Abelman's Gorge State Natural Area
![](/uploads/places/ab/ab0d37f9-2b24-422d-9cda-675fb0d2491f-abelman-s-gorge.jpg?width=680&height=340&crop=auto&scale=both&quality=80)
Abelman's Gorge State Natural Area
State Road 136 - Rock Springs, WI 53961
Toll Free:
888-936-7463
Ableman's Gorge is a classic gorge cut by the Baraboo River through Baraboo quartzite, Cambrian sandstone, and conglomerate. The cliffs and rocky slopes rise about 200 feet above the river to form a wall nearly three-fourths of a mile long, oriented east-west, which then abruptly turns south for a similar distance. The site tells a fascinating geological story of changing conditions in an ancient sea that first rose quietly against a cliff of quartzite and then, as layers of sediments gradually decreased the relief between sea floor and land, surged against the top of the cliff, wearing away quartzite and depositing a layer of cobbles and boulders across its upturned edge. Erosional forces and a former quarrying operation in the southern part of the natural area have re-exposed these long buried layers.
What's Nearby
Events
Places To Stay
Dining
1
Party in the Park and Flea Market
7/27/2024
Reedsburg - 5.47 miles away
2
Shakespeare in Mirror Lake State Park
7/20/2024
Baraboo - 7.39 miles away
3
Music at Mirror Lake State Park
8/09/2024
Baraboo - 7.39 miles away
4
Baraboo Mocktail Crawl
7/26/2024
Baraboo - 8.83 miles away
5
Music in Devil's Lake State Park: Swing Dancing with the Hal Edwards Orchestra
7/06/2024
Baraboo - 10.09 miles away
6
Music at Devil's Lake State Park: Gin Mill Hollow
7/16/2024
Baraboo - 10.19 miles away
7
Columbia County Fair
7/24/2024 - 7/28/2024
Portage - 23.85 miles away
8
Frank Lloyd Wright Trail Welcome Weekend
8/02/2024 - 8/04/2024
Spring Green - 24.99 miles away