As the last ice age glacier rumbled across Wisconsin some 22,000 years ago, two fingerlike lobes of the ice sheet met along a 120-mile front in southeastern Wisconsin, burying the land beneath a mile-thick layer of ice.
After thousands and thousands of years, a warming climate signaled the end of the ice age. As the glacier melted, billions of tons of sand, gravel and rock trapped within the ice were left behind as landforms sculpted by raging torrents of meltwater.
The end result was Kettle Moraine, a beautiful, forested land of kames (gumdrop-shaped hills), eskers (ridges that resemble rivers of earth flowing across the land), kettles (bowl-shaped depressions, many of which hold sparkling lakes) and moraines (long, high hills or ridges of debris deposited wherever the glacier paused) that range for about 100 miles across southeastern Wisconsin. A major portion of this unique glacial landscape is preserved and protected within two separate units of Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Northern Kettle Moraine
The glacier’s handiwork is most distinctive in the 28,000-acre Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit, which runs for 25 miles across parts of Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Washington Counties between the communities of Kewaskum and Greenbush.
It’s one of nine units in Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scientific Reserve, which was established to preserve and interpret the state’s outstanding glacial features, and is an “affiliated area” of the National Park Service system.
To better understand how Kettle Moraine came into being, make an early stop at Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center, a half-mile south of the village of Dundee on Wisconsin Highway 67. The center offers an absorbing film, “Night of the Sun,” which tells the story of the glaciers and the landforms they created.
There’s a splendid view of nearby glacial features from the center’s veranda-Dundee Mountain, a huge kame standing 255-feet high; smaller kames rising above a broad, flat plain; and the end moraine of a glacial lobe.
A forest map, available free at the center, will help you find the standouts among the area’s glacial gems. Most are located along Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, which meanders through the oak, maple, hickory and pine forest along state and county highways. The route is marked by green acorn-shaped signs and runs for 120 miles between, and through, both units of the forest. The scenery along the way is beautiful at any time of the year, and spectacular during autumn.
Dundee Mountain, the highest kame in the forest, is a half-mile east of Dundee, at the edge of Long Lake Recreation Area. Look to the south as you head east from Dundee and you’ll see a gumdrop-shaped kame that may be the most photographed feature in the forest. Continue north and east on the Scenic Drive to reach Parnell Esker, an outstanding example of these “rivers of earth,” and Greenbush Kettle, the best known kettle in the forest.
Two major recreation areas-Long Lake, near Dundee, and Mauthee Lake, a mile south of the village of New Prospect-offer boating, swimming, fishing, picnicking, hiking trails and campgrounds with showers. Several waysides with picnic areas are located along the Scenic Drive, including the Parnell Esker wayside, where an observation tower offers terrific views of the surrounding countryside. You can explore the forest on 37 miles of hiking and nature trails, including a 4-mile trail along Parnell Esker.
When you’re ready for a change of pace, the State Historical Society’s Wade House and Wesley Jung Carriage Museum is near Greenbush, at the northern edge of the forest. Costumed interpreters lead guided tours of the restored, three-story 1850s stagecoach inn, re-enacting the lives of pioneer innkeepers with activities that include cooking, gardening and blacksmithing. Then hop aboard a horse-drawn carriage for a short ride to Wesley Jung Carriage Museum, which houses Wisconsin’s largest collection of hand- and horse-drawn carriages, cutters, sleds and working wagons.
Southern Kettle Moraine
Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit lies 50 miles south of the northern unit, between Dousman and Whitewater, and covers 18,000 acres in parts of Waukesha, Jefferson and Walworth Counties. Home to white-tailed deer, fox, coyotes, beavers, wild turkeys and a host of other wildlife, the southern forest is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the heavily-industrialized southeastern corner of the state.
The forest visitor center, 3 miles west of Eagle on Wisconsin Highway 59, has a small natural history museum with exhibits about forest plant and wildlife, Native American and pioneer history, and regional geology. A 20-minute slide program about the glaciers and local history is shown on the hour. Nature hikes and interpretive programs are offered from April through October.
You can enjoy the lush, rolling glacial hills simply by following the Scenic Drive, but a map (free at the visitor center) makes it easier to find forest trailheads and recreation areas.
One of the more interesting areas here is Paradise Springs Nature Trail, 1 mile west of Eagle on Wisconsin Highway 59 and a half-mile north on County N. Looping through the woods where a resort and spring-water bottling plant once stood, the half-mile paved trail follows Paradise Springs Creek to a trout pond and an old spring house.
