Natural Bridge State Park
County Highway C, 3/4 mile northeast of Leland, Wisconsin

• In the Area
• How to Get There
• Nature

Natural Bridge State Park has a natural sandstone arch created by the eroding effects of wind and water.

The natural bridge has an opening 25 feet high by 35 feet wide. This weathered formation, located in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, was missed by the glaciers during the last Ice Age. Near the bridge is a rock shelter used by people when the glacier was melting, 11,000 years ago.

The park, established in 1973, totals 530 acres including a 60-acre state natural area. Winding through part of the natural area is a self-guiding nature trail with information about Native Americans' uses of plants. There's a 2-mile hiking trail through the woods south of the highway. Climbing on the arch itself or going into the shelter are prohibited to protect the natural area.

Park Map [PDF]

A parking lot and picnic area are just off County Highway C. The park is for day use only. There is no camping at Natural Bridge.

Nature

The park's native land cover is mainly oak woods, with open fields and patches of native prairie. A number of wildflowers bloom throughout the growing season, and bird watchers may see such species as turkey vultures, pileated woodpeckers, and, in winter, bald eagles. Woodchucks sometimes play among the ledges of the bridge.

In the Area

Baraboo [exit DNR]
Devil's Lake State Park
Mid-Continent Railway Museum [exit DNR]
Reedsburg [exit DNR]
Sauk Prairie [exit DNR]
Taliesin [exit DNR]
Tower Hill State Park

How to Get There

Take U.S. Highway 12 south from Baraboo or north from Sauk City to County Highway C. Go west on Highway C about 10 miles to the park. Geographic coordinates are 43° 20' 36.7" N, 89° 55' 56.6" W.

More Information

Hunting at Natural Bridge
Master Plan [PDF 413KB]
Western Coulee and Ridges Ecological Landscape

For more information, ask at the Devil's Lake State Park office, (608) 356-8301.