Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The topography is splendid. Canoe the languid Kickapoo a stone's throw from Amish
enclaves and some of the southern state's most unusual ecosystems. This is even the only
state park that caters to equestrians.
Much of the park's interior is established as a wildlife refuge. Along the line of demarc-
ation separating biotic zones, the natural areas include plant and tree life from northern and
southern Wisconsin, some of them rare stands.
Canoeing
The Kickapoo grazes the far northwestern perimeter of the state park and then bends away
and doubles back into the park's interior.
Hiking
The shortest of three exceedingly short hikes is the
Ice Cave Trail,
south off WIS 33 onto
HighwayF.Youcouldbroad-jumptotheendofthistrail.The
Hemlock Nature Trail
leads
into the Mt. Pisgah Hemlock Hardwoods Natural Landmark Area and ascends the mini
mighty mountain to the modest pinnacle at 1,220 feet, offering the best views in the park.
Lookforwildginsengandtrillium,aswellasshaggymaneandpuffballfungi(notfoundin
too many other places). The longest trail,
Old Settler's,
incorporates pathways foot-hewn
by homesteaders.
Camping
The main campground offers 30 sites, but it isn't much to ballyhoo. Not far beyond the
park's canoe landing, and east of WIS 131, is a primitive campsite. Reservations (888/
947-2257,
wisconsinstateparks.reserveamerica.com
, $10; non-residents pay $14 for sites,
plus a $10 daily admission) are a good idea in summer.
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center in 1869, and several of the community's
buildingsweredesignedbythefamedarchitect.AdaJames,apioneerinU.S.women'ssuf-
frage, was also born in Richland Center; she led a second wave of women's rights cam-
paigners to its ultimate fruition with the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Sights
Designer Frank Lloyd Wright dubbed it his “Mayan House,” and the red-brick
A. D. Ger-
man Warehouse,
with its flat roof and concrete frieze, does show some temple overtones.
