High Cliff State Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids High Cliff State Park
Conical effigy mound
High Cliff State Park Location in Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin High Cliff State Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Calumet, Wisconsin, United States
Area	1,187 acres (4.80 km2)
Established	1956
Governing body	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Website	High Cliff State Park

High Cliff State Park is a 1,187-acre (480 ha) Wisconsin state park near Sherwood, Wisconsin. It is the only state-owned recreation area located on Lake Winnebago. The park got its name from cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, a land formation east of the shore of Lake Winnebago that stretches north through northeast Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and Ontario to Niagara Falls and New York State.

A new Master Plan for the park created in 2013 aims to nearly double the size of the park, to add new amenities, and expand conservation efforts.

Activities and amenities

• Trails: Hiking trails include the .6-mile (0.97 km) limestone-surfaced Indian Mound Trail. The north shoreline of Lake Winnebago can be seen from a 40-foot-tall (12 m) observation tower at the top of the escarpment. Various trails are available for biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.
• The park also offers camping, picnicking, boating, swimming, fishing, and hunting.
• A statue of Red Bird, the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) leader, overlooks the northeast end of Lake Winnebago.

Effigy mounds

The effigy mounds at the top of the escarpment have led to a small part of the park being added to the National Register of Historic Places, listed as High Cliff Mounds. A trail meanders through six long-tailed mounds and several conical mounds. The group originally consisted of a bird and a mound that was most likely a bear. The mounds are consistent with other mound groups found at the peak of the Niagara Escarpment along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago, including the Calumet County Park Group.