.[3]
Activities and amenities
edit- Trails: Hiking trails include the .6-mile (0.97 km) limestone-surfaced Indian Mound Trail. The north shoreline of Lake Winnebago can be seen from a 40-foot-tall (12 m) observation tower at the top of the escarpment. Various trails are available for biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.[4]
- The park also offers camping, picnicking, boating, swimming, fishing, and hunting.[4]
- A statue of Red Bird, the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) leader, overlooks the northeast end of Lake Winnebago.[5]
Effigy mounds
editThe effigy mounds at the top of the escarpment have led to a small part of the park being added to the National Register of Historic Places, listed as High Cliff Mounds.[1] A trail meanders through six long-tailed mounds and several conical mounds.[6] Out of the original 30 effigy mounds in High Cliff, only nine remain, among them a panther mound that reaches 285 feet in length, as well as mounds presenting a bird and one that was most likely a bear.[6][7] The mounds are consistent with other mound groups found at the peak of the Niagara Escarpment along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago, including the Calumet County Park Group.[6]
Images
edit-
The welcome sign for High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin, in 2007
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The north end of Lake Winnebago taken from the observation tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin
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Looking west at the southwest corner of Sherwood, Wisconsin and the north tip of Lake Winnebago taken from the observation tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin
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View of Wisconsin's High Cliff State Park
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The general store and post office for High Cliff State Park near Sherwood, Wisconsin
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View of the cliff faces
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View of the outcrop ontop of the bluff
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "High Cliff State Park". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. July 19, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ Wisconsin DNR. "High Cliff State Park 2013 Master Plan" (PDF).
- ^ a b "High Cliff State Park: Activities and recreation". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. July 19, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ Red Bird statue, other views
- ^ a b c Birmingham, Robert A.; Eisenberg, Leslie E. (2000). Indian Mounds of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 194. ISBN 0-299-16874-3. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
calumet county park mounds.
- ^ "High Cliff Effigy Mounds" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDf) on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
External links
edit- High Cliff State Park Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- High Cliff State Park 1982 Master Plan
- High Cliff State Park 2013 Master Plan