Devil’s Lake Oak Forest State Natural Area

Just a short distance and easy hike from the Devil’s Lake South Shore recreation area parking lot lies a beautifully preserved example of a very old oak forest.  Devil’s Lake Oak Forest State Natural Area offers a readily-accessible glimpse of this stately forest dominated by towering, 150-year old red oaks and a number of stately and ancient open-grown white oaks.  The visitor will also see hazelnut and viburnum shrubs, maidenhair ferns and wild geraniums in this forest.

A handful of rare birds nest in this area, including hooded and Kentucky warblers and Acadian flycatchers. The forested tract lies at the base of East Bluff of Devil’s Lake, in what once was the river bed of the ancient Wisconsin River.  During the last glaciation period, some 14,000 years ago, a wall of ice blocked this gap between the East Bluff and the South Bluff, causing the formation of what is now Devil’s Lake.  When the ice melted, a terminal moraine of rock and soil was left behind.  It is on this terminal moraine that this forest thrives. Recognizing the tract’s inherent ecological and aesthetic value, the state designated the site as a natural area more than 60 years ago.  Please stay on trails and don’t disturb plants or wildlife in this important natural area.