Terry Andrae State Park

About Terry Andrae State Park

The park is home to many mammals, the most famous of which is the white-tailed wild boar, but often red foxes can be seen on the dunes. The muskrat, a masterful architect, built domed houses in the swamps along the Black River. Thirteen - lined ground squirrels are looking for scraps on picnic grounds, and a red-legged black bear is roaming the paths.

Raccoons can be nasty thieves if you carelessly drop food on the campsite, and coyotes are occasionally seen and heard.

The shores of Lake Michigan serve as a migration corridor for birds in spring and autumn. More than 150 species of birds live and migrate through Kohler and Andrae, and many of them are known to live, breed and breed in Kohler and the lake itself.

Many birds live in and around the park, so bring binoculars and enjoy endless colorful bird's views. Impressive ducks are currently sighted in parks along the coast, and many falcons, an endangered bird species, roam the parks.

The Kohler Dunes Natural Area, located north and south of the nature centre, offers many unique examples of dune vegetation and is also protected as an endangered species. Many plants that grow on the dunes of the park are very specialized and can only be found in this area.

Terry Andrae State Park has over 1,000 known plant species, including more than 50 different tree species, so make sure you don't damage vegetation in sensitive areas of your park, especially during the summer months.

Jean Nicolet is a well-known explorer who is said to have visited this area in the early 20th century as part of his research. "Chunking it" expedition to the Great Lakes.

He is said to have explored the west shore of Lake Michigan in a canoe between 1673 and 1699.

Nicholas Perrot also spent time in this region, and much of it during the Potowatomis who lived here at the time. When the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians inhabited this area in 1795, a Frenchman named Jacques Vieau visited the Sheboygan area to build a Northwest Fur Factory.

Until 1868, trade in the region was dominated by the fur trade between Canada and the USA and Canada and the United States.

They traded with the Indians and received goods like furs in return, which were transported by canoe from Green Bay to Milwaukee by the lake.

David Wilson was one of the founders of Terry Andrae State Park and a member of the board of trustees. He was born in New York and came here with his family from Ohio in the 1840s. His two brothers James and Leonard Osgood followed him in 1845 and his sister Mary Ann in 1850.

Other Yankee families from the East Coast moved to the region during this time to fish in the Great Lakes and other parts of New York City and New Jersey.

In the 19th century, fishing was a reckless and often dangerous activity, and fishermen in small skiffs on the lake used nets and tyre belts to net and lift fish by hand. David Wilson Osgood drowned while fishing in Lake Michigan, and his brother's father, John, was taken away along the way.

In the 1850s, 1960s and 1970s, a large influx of German and Dutch immigrants arrived in the area. Most were commercial farmers, but moved inland to find better farmland, and fishing was the predominant occupation. After World War I, lake properties were offered to buyers for a dollar per foot, making fishing the dominant occupation for most of the early 20th century.

The land was sandy and could not feed crops or livestock, making Mr. Andrae a popular destination for fishing, hunting and other recreational activities. As the state park grew in popularity, real estate prices soared as affluent people from urban areas like Milwaukee sought an escape from urban life.

On the site where the campsite is now, he and his wife Elsbeth built a two-storey house overlooking the lake, in an area north of the park. The second home was known as Henriette's Lodge, and the Andraes often entertained guests there.

Mrs. Andrae was very interested in botany and horticulture and after the death of her husband in 1927 she gave the state of Wisconsin 122 hectares of pine dunes along the lake shore. Since then, it has become known as Terry Andrae State Park and has since acquired another 600 acres, bringing the total area of the park to about 1,000 acres. After considerable efforts, Ms Buttee hired several forestry consultants and began reforesting the property.

The park is now managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, although two adjacent plots are still being considered. Improvement of facilities and programmes is an ongoing undertaking and considerable development work has been undertaken in the park, including the construction of hiking trails, a visitor centre and the establishment of a water park and picnic area.

A master plan has been developed to ensure that future plans for property management and development are in line with the needs of park visitors while protecting the park's natural resources. The park has a number of campsites, 49 of which have electricity and all are equipped with campfires and picnic tables. Each campsite can accommodate up to 10 people and can be accommodated in a two, three or four-room house.

Parking for additional vehicles is available on site, but two vehicles must be parked on the asphalt access road. Parking is limited in the park and there is a limited number of parking spaces for vehicles with a maximum capacity of four vehicles.

Those who do not have their own camping equipment but want to experience camping in primitive accommodation can rent tarpaulins, poles and teepees in summer. Kohler Andrae also has a number of campsites designed specifically for campers with limited access to the park.

Family campsites have showers, toilets with flushes and washing facilities in the warm season, and there are a large number of family campsites with showers and toilets in the park. The campsite is open all year round and has water and drainage connections, but must behave without water or drainage connections.

Tents are only allowed in some areas and the campsite must behave in accordance with the rules of the park and the campsite itself.

To reserve a picnic spot, please call 920-451-4080 or email Terry Andrae State Park. There are two self-guided nature trails in the park: the Woodland Dunes Nature Trail, which runs through a heavily wooded section of the Dune Trail, and the Creep Trail. Both reptiles meander through the park's beautiful dunes and have self-guiding nature signs. The reptiles have a self-guiding nature sign at the entrance to the trail and a sign for the crawl path.

This short, flat limestone trail forms the first part of the Woodland Dunes Trail and is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. A self-guided nature sign along the trail describes the unique trees that visitors experience in the Kohler - Andrae area.

The Black River Marsh Boardwalk is located at the end of the Woodland Dunes Trail in Kohler - Andrae State Park. This 1.4 mile long waterfront provides a great opportunity to walk along the shore and view the lake from the waterfront, as well as the river and lakeside.

The route is accessible to people with disabilities and along the way there are three viewing platforms and seating. Dogs may be accompanied by their owners, and all paths are accessible to dogs and cats, as well as to pedestrians.

Dunes Cordwalk is located on the west side of the park, north of Lake Michigan, near the entrance to Terry Anderson State Park.

Hikers hike the 2.5-mile acoustic trail from three viewing points to a bench overlooking Lake Michigan and rare swamps and dunes. The trail is open to horse walkers and mountain bikers, and the Black River Trail is located on the east side of Terry Anderson State Park, north of the Dunes Cordwalk. This 2.5-mile path leads to the top of a 1,000-foot dune overlooking Lake Michigan.

Kohler and Andrae have been very comfortable in Terry Anderson State Park in recent years, especially in the summer months.

Sanders Nature Center is located on a dune overlooking beautiful Lake Michigan and is one of the park's most popular attractions. Look for notices on bulletin boards that are posted all over the parks and ask for the time and location of the park office.

The nature centre in Sanderling is mainly open from May to October, but has viewing platforms and a variety of living animal and plant representations that are maintained throughout the season. New representations are incorporated - season by season, and living animal / plant representations are maintained throughout the seasons.

The centre is staffed by local volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to making the building accessible to others. Volunteers help by occupying desks, selling items and developing displays. Anyone interested in volunteering can apply online at the Terry Andrae State Park Visitor Center website.