Cathedral Pines - Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

The highlights of Cathedral Pines natural area are the stands of old-growth conifers dominated by hemlock, along with super-canopy red and white pines. They are found in the area of the Cathedral Pines hiking trail. The oldest known white pine in the area is 368 years old. Many of the white pines are over nine feet in circumference. The tallest white pines in the state are located here. An active great blue heron rookery is sometimes located in the red and white pines traversed by the hiking trail. Visitors should be careful not to disturb the birds. In the early 1900s, Lucy Rumsey Holt brought her children here - the pines and hemlocks seemed to her a sacred place. She named it Cathedral Woods and persuaded her husband, the president of Holt Lumber Company, to preserve it. Because of her, this stand of virgin timber was never logged. Her descendants have been active in the continued protection of the stand. There is evidence that the Menominee people used this area a thousand years previously.