Click here for a link to an article about riding on the Conservancy trails.
The Caledonia Conservancy invites friends and families to enjoy the great outdoors by taking part in a series of scavenger hunts that starts in May and runs through August. (No prizes, just the pride of finding the items shown.)
Details are posted on the information kiosk near the entrance to Tabor Woods, at 5131 Tabor Road in Caledonia.
To participate in the hunts, simply take a photo with your phone of the pictures at the kiosk. Keep in mind that the items you are hunting for do not need to be exactly the same as the items shown, just similar.
If you’re new to our properties and trails, be sure to also take a photo of the trail map, also posted at the kiosk, before heading out. By using our phones, we can all do our part to eliminate paper litter.
We hope you will enjoy your time with nature, and most important, your time with friends and family. Be sure to share your photos and experiences with us on Facebook — and come back soon for future nature hikes and scavenger hunts.
Wendy McCalvy has checked out some of the trails and they're looking pretty good considering all our rain last weekend, so we're planning to host another ride on Sunday, August 16th. We'll be meeting at the trailhead on East River Road, just south of 6 Mile, at 9:30AM, with a ride out at approximately 9:45AM. Trailer parking is available on the roadside.
The ride will be around 2 hours. We will be exploring more of the trails between 7 Mile and 5 Mile roads.
As always, please note that for the safety of our horses and riders, make sure that your horse has good trail riding etiquette. Also, as some of the land we ride on is private property, helmets are required.
If interested, please email Michelle Luczak. And watch Facebook for updates or cancellation.
Happy trails!!
Please join us for the next trail clearing on Saturday, August 8! The group will meet at 8:45 am at the King’s Corner parking lot (4813 5 Mile Road) and divide up into work groups. We will work from 9:00 am until no later than 11:30 am depending on the weather.
Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and gloves if you have them. We will provide hand pruners and loppers for cutting back brush.
The Mane Event horse ride takes place on August 29, so we will be clearing the trails in preparation for that event.
Please contact Sandy DeWalt and let her know if you can join the group.
Thank you!
Wendy McCalvy and Michelle Luczak plan to host another ride this weekend, on Sunday, August 2. The group will meet at King’s Corner (corner of Highway 31 and 5 Mile Road - enter on 5 Mile Road), at 2PM, with a ride out at approximately 2:15PM. Trailer parking is available.
The ride will be around 2 hours. The group will explore more of the trails between 4 Mile and 6 Mile Road.
As always, please note that for the safety of our horses and riders, make sure that your horse has good trail riding etiquette. Also, as some of the land we ride on is private property, helmets are required.
If interested, please contact Michelle - and be sure to watch Facebook for updates or cancellation.
Happy trails!!📷
Wendy McCalvy and Michelle Luczak plan to host another trail ride this Sunday, July 12th. Weather is supposed to be a bit cooler - hopefully!
The group will meet at 12:45PM at the King’s Corner parking lot and ride out around 1PM. Trailer parking is available. They will be exploring the trails down and around the Trout Ponds and the ride will be approximately 2 hours.
They will be riding toward Racine County Pony Club, so if anyone from RCPC wants to join us, the group can swing by and "pick you up". Also, Michelle will be riding over from her farm on 7 Mile, so if anyone between there and King’s Corner wants to ride along with her, let her know and she will head in your direction.
As always, please note that for the safety of our horses and riders, make sure that your horse has good trail riding etiquette. Also, as some of the land we ride on is private property, helmets are required.
If interested, please comment below or PM Michelle. And watch Facebook for updates or cancellation.
Happy trails!
Mr. T is a carving of a Great Horned Owl by Bob Younger. Mr. T is perched high in a tree in Tabor Woods for everyone to find along the trail. So have fun looking, and you never know what else you will find to enjoy!
Each month from June through October, the first 10 kids (ages 10 and under) who email us a picture of themselves and Mr. T, will get a $10 coupon from Culver’s.
