Lands_Content Page_Honey Creek Wildlife Area

Honey Creek Wildlife Area

A panoramic view of a grassy field at Honey Creek Wildlife Area, featuring tall grasses and scattered wildflowers in the foreground. Dense clusters of trees line the background under a cloudy sky, creating a serene natural landscape.

 

Honey Creek Wildlife Area is a 1,275-acre property in the Village of Rochester, Town of Burlington, and Town of Spring Prairie in western Racine County and eastern Walworth County. Parking lots are located off HWY W, HWY FF (Academy Road), Oak Knoll Road, and Kildeer Ct.

The property is the second-largest wildlife area in Racine County and has four separate blocks. The property is dominated by woodland habitat along with lowland woodland, grasslands, upland and lowland shrubs, deep marsh, emergent marsh, and agricultural fields. Waterways associated with the wildlife area include Long Lake, Honey Creek, and Sugar Creek. Wildlife using the property include deer, turkey, waterfowl and other small game. Pheasants are stocked and there is no noon closure for this property.

The woodland areas in the wildlife area are dominated by oak, making up a little over half of the forested acreage. The high prevalence of oak woodlands offers property users several recreational opportunities. The oak woodland areas provide a good source of mast (i.e., acorns, hickory nuts, etc.) a valued food for a variety of wildlife including game species (i.e., White-tailed deer, Wood Ducks, turkeys, and squirrels) and offer potentially good hunting opportunities. In addition, the large canopy oaks serve as important feeding areas for migrating insectivorous songbirds (i.e., warblers, vireos, etc.)  providing good bird-watching opportunities in the spring. Oak woodlands can be found by the parking lots on Oak Knoll and Hwy W.

In 2016 in partnership with WE Energies, an Osprey platform was installed on the Honey Creek Wildlife Area off Hwy FF, west of Maple Road. The platform has had an active nest since 2019. It provides an excellent opportunity to watch Osprey nesting activities and the raising fledglings at a distance. In visiting the site, please observe the nest platform from a distance so as not to disturb the birds

Management Objectives

The Honey Creek Wildlife Area is a Conservation Opportunity Area for managing high-quality wetland communities of statewide significance within the Southeast Glacial Plains, according to Wisconsin's Wildlife Action Plan. The wildlife area is managed to provide opportunities for public hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor recreation while protecting the qualities of the unique native communities and associated species found on the property. Shelterwood harvests are used to maintain the oak and central hardwood types. The marsh, shrub-carr and grassland types are maintained with brushing, mowing and prescribed fire. Populations of invasive species are controlled or eliminated by cutting, pulling, burning, herbicide treatment and/or bio-control.

DNR staff periodically mow and use controlled burning and herbicide application to maintain grassland habitat at Honey Creek Wildlife Area for waterfowl nesting cover and a number of other upland birds.

The property currently has an active Timber sale underway in the area north of Oak Knoll Road. The timber sale helps in managing the oaks through several steps: forestry mowing of invasive shrub understory; herbicide treatment of re-sprouts; select tree removal (a thinning) herbicide treatment and removal of invasive Black Locust trees; and re-planting certain areas with desirable trees.

Recreation

The Honey Creek Wildlife Area offers many recreational opportunities:

  • Birding
  • Boating (non-motorized)
  • Canoeing
  • Cross-country skiing (no designated trail)
  • Fishing
  • Hiking (no designated trail)
  • Hunting (noted for: deer, waterfowl, turkey, dove, pheasant and small game)
  • Kayaking
  • Snowmobiling trail
  • Trapping
  • Wild edibles/gathering
  • Wildlife viewing

Amenities

  • Bathroom - none.
  • Parking lot - there are five parking lots throughout the property.
  • Campground and size - none.
  • Trails, Types and Lengths - non-designated trails (firebreaks and stocking lanes) only.

Maps

Download [PDF] a map of this property.

If you are interested in exploring this property further, you can access an interactive map.

Adopt a Fish or Wildlife Area

 

Find out more about how to adopt this wildlife area.