Wisconsin isn’t all flat
Check out these huge rock formations in Adams County
If you thought mesas and buttes were solely icons of the American Southwest, you haven't been to Wisconsin's Adams County.
The county in central Wisconsin is home to more than 20 named rock formations that in geological terms are mesas or buttes, but are more typically referred to as mounds or bluffs.
If you've driven I-94 through Camp Douglas you've seen the area's most easily visible ones, protected as part of Mill Bluff State Park (actually in Juneau and Monroe counties). The blocky, forested bluffs tower 80 to 200 feet above the surrounding landscape, with the interstate squeezing between two of them. It's a jarring disruption of the normal Wisconsin vistas of pastoral farmland and rolling hills.
The sandstone formations are the remnants of islands in glacial Lake Wisconsin, which was formed when ice plugged up the Wisconsin River near the Dells during the last Wisconsin glaciation. Wind and waves eroded the soft sandstone sides of the formations, leaving behind the steep-sided mesas, buttes (smaller bluffs) and pinnacles (narrow columns) you see today.
It's easier to see the bluffs in the early spring or late fall, when the leaves are gone (and the bugs, too).
Check out these formations on a day trip in the area.
Quincy and Lone bluffs
Start your trip at Quincy Bluff and Wetlands State Natural Area in Adams east of Castle Rock Lake. There are two parking areas, one on the west side, on 16th Drive, and one on the east, on 14th Drive.
There aren't any official trails, but you can follow unofficial ones from the western lot to the natural area's namesake, a two-mile-long butte. A 3-mile trail from the eastern lot leads to Lone Bluff, which offers a few spots to scramble to the top for views of the surrounding countryside, including Quincy Bluff.
If you're visiting this natural area in the summer, wear pants and plenty of bug spray — ticks and mosquitos are abundant, especially along the trails near the west-side parking lot.
Roche-A-Cri
The centerpiece of this state park is a 300-foot-high outcrop that you'll see as you head north on Highway 13 through Friendship. A 3.5-mile trail circles the base of the mound, providing views of petroglyphs and pictographs that date to A.D. 900. Another trail leads to the top of the mound and offers views of other formations including Quincy Bluff, about 6.5 miles southwest; Friendship Mound, one mile southwest; and Necedah Mound, 12 miles west.
From October through April the main gate is closed, and visitors must park at the winter lot on Czech Ave. The lot requires a state parks admission sticker and has a self-registration station.
Note that the stairs to the top of the mound and the petroglyphs viewing platform are currently closed, but you can view both from the ground.
Ship Rock
Find this formation at a small wayside on Highway 21 west of Coloma. Vandals have marred much of this formation's base with graffiti, but it's still worth seeing in its entirety. A few distinct columns of layered sandstone give the narrow outcrop the appearance of a ship with smokestacks.
Rabbit Rock
Head back to Highway 13 and drive north to find this small park in the town of Big Flatts. The top of this formation gives it its name — look for a rabbit sitting on its haunches looking north. You can walk around the base of the rock, and scramble to the top.
Mill Bluff
While it's not in Adams County, this state park is worth a final stop, especially since it's right off I-90/94 northwest of Camp Douglas. The park is one of nine units of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve and is home to eight bluffs ranging from 80 to 200 feet tall.
Stairs lead to an observation tower on the top of Mill Bluff (on the south side of the interstate), which provides views of Bee and Long bluffs to the north. On the north side of the highway, a small parking lot provides access to a trail that circles Camel Bluff, Cleopatra's Needle and Devil's Monument.
The gate to the main parking lot on Highway W is closed in the off-season, but visitors are permitted to park at the gate and walk into the park. This park requires an admission sticker.
Note that the stairs to the top of Mill Bluff are temporarily closed. For up-todate conditions this and all state parks, visit wiparks.net.
Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis@ journalsentinel.com.