Rocky Arbor State Park
Rocky Arbor State Park is a 244-acre Wisconsin state park in the Wisconsin Dells region. The park was established in 1932 to protect sandstone outcrops eroded into picturesque walls and ledges.
The region is formed from Late Cambrian sandstone deposited 500 million years ago at the bottom of shallow inland seas. Much later the Wisconsin River flowed over this tract of land, carving channels into the sandstone. The river has since changed course, now running 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the east, leaving the rock walls of its former gorge exposed. A small creek now flows through the park, though in the opposite direction as the river once did.
Hunting is allowed in the area, so wearing the appropriate clothing in-season would be highly recommended for your safety.
This region is right in the middle of our state, easy to get to from everywhere else. Its biome is sand plains and prairie. The landscape was largely shaped when it sat at the bottom of huge Glacial Lake Wisconsin, which left behind sandy soils and a fairly flat landscape. One still can find eroded sandstone buttes, believed to have been islands during this time period, and certainly striking features as one travels through the region. There are scattered mixed hardwoods and pine plantations, as well as large areas of wetlands and grasslands. Prairie Chickens do their spring dances in this region. The threatened Karner Blue Butterflies live here, as do river otters. Timber Wolves have reached their southern range in this biome.
The Wisconsin Geocaching Association (WGA) is a group of geocachers dedicated to promoting and protecting geocaching within the state of Wisconsin. The WGA organizes geocaching events, works with land owners/managers on geocaching policies, educates the public at large about geocaching, and facilitates communication between WGA members. To learn more about the WGA visit: wi-geocaching.com.
2013 kicks off the beginning of the Wisconsin Geocaching Association State Parks series. It is our goal to place a geocache in every state park in the state of Wisconsin, so watch out for more in this series that encourages geocachers to explore the natural resources in this beautiful state of ours.
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to park manager Rebecca Green at Rocky Arbor State Park, and in-person consent was granted for cache placement. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at the Wisconsin DNR website.
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This a WGA STATE PARK SERIES geocache:
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