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Dane County

Dane County

The Top 14 Natural Monuments in Dane County

Dane County’s landscape is a beautiful place to explore — something that you can best experience by visiting one of our 14

beautiful natural monuments in Dane County. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!

Last updated: October 31, 2025

Picnic Point Mound Group

Highlight • Historical Site

Around 2,000 years ago, local inhabitants initiated the burial of their dead in the sacred mounds that scatter across the Point. At one time, Picnic Point boasted seven mounds, but …

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Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Highlight • Natural Monument

This space of more than 16 acres has an important number of gardens all with particular themes. You will thus find the only Thai pavilion and garden in all the continental United States.

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Class of 1918 Marsh

Highlight • Natural

The Class of 1918 Marsh is a tiny remnant of a large wetland that formerly
covered all of the area now occupied by playing fields, parking lots, and the Nielsen …

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Cherokee Marsh North Unit

Highlight • Natural

Situated at the headwaters of Madison's lakes, Cherokee Marsh serves as a natural sponge, filtering upland runoff and utilizing excess fertilizer to nourish marsh plants, gradually releasing cleaner water to …

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Edna Taylor Conservation Park

Highlight • Forest

EDNA BE TAYLOR WAS A TEACHER, WRITER AND, IN HER LATER YEARS, A DAIRY FARMER.
A BELIEVER IN SENSIBLE ECOLOGY" SHE PROPOSED TO SELL
37 OF HER 98 ACRES OF …

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Eagle Heights Mound Group (DA130)

Highlight • Historical Site

Save The Mounds, respect the Ho-Chunk indigenous people, and stay off the mounds

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Willow Drive Effigy Mounds (University Creek Group)

Highlight • Historical Site

UNIVERSITY CREEK GROUP
INDIAN MOUNDS.
EFFIGY FORM
LENGTHS 66.100 AND 143 FEET
MARKED BY THE UNIVERSITY 1922

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Lake Waubesa

Highlight • Lake

Find a shady spot under a tree and relax with a picnic lunch or snack. Enjoy breathtaking views, diverse flora and fauna, and historical markers showcasing the area's glacial past.

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John Muir Park (Muir Woods)

Highlight • Forest

John Muir Park, also known as Muir Woods, is a 7-acre patch of forest in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. John Muir, the famed naturalist, …

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Bird Effigy Mound

Highlight • Monument

Effigy Mound at Madison's Burrows Park sweeps 128 feet wide in the shape of a symbolic bird. Constructed by Wisconsin's ancient Mound Builders between 700-1200 A.D., the mound pays respect to important air spirits.

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Didn’t find what you were looking for?

Find even more amazing natural monuments in Dane County by checking out the top Highlights region by region:

Mcfarland Monona Shorewood Hills Waunakee Fitchburg Lake Mendota Madison Maple Bluff Middleton

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Extend your search for the best caves by checking out these guides of the top ones in Dane County:

Sauk County La Crosse County

The Top 14 Natural Monuments in Dane County

Picnic Point Mound Group

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Class of 1918 Marsh

Cherokee Marsh North Unit

Edna Taylor Conservation Park

Eagle Heights Mound Group (DA130)

Willow Drive Effigy Mounds (University Creek Group)

Lake Waubesa

John Muir Park (Muir Woods)

Bird Effigy Mound

Other adventures in Dane County

Most popular routes in Dane County

Most popular attractions in Dane County

Get inspired with the komoot mobile app

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