High Cliff State Park

High Cliff State Park
Outcrop
View of the outcrop on top of the bluff
High Cliff State Park is located in Wisconsin
High Cliff State Park
Location within Wisconsin
High Cliff State Park is located in the United States
High Cliff State Park
Location within the United States
Interactive map of High Cliff State Park
LocationCalumet County, Wisconsin, United States
Nearest cityAppleton
Coordinates44°09′33″N 88°17′22″W / 44.15917°N 88.28944°W / 44.15917; -88.28944
Area1,187 acres (480 ha)
Established1954[1]
AdministratorWisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Wisconsin State Parks
High Cliff Mounds
LocationCalumet County, Wisconsin, USA
Nearest citySherwood
Built500–1500 AD
NRHP reference No.96001629
Added to NRHPJanuary 25, 1997

High Cliff State Park is a 1,187-acre (480 ha) Wisconsin 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.[2]

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.[3]

Features

A statue of the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) leader Red Bird overlooks the northeast end of Lake Winnebago.[4]

The north shoreline of Lake Winnebago can be seen from a 40-foot-tall (12 m) observation tower at the top of the escarpment. Various trails are available for biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. Hiking trails include the .6-mile (0.97 km) limestone-surfaced Indian Mound Trail. The park also offers camping, picnicking, boating, swimming, fishing, and hunting.[5]

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.[6] 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.[6][7] 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.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History and Timeline of the Wisconsin State Park System". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  2. ↑ "High Cliff State Park". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  3. ↑ Wisconsin DNR. "High Cliff State Park 2013 Master Plan" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Red Bird statue, other views
  5. ↑ "High Cliff State Park: Recreation". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Birmingham, Robert A.; Eisenberg, Leslie E. (2000). Indian Mounds of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 194. ISBN 0-299-16874-3. Retrieved September 29, 2008. calumet county park mounds.
  7. ↑ "High Cliff Effigy Mounds" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
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