Parfrey’s Glen
Parfrey’s Glen was the first scientific area in Wisconsin and is the oldest state natural area. The Glen was chosen as a scientific area by Norman C. Fassett between 1945 and 1950 and the state natural area was formed in February 1952 to preserve the beautiful scenery. In the past, mills operated in the area, but by the end of the 1800s, mostly it was used for recreation. Severe erosion was being caused by trampling and littering from all the tourists. The area has been protected by taking out picnic facilities, moving a parking lot, establishing a hiking trail and not allowing hiking after evening hours or camping.

The Glen is a beautiful, special, and fragile place with unique plants, animals, and geology. A glen is a Scottish word for a narrow, rocky ravine and the walls of Parfrey’s Glen are sandstone with embedded pebbles and boulders of quartzite. The open rock faces are great places to see unique wildlife. The moss-covered walls and water seepage keep the glen cool and moist, so even though the Glen is in southern Wisconsin, you see a lot of plants and animals that are more common farther north in the state – like yellow birch, mountain maple, and red elder trees. Threatened species also make their homes in the Glen; the federally threatened northern monkshood and the state-threatened round stemmed false foxglove, cerulean warblers and Acadian flycatchers are all found in the Glen. Parfrey’s Glen Creek is a fast, cold, hardwater stream that flows through the gorge and has a very diverse group of insects. The rare caddisfly and a rare species of diving beetle are only two of the many bugs that live in the Glen’s cold creek waters.

Even though you can’t camp in Parfrey’s Glen, you can camp in the nearby Devil’s Lake State Park. The park and the natural area share a border, and the park also has 500-foot quartzite cliffs around a 360-acre lake. Many people come for the fishing and the lake is home to brown trout, walleye, northern pike, bass, and panfish. There are almost 30 miles of trail in the park, including a segment of the Ice Age National Trail. There are three campgrounds with 407 regular campsites, 124 of them with electric hookups.

Devil’s Lake State Park and the Parfrey’s Glen Natural Area are about two miles north of Baraboo and 30 miles north of Madison.