Directions to the trailhead and parking: from Highway 14, go south to the end of Schwartz Road, take a right at the end of Schwartz Road to the CXC Outdoor Recreation and Sports Center access drive. The parking lot is located at the end of the access drive. No parking is allowed on the access drive. If parking lot is full, please park along Schwartz Road at the bottom and walk up.

Download a printable cross-country ski map here.

Today the pond and shoreline buffer areas are a designated conservancy area. Access to the pond is provided via an asphalt pedestrian/biking trail off of South Avenue, which follows the west edge of the pond to Woodside Heights Park. A nature trail continues around the pond with a 1,000-foot-long, six-foot-wide accessible boardwalk along the east shoreline.

This shallow kettle pond is home to a variety of wildlife, including muskrat, blue-winged teal, great blue herons, wood ducks, green herons, mallard ducks, Canada geese, cattle egrets, black-crowned night herons, double-crested cormorants, garter snakes, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, green frogs, spring peepers and spotted salamanders. Check out the wildlife-viewing platform on the west shore.

The pond has an important history as a paleo-archaic native people’s encampment. The north side of the pond features a five-acre mesic prairie as well as the ADA-accessible Stricker Park Trail Segment from Middleton Street west to Stricker Park. The west side of the pond provides a wooded area with a woodchip hiking trail that links to the city of Madison’s conservancy area.

Waterfowl spotted in the area include blue-winged teal, great blue herons, wood ducks, green herons, mallard ducks, Canada geese, cattle egrets, black-crowned night herons and double-crested cormorants.

The Stonefield Conservancy Area is classified as a prairie and detention pond and is adjacent to a City of Madison undesignated natural area with a dirt trail.

On-street parking is available on Hillcrest Avenue.

No facilities exist at the site; however, a trail is currently under construction, which will connect the Graber Pond Trail to the Pheasant Branch Conservancy W Trail.

An ADA-accessible shared-use trail exists at this site. There is a storm water detention pond in this area, which often is home to migratory waterfowl such as geese, ducks and cranes.

The pond was originally a kettle pond, but is now used for storm water management. A trail facility exists through a portion of this area and connects to the Middleton Hills Oak Savanna Conservancy Area and the Pheasant Branch Conservancy West Trail.

The site was an oak savanna when the earliest settlers arrived, and has since been invaded by a variety of trees and shrubs not typically associated with savanna, including box elder, slippery and American elm, black cherry, apple, hackberry, buckthorn and honeysuckle. While a few of the original oak savanna trees have survived, the naturally occurring ground layer was lost due to extensive cattle grazing and the shade cast by non-savanna trees and shrubs.

This wooded lowland area was originally a treeless sedge meadow until development began in the area around 1961.

For more information, click here.

Today the site is a combination of oak woods, oak savanna and prairie with a 1.2-mile hiking trail that connects to the Pheasant Branch Conservancy SE Trail of Pheasant Branch Conservancy.

There is an information kiosk near the south entrance. The Bock Community Garden is located in the southeast corner of the prairie area.

The site contains the shared-use Hidden Oaks Trail that connects to the North Fork Trail.

The site is maintained as a natural area and provides an important storm water, recreational, and habitat function on the western side of Middleton. On-street parking is available.

The vegetation of the area reflects the changes in topography, starting with oak and hickory woodland on the higher elevations, transitioning to Cherry trees and large cottonwoods on the steep side slopes, and ending with reed canary grass near the pond’s edges.

The pond is home to a variety of waterfowl including wood ducks, mallards, blue-winged teal, Canada geese, great blue herons and green herons.

A new residential development on the pond’s north side provides views of the pond via a paved shared use path that will eventually connect to the U.S. Highway 12 Trail. On-street parking can be found on both Caneel Trail and Graber Road.

The conservancy contains ten acres of wet prairie, five acres of mesic prairie and a detention pond.

Visitors will find a wildlife viewing platform at the site and a paved bicycle and pedestrian path passing through the restoration areas from Greenway Boulevard to Market Street and then north to Terrace Avenue.

***Temporary trail closure along the Conservancy’s west side due to bald eagle nest. Please respect the closure and explore alternative routes. Eagles are sensitive to human and canine presence and may abandon the nest if disturbed. (Updated: 12/13/2024)