See more photos from my visit to Parfrey’s Glen Natural Area in Wisconsin, about an hour outside of Madison. It really was amazingly beautiful – the pictures do not do it justice. The Parfrey’s Glen trail is under a mile but well worth visiting. If you want to hike more try the Ice Age National Scenic Trail or nearby Devil’s Lake State Park. The top photo is of me (John Hunter) at nearby Durwood’s Glen. The yellow flower is from Parfrey’s Glen.
Related: Coopers Rock State Forest, West Virginia – Metropolitan Museum of Art – South Carolina travel photos – The Importance of Management Improvement – Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach – North Cascades National Park
Parfrey’s Glen is Wisconsin’s first State Natural Area, is a spectacular gorge deeply incised into the sandstone conglomerate of the south flank of the Baraboo Hills. The exposed Cambrian strata provide excellent opportunities for geological interpretation. The walls of the glen – a Scottish word for a narrow, rocky ravine – are sandstone with embedded pebbles and boulders of quartzite.
I’m a distant relative of Robert Parfrey (1816-1884) who built the mill near where this beautiful spot is located. He eventually moved to NE Wisconsin and built a mill there in a town that now bears his name (Parfreyville). He eventually moved to Minnesota where he died and is buried. His brother Edward (1808-1868) was my great-great-grandfather who came to America from England in the 1850s and started a milling business there that continued in the family until the early 20th century when mills gave way to larger means of manufacture.