Photo essay: The prairie at Lakeshore State Park is abloom!

July 15, 2024  |  Topics: Places

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By Eddee Daniel

Consider this: There’s a newly developed prairie on an artificial island in the Lake Michigan harbor of the most populous city in Wisconsin. Really. And not just a postage-stamp sampling of a prairie, but acres and acres of tall grasses and wildflowers. It’s always a treat to see; I never tire of going there to witness the seasonal changes. And it’s a special treat when I get to join a guided tour of the prairie with someone who really knows the names of all those wildflowers—and more! Which, in this case, was our DNR naturalist guide Anne Duffy.

Consider this: Historically, prairies were a major ecosystem in Wisconsin. If you thought, as I did until recently, that our state was all about trees, then it will come as a surprise to you, as it did to me, that a huge portion of pre-colonial Wisconsin was oak savanna and prairie—in fact the southern half of the state was mostly comprised of these two ecosystems. So, while it’s still a bit anomalous to have an artificial island within earshot of the Summerfest cacophony, it is totally fitting that it has been seeded with prairie plants.

Speaking of Summerfest, the tour was held during the run of the annual music festival. While the gates were not yet opened on that Saturday morning, many of the streets all around it were blocked off completely, or barricaded to constrict traffic, which made getting to and parking near Lakeshore State Park an unusual challenge. I finally managed to make my way to the southern end of the park, where there is dedicated parking around the back side of the Summerfest Main Stage. Then I had to walk the length of the park to reach the beginning of the tour at the north end. I was late. But, though the tour was already in progress, at the pace they were going it hadn’t gotten far.

The big surprise was how many people made it to the park for the tour under these conditions. Did I mention it was already hot in the shade-free park at 9:00 am? I didn’t do a head count—and people tended to come and go to some extent—but it seemed to be around twenty. What was not a surprise was the constant stream of other people going past our group in both directions the entire time—joggers, cyclists, strollers, families: you name it. Lakeshore State Park is a popular place on a nice weekend day.

It took just under ten minutes for me to walk the park from end to end from my car. In an hour, however, our tour didn’t even make it halfway back—full as it was with plant identifications and prairie information. But since I still had to return to my car I was blessed with the full round trip. Here then is a selection of the photos I shot along the way.

Related stories (Lakeshore State Park):

Phenology at Lakeshore State Park

The Birds Are Here: Public Art Lands on Lakeshore State Park

Groundhog Day at Lakeshore State Park

Sturgeon Fest

Sturgeon Fest: A Child’s Perspective

Tips for taking photos at Lakeshore State Park (or any park!)

Related stories (prairie restoration):

The Prairie: Bristol Woods County Park

The Seed Idea: Smolenski Park Prairie Restoration

Young Prairie: Restoration and Recreation

Eddee Daniel is a board member of Preserve Our Parks.

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