Chief calls