Parfrey's Glen Natural Area Parfrey's Glen is a rocky gorge, a quarter mile long, in the south flank of the Baraboo Hills, approximately four (4) miles due east of Devil's Lake. It is a very special and fragile place. "Glen" is a Scottish word for a narrow, rocky ravine, and "Parfrey" is after Robert Parfrey (1816-1883), an Englishman who acquired the Glen property in 1865. Parfrey had the property until 1876 when he moved to Minnesota. The State bagan acquiring land at this locality is 1947. The land (Glen) is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under the Devil's Lake State Park Superintendent. The walls of the Glen are sandstone with embedded pebbles and boulders of quartzite. Pieces of guartzite up to about 1500 pounds must have been broken from nearby sea cliffs and swept offshore in order for this formation to be here. The uppermost end of the Glen, with its jumble of huge fallen rocks, has a depth of nearly a hundred feet. If we assume that the entire rock sequence exposed here represents say 10 million years, then the average apparent rate of accumulation was 10 feet per million years. The "average" conditions here - slow water transport of sand during relatively quiet periods, must have been interrupted every so often by brief, violent oceanic storms to form the quartzite zones. Because cold air settles at the bottom of slopes and in ravines, and because the gorge receives minimal sunlight, the plants in the Glen are more typical of northern Wisconsin than of this part of the State. Examples are yellow birch with its buttress roots sprawling over the rock walls, mountain maple, red elder, clintonia, and mountain clubmoss. The creek is a mountain-type stream and one of the few permanent drainages in the Baraboo Hills. In it lives a variety of aquatic insects, including some unusual and rare species. Parfrey's Glen creek is much used for research projects. Parfrey's Glen was established as the State's first natural area because of its geological interest and unusual plants. It has been designated by the Bureau of Endangered Resources for the purposes of scientific research, the teaching of conservation and natural history, and the preservation of plant and animal communities or individual members of these communities, and archeological sites for the use of future generations. Information provided by Department of Natural Resources A Visit to Parfrey's Glen One of my favorite places to go for enjoying the beauty of God's creations, peace of mind and soul, and to refresh my spirit to deal with the things in life, is Parfrey's Glen. On the way to Parfrey's Glen Here I am on the Merrimac Ferry that crosses the Wisconsin River (I canoed 67 1/2 miles of this river in 1984 ~ and this area is part of where we canoed). At Parfrey's you begin your hike in the parking lot and except for the beginning of the trail, most is hidden from view by the surrounding trees and undergrowth. But as you start up the trail, you are greeted by beauty that changes according to the seasons, the time of day, and where your feelings are at any given time, while visiting this beautiful place. There is a wonderful stream that weaves its way down through the Glen, at times nothing more than a trickle, others a rollicking, babbling brook. The stream at times is on the left and at others to your right. You can't always see it, but most of trail you can hear it. The stream is very elusive when it comes to photographing it because of the deep shadows within the Glen. For the most part, the winding, climbing path is gravel. But in some places it is wooden planking where it crosses over the stream, or in areas where the path needs to be elevated to prevent erosion and destruction of the natural balance of the area. There are ravines throughout the Glen, some rather small, others quite deep and large. As you go further into the Glen, you begin to see some incredible rock formations! Some go many, many feet in the air above you on both sides. Some are so close to the path that you are right next to them, and can admire the wonder of them. When the ground water is high, you can see where the water seeps through the sandy parts of the rock formations. Beautiful mosses grow on a lot of the rocks due to the almost constant moisture. The path (wooden planks) at the bottom left takes you between the rock formations ahead. At times you cannot see where the path is around the corner of the huge boulders. Even though I know what is ahead on the path, there is always a wonderful sense of adventure at this point. As you come through the jumble of fallen rocks and boulders, you hear and see the stream where it winds it's way through the exposed base of the boulders and tumbled rocks. Late in the day, when all is quiet in the Glen, and only you and another person are in the Glen, if you stand very quietly, you can hear the drums of days past. The end of the trail! The beautiful waterfall behind me (center of picture, just to the right of the tree) is part of the wonderful mountain stream that weaves down through the Glen. By the time you reach the