High Cliff State Park


High Cliff State Park is a Wisconsin list of [Wisconsin state parks|state park] near Sherwood, Wisconsin. It is the only state-owned recreation area located on Lake Winnebago. The park got its name from cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, a land formation east of the shore of Lake Winnebago that stretches north through northeast Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and Ontario to Niagara Falls and New York State.
A new Master Plan for the park created in 2013 aims to nearly double the size of the park, to add new amenities, and expand conservation efforts.

Activities and amenities

  • Trails: Hiking trails include the limestone-surfaced Indian Mound Trail. The north shoreline of Lake Winnebago can be seen from a observation tower at the top of the escarpment. Various trails are available for biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.
  • The park also offers camping, picnicking, boating, swimming, fishing, and hunting.
  • A statue of Red Bird, the Winnebago leader, overlooks the northeast end of Lake Winnebago.

    Effigy mounds

The effigy mounds at the top of the escarpment have led to a small part of the park being added to the National Register of Historic Places, listed as High Cliff Mounds. A trail meanders through six long-tailed mounds and several conical mounds. Out of the original 30 effigy mounds in High Cliff, only nine remain, among them a panther mound that reaches 285 feet in length, as well as mounds presenting a bird and one that was most likely a bear. The mounds are consistent with other mound groups found at the peak of the Niagara Escarpment along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago, including the Calumet [County Park Group].

Images


File:HighCliffStateParkWisconsinSign.jpg|The welcome sign for High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin, in 2007
File:LakeWinnebagoNorthHighCliffStateParkObservationTower.jpg|The north end of Lake Winnebago taken from the observation tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin
File:SherwoodWisconsinSWFromEscarpment.jpg|Looking west at the southwest corner of Sherwood, Wisconsin and the north tip of Lake Winnebago taken from the observation tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wisconsin
File:Wisconsin's High Cliff State Park.jpg|View of Wisconsin's High Cliff State Park
File:HighCliffStateParkPostOffice.jpg|The general store and post office for High Cliff State Park near Sherwood, Wisconsin
File:High Cliff State Park The Ledge Cliff.JPG|View of the cliff faces
File:High Cliff State Park The Ledge Outcrop.JPG|View of the outcrop on top of the bluff