12,000 to 15,000 years ago, monstrous glaciers, over two miles thick at their point of origin, crept out of Canada to cover much of Wisconsin. Mounds of glacial material were deposited at the forward edge of the glacier, forming the Terminal Moraine. The Ice Age Trail follows this Moraine for most of its 1,000 miles.

Before Ice Age glaciers repeatedly scoured and inundated the area shown on the Lodi Marsh Segment map, it looked much like the unglaciated Driftless Area of Northern Iowa County. Deep stream-cut valleys were bounded by narrow ridges and hills of sandstone and dolomite. The glaciers sculpted this landscape, rounding the hills, widening and partially filling the valleys with porous layers of sand and gravel. Gibralter Rock, Center Bluff and other isolated, resistant bedrock hills now tower above bogs and marshes fed by groundwater held in these glacial sediments.

The five-mile Lodi Marsh Segment, located at the border of Dane and Columbia counties, winds through a glacially sculpted landscape of dolomite hills and deep valleys. Most of the Trail crosses the 1,000-acre Lodi Marsh State Wildlife Area. There it travels along the edge of the marsh, through lowland prairie to hilltops 300 feet above that provide sweeping views of the Baraboo Hills to the north. Short grass prairie clings to the rocky hilltops, while oak savannas and oak woodlands clothe the hillsides. The extensive marsh drained by a clear-flowing trout stream fills much of the steep-walled valley. Sandhill cranes nest in the marsh, great blue herons have a hilltop rookery and turkey scour the woods for acorns.

Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation, Inc.

The Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation works in partnership with the National Park Service, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, other units of government, concerned citizens, landowners, businesses and community-based organizations.

Mission: The mission of the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation, Inc., is to preserve Wisconsin's glacial heritage for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations. This is done by creating, supporting and protecting a continuous 1,000 mile system of parks and trails tracing Ice Age formations across Wisconsin.

Don't Forget!