this spot, you have a wonderful sense of accomplishment of reaching here. There is some real challenge just before the end of the trail where you are climbing the rocks to get here! The breathtaking beauty of the ravines is almost beyond description. I love the play of light and shadow, as it enhances this natural beauty, it is so changeable depending on the time of day. It is an interesting experience as you walk the trail to feel the changes in temperature in the deeper parts of the gorge. Sometimes it is a subtle difference and at others surprisingly cool. This is a view of the top of the boulders from the deepest part of the gorge, and the trees that grow there, many with exposed roots trailing down the sides. Ferns and other plants often are growing from the sides of the boulders. Another view of the trees on the tops of the boulders from the deepest part ~ again you see the beauty of light and shadows. Once again, the magnitude of just how far above you the tops of these incredible boulders are! Can you imagine how much water force it took to move these? One of my many favorites in the Glen is the beautiful maidenhair ferns that grow rather abundantly. I hope you enjoyed your walk with me, and that the beauty of God's creation in this very small part of our world, touched your heart and soul. Blessings upon you. © Created by Blulady September 22, 1998 ~ updated October 23, 1998 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All of the pictures on this page were taken by Blulady on 3 different trips to the Glen at 3 times of the day ~ mid-morning, early afternoon, and early evening. I tried on these three occasions to capture the essence of the Glen, and this is only a small part of the pictures taken. I took four rolls of 24 exposures and tried to choose which would scan the best and therefore present the Glen that I love so much. ~~ Please do not use these pictures without permission. ~~ My heartfelt thanks to my very special friend, Hilltopper, for scanning the pictures for me and making it possible for me to share them with you. Huggs to you, Topper! I thought this background was so representative of the surrounding areas of Devil's Lake and the Wisconsin River. Background was found at Heavenly Creations Coming soon!! The Glen in Winter! These friends have visited Parfrey's Glen with me.
It is a very special and fragile place.
"Glen" is a Scottish word for a narrow, rocky ravine, and "Parfrey" is after Robert Parfrey (1816-1883), an Englishman who acquired the Glen property in 1865. Parfrey had the property until 1876 when he moved to Minnesota.
The State bagan acquiring land at this locality is 1947. The land (Glen) is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under the Devil's Lake State Park Superintendent.
The walls of the Glen are sandstone with embedded pebbles and boulders of quartzite. Pieces of guartzite up to about 1500 pounds must have been broken from nearby sea cliffs and swept offshore in order for this formation to be here.
The uppermost end of the Glen, with its jumble of huge fallen rocks, has a depth of nearly a hundred feet. If we assume that the entire rock sequence exposed here represents say 10 million years, then the average apparent rate of accumulation was 10 feet per million years.
The "average" conditions here - slow water transport of sand during relatively quiet periods, must have been interrupted every so often by brief, violent oceanic storms to form the quartzite zones.
Because cold air settles at the bottom of slopes and in ravines, and because the gorge receives minimal sunlight, the plants in the Glen are more typical of northern Wisconsin than of this part of the State. Examples are yellow birch with its buttress roots sprawling over the rock walls, mountain maple, red elder, clintonia, and mountain clubmoss.
The creek is a mountain-type stream and one of the few permanent drainages in the Baraboo Hills. In it lives a variety of aquatic insects, including some unusual and rare species. Parfrey's Glen creek is much used for research projects.
Parfrey's Glen was established as the State's first natural area because of its geological interest and unusual plants. It has been designated by the Bureau of Endangered Resources for the purposes of scientific research, the teaching of conservation and natural history, and the preservation of plant and animal communities or individual members of these communities, and archeological sites for the use of future generations.
When the ground water is high, you can see where the water seeps through the sandy parts of the rock formations.
Beautiful mosses grow on a lot of the rocks due to the almost constant moisture.
Late in the day, when all is quiet in the Glen, and only you and another person are in the Glen, if you stand very quietly, you can hear the drums of days past.
I tried on these three occasions to capture the essence of the Glen, and this is only a small part of the pictures taken. I took four rolls of 24 exposures and tried to choose which would scan the best and therefore present the Glen that I love so much.