Tabor Woods is located at 5131 Tabor Rd. West of Hwy 31 not far from 6 Mile Rd.
Here is what you do:
Take your photo with Mr. T in the background.
Send it with your name, address, age and phone number to Barbara Hugier at rhugier@wi.rr.com
One winner per family. No repeat winners from last year.
You will be notified by mail if you are a winner.
Parents, if you do not give permission for Caledonia Conservancy to use the photo, please let us know.
Remember, owls love to be high in the trees. Look for Mr. T’s (Mr. Tabor Woods) picture at the Kiosk.
Mr. T (the “T” stands for Tabor Woods) is a carving of a Great Horned Owl, like the one shown here. Can you find him?
Once again, trail veterans Wendy McCalvy and Michelle Luczak plan to host another trail ride this Sunday, June 28th, weather permitting.
As it's supposed to be rather hot, the group will meet at 9:30AM at the trail head on River Road, just south of 6 Mile Road, and will ride out around 9:45AM.
The group will be riding on the River Trail, so bug spray and fly masks might be in order, although they haven't been needed yet. The ride will be approximately 2 hours.
Michelle will be riding over from my farm on 7 Mile, so if anyone wants her to "pick them up" on the way, feel free to send Michelle an email and let her know.
As always, please note that for the safety of our horses and riders, make sure that your horse has good trail riding etiquette. Also, as some of the land we ride on is private property, helmets are required.
If interested, please email Michelle and be sure to check back here or on Facebook for any updates or cancellations.
Btw, we will not be hosting a ride next weekend, as it's the 4th of July, but plan on the following weekend.
Happy trails!!🐎
Wendy McCalvy and Michelle Luczak plan to host another group trail ride on Saturday, June 20, weather permitting. The group will meet at 10:00AM at the trail head on River Road, just south of 6 Mile Road, and will ride out around 10:15AM.
The group will explore some of the trails between 6 and 7 Mile Road. The ride will be approximately 2 hours.
Michelle will be riding over from her farm on 7 Mile, so if anyone wants her to "pick them up" on the way, let her know.
As always, please note that for the safety of our horses and riders, make sure that your horse has good trail riding etiquette. Also, as some of the land we ride on is private property, helmets are required.
If interested, please send an email to Michelle. As the weather is questionable, please watch Facebook for updates or cancellation.
Hope you can join us!
As you drive along and see the beautiful mounds of pink, purple, and white along side the road, you may think how lovely. Dame’s rocket is pretty, but will also take over native areas. Remove the flower heads before it turns to seed and /or pull the entire plant and dispose of it. The plants/flower heads can be bagged and put in your regular trash as it is labeled an invasive. Also, whenever you buy wildflower seed mix, check the label to make sure the package does not contain dame’s rocket seed. Do not confuse it with wildflower phlox which has 5 petals while dame’s rocket has 4 petals. Now is the time to start pulling before the flowers set their seed. For more information, click this link.
Trail veterans Michelle Luczak and Wendy McCalvy are once again teaming up to host an organized trail ride this Saturday, June 6. Riders are welcome to join the group at Cornerstone Stables, 7930 Botting Road in Caledonia. The farm is located at the southwest corner of 7 Mile Road and Botting Road.
The group will meet at noon and ride out around 12:15PM to explore the trails between 7 Mile and 6 Mile roads. The ride should take about 2 hours.
The owners of Cornerstone Stables are graciously allowing riders to park horse trailers in their field along 7 Mile Road. Enter at the farm’s driveway on Botting Road.
For the safety of both horses and riders, be sure your horse has good trail manners, wear an approved riding helmut, and bring a face mask in case you need to dismount and help another rider.
Feel free to contact Michelle Luczak with questions and to let her know you will be coming.
Hope you can join us!
Mr. T is a carving of a Great Horned Owl by Bob Younger. Mr. T is perched high in a tree in Tabor Woods for everyone to find along the trail. So have fun looking, and you never know what else you will find to enjoy!
Each month from June through October, the first 10 kids (ages 10 and under) who email us a picture of themselves and Mr. T, will get a $10 coupon from Culver’s.
Tabor Woods is located at 5131 Tabor Rd. West of Hwy 31 not far from 6 Mile Rd.
Here is what you do:
Take your photo with Mr. T in the background.
Send it with your name, address, age and phone number to Barbara Hugier at rhugier@wi.rr.com
One winner per family. No repeat winners from last year.
You will be notified by mail if you are a winner.
Parents, if you do not give permission for Caledonia Conservancy to use the photo, please let us know.
Remember, owls love to be high in the trees. Look for Mr. T’s (Mr. Tabor Woods) picture at the Kiosk.
Mr. T (the “T” stands for Tabor Woods) is a carving of a Great Horned Owl, like the one shown here. Can you find him?
Trail veterans Michelle Luczak and Wendy McCalvy will host our first organized trail ride of the season on Sunday, May 31. Riders are welcome to join the group at the trail head on East River Road at 1:30 PM. The group will ride out at 1:45 PM and take approximately two hours to explore the trails off of the right of way between 5 Mile and 6 Mile roads.
Trailer parking is available on both sides of the roadway by the trail head.
For the safety of both horses and riders, be sure your horse had good trail manners, wear an approved riding helmut, and bring a face mask in case you need to dismount and help another rider.
Hope you can join us!
From the CC stewardship chairperson: Side trails are closed for horseback riding until things dry up. Riders may only ride on the right of way from County Line to 7 Mile Road, and from 6 Mile Road south to 5 Mile Road, which remain in good shape. However, the side trails are very wet and in some places under water and are off limits at this time.
Please respect this. Riding on the trails with this much wet ground (in some cases flooding) will leave big ruts and severely damage our trails.
The trails are open to hiking, but hikers should be prepared for wet and muddy conditions.
Thank you!
The week of June 17 was a busy one for the Caledonia Conservancy and eight young Americorps volunteers who spent nearly 400 combined hours making several major site improvements at King’s Corner.
Together, the project team achieved its goal of completing a new walking path at Arc Trail, so we now have a system of separate trails: the existing horse trail that winds around the grasslands on an outside track, and the newly mowed walking trail that parallels the horse trail on an inside track.
From the parking lot, the team also completed a separate walking trail that connects Arc Trail and the children’s play circle, and connected the Buckthorn and the Arc walking trails, which still need widening. The trails are now mowed and marked with horse trail and walking trail signs.
“These new improvements could not have happened without the Americorps volunteers and so many CC members who helped with their time and equipment,” said Wendy McCalvy, who coordinated the week-long project. “They all came forward when asked.”
Follow this link to see a map of the new trail improvements!
A heartfelt thanks goes out to several students of the Restoration Ecology course at UW-Parkside — including Dom Hammudeh, Sydney Johnson, Jack Meade, and Nik Chapman pictured, pictured below (l-r) — who participated in a group project developing a restoration plan for King’s Corner. Students presented their plan last month to the Conservancy’s Stewardship Committee.
This year, Caledonia Conservancy celebrates its 25th Anniversary in a big way. We're hosting a series of community-wide events, so we can connect with our most passionate supporters — and cultivate some new ones along the way.
Since 1994, the Caledonia Conservancy has been protecting and preserving nature trails and green spaces throughout Caledonia. Today we own and maintain over 270 acres of pristine land, and maintain hiking and horse trails for the enjoyment of the entire community.
The Caledonia Conservancy is a fully accredited land trust that relies on volunteers and donors to sustain its vision. The public is invited to attend our events so they can experience first-hand the Caledonia Conservancy’s many trails and community green spaces.
A current list of Upcoming Events appears in the right column of this page. Be sure to join us as we celebrate!
