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| The hoary puccoon blooms each spring on the Kenosha Dunes. |
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| Kenosha Dunes Trail aerial map. Click map for larger version. |
But visit soon. The Kenosha Dunes and the 1.9-mile lollipop trail running through it may not be there for long.
To reach the trailhead, from the junction of Wis. Hwys. 32 and 50, take the former south. Go left/east onto 75th Street then right/south onto Third Avenue. When the avenue reaches the roundabout, turn right/southeast into a parking lot.
Take the paved trail south. Upon reaching the sand dunes, the trail skirts the dunes on the right/west and Lake Michigan on the left/east.
Ice age dunes
The dunes sit at the north end of Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area, the most intact coastal wetland in southeastern Wisconsin and among the state's largest prairie complexes.
The stabilized dunes were created during the last ice age. As glacial Lake Michigan receded, wave and wind pushed lake sand and glacial till into dunes. As grasses took root on the new ground, what used to be under water became a ridge and swale.
The dunes are rapidly disappearing, though. Storms that produced extreme waves and higher lake levels are quickly washing away the sand down to the clay base that is Lake Michigan's lakebed. At some spots, up to 100 feet of dunes has disappeared since 2016, and scientists predicted they could be entirely gone by the middle of this decade.
At about 0.75 miles, the trail swings right/west through the dune's southern edge. Multiple footpaths head through the area that allow to go into the dunes.
Spring wildflowers
The dunes provide habitat for a number of wildflowers. During spring and early summer, look for puccoon, wild onion, ladies tresses, white fringed orchids, bird's-foot violet, marsh marigold, and shooting star.
Hoary puccoon's yellow-orange, five-petaled flower is a half-inch wide. They form a cluster about 2-3 inches wide atop a stem that is vaguely in the shape of a question mark. Native Americans used its roots to make a red dye. Puccoon is found throughout Wisconsin.
Wild onion, also known as prairie onion, yields a miniscule pink to rose flower that's a mere quarter- to half-inch wide. They form a round cluster about 1-2 inches wide atop a single, straight stem that can reach two feet high. The flower is so named because it smells like an onion, but it actually is a member of the lily family. It grows in all but the state's northern quarter.
Shining lady's-tresses blooms from late May through early July. Its oblong white flowers bloom along a tall, grass-like stem. The plant is found in only one other Wisconsin county.
Orchids, violets
White fringed orchids bloom in early June through late July. The tiny, half-inch wide pearl white to cream flowers have a petal with fringed edges. Clusters of 10 to 20 flowers grow atop each stem. They are found mainly in southeast Wisconsin.
Also at the dunes is bird’s-foot violet. Colored pale to deep purplish blue, it is about 1.5-inches across and has five petals with the lower ones wider than the top ones. The flower’s center is orange. Unlike the wood violet, the bird’s-foot’s flower stands above its leaves. Bird’s-foot is a host plant for the Fritillary butterfly and mainly found in the southern part of the state.
Preferring marshes, fens and wet woodlands, marsh marigolds are a harbinger of spring, blooming here April through May. The round, bright yellow flower can be up to 1.5 inches wide. Each flower has five to nine petals that turn upward to form a shallow cup. The marigold plant grows 1-2 feet high and can be found all across Wisconsin.
The shooting star is another common prairie spring wildflower. Growing between 10-20 inches tall, up to five flowers can appear per stalk. Each flower has fived backward-curved purple petals rising out of a yellow center. Euro-American settlers called them “prairie pointers.” They mainly are found in the southeastern part of the state.
Summer, fall flowers
In mid- to late-summer, a whole new array of flowers bloom on the dunes. Among them are rattlesnake master, tall prairie blazing-star, black-eyed Susan, and coneflowers in mid-late summer.
Rattlesnake master yields a tiny, white to purplish, five-part flower. They form branched clusters of quarter-inch to inch-wide round balls. They are found in southern Wisconsin and a couple of northern counties.
The tall prairie blazing-star, also known as gayfeather, also blooms in summer. Growing 2-5 feet tall, it offers a spiky purple cluster of flowers. The spike can grow up to 18 inches tall and is loved by deer and butterflies. It grows in the southern third of the state.
Black-eyed Susan blooms in summer and fall. Its large 2-3 inch wide flowerhead consists of 10-20 brilliant yellow daisy-like petals and a brown, button-like center. It grows 1-3 feet high. Goldfinches and house finches love the plant. It’s also a host for the caterpillar of the black and orange silvery checkerspot butterfly. Black-eyed Susans thrive all across Wisconsin.
Yet another set of flowers bloom in fall. Among them are gentians, goldenrods and asters.
Erosion solution?
In around 0.95 miles, the sand trail curls right/north. The dunes are now on the right/east with a swale on the left/west.
With intervention, the dunes may yet survive. One proposal calls for building an artificial reef structure offshore. That would slow the waves before they hit the dunes, greatly reducing erosion.
At about 1.61 miles, the sand trail arrives back at the sidewalk. Go left/northeast onto it and return to your vehicle.
Due to the erosion, be aware that access to the trail and dunes can be limited at times.