There’s some lovely glacial scenery, including kettle depressions, small kames and crevasse fills (ridges formed when glacial debris filled in huge cracks in the ice) along the wooded Scuppermong Springs Hiking and Ski Trail, a half-mile east of State Highway 67 on County ZZ, near the forest’s north entrance.
Two major recreation areas-Ottawa Lake, near the north entrance, and Whitewater Lake, in the south near Whitewater-offer boating, swimming, fishing, picnicking, hiking trails and campgrounds with showers. Pine Woods Campground, just northeast of Ottawa Lake, also offers campsites and showers.
The State Historical Society’s Old World Wisconsin, near Eagle, offers exploring of a different sort. Covering 576 acres, the outdoor museum of living history preserves about 50 original log houses, barns, farm buildings, schools and churches constructed by 19th-Century settlers, arranged and furnished to interpret the lifestyles and ethnic and cultural traditions of early pioneers.
PARK FEES, ACCOMMODATIONS AND SITES AT KETTLE MORAINE
You can drive through Kettle Moraine State Forest without paying an admission fee, but a park vehicle sticker is required if you stop at any public-use area. One-day stickers cost $4 for state residents, $6 for non-residents; annual stickers are $15 for state residents, $24 for non-residents. A two-hour park pass is $2.
– Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit is 20 miles west of Sheboygan, Wis., and about 150 miles northwest of Chicago. Public-use areas are open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, year-round. Admission: park vehicle sticker or National Park Service Federal Golden Eagle, Golden Age or Golden Access Passport. Camping fees are $7 per night ($9 for out-of-state residents), Sunday through Thursday; $9 per night ($11 non-residents) Friday and Saturday. Electrical hookups cost $3 per night. Contact: Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit, P.O. Box 410, Campbellsport, Wis. 53010; 414-626-2116.
– Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, year-round. Admission: free (park vehicle sticker not required). Contact: Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center, Campbellsport, Wis. 53010; 414-533-8322.
– Wade House & Wesley Jung Carriage Museum is in Greenbush, 20 miles west of Sheboygan. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, May 1 through Oct. 31; the last tour begins at 4 p.m. Admission: adults, $5; ages 65 and over, $4.50; ages 5-12, $2.50; under age 5 free; carriage rides $1 per person. Civil War Weekend, with re-enactors demonstrating camp life and battle re-enactments, will be held Sept. 24 and 25. Contact: Wade House & Wesley Jung Carriage Museum, P.O. Box 34, Greenbush, Wis. 53026; 414-526-3271.
– Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit is 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee and about 95 miles northwest of Chicago. Public-use areas are open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, year-round. Admission: park vehicle sticker. Camping fees are $6-$10 per night ($8-$12 non-residents). Electrical hookups cost $3 per night. Contact: Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit, P.O. Box 70, Eagle, Wis. 53119; 414-594-2136.
– Old World Wisconsin is 2 miles south of Eagle off Wisconsin Highway 67. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (5 p.m. in July and August), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 1 through Oct. 31. Admission: adults, $7; ages 65 and over, $6.30; ages 5-12, $3; under age 5, free; tram fare to buildings $2. Plowing and Planting Weekend, featuring horses and oxen working the land, will be held Sept. 17 and 18. Contact: Old World Wisconsin, S103 W37890 Highway 67, Eagle, Wis. 53119; 414-594-2116.
– Accommodations, Northern Kettle Moraine: 52 Stafford, a 20-room Irish guest house, 52 Stafford St., Plymouth, Wis. 53073, offers a double room for $69.50-$99.50 per night; meals are available (414-893-0552).
– Yankee Hill Bed & Breakfast, 405 Collins St., Plymouth, Wis. 53073, offers a double room for $68-$94 per night including continental breakfast (414-892-2222).
– Accommodations, Southern Kettle Moraine: Eagle Centre House Bed & Breakfast, W370 S9590 Highway 67, Eagle, Wis. 53119, offers a double room for $85-$125 per night including a full breakfast (414-363-4700).
– Super 8 Motel, 917 E. Milwaukee St., Whitewater, Wis. 53190, offers a double room for $49 per night Sunday through Thursday, $52 per night Friday and Saturday (414-473-8818).
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Both units of Kettle Moraine State Forest provide wheelchair-accessible campsites, showers, restrooms, picnic areas and fishing piers. Beach bathhouses at the northern unit’s Long Lake and Mauthee Lake Recreation Areas, and Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center are wheelchair accessible. The southern unit visitor and nature center and Paradise Springs Nature Trail are wheelchair accessible. A cabin at Ottawa Lake Recreation Area can be reserved by people with disabilities. The carriage museum and restrooms at Wade House & Wesley Jung Carriage Museum are wheelchair accessible, as are the visitor center and restrooms at Old World Wisconsin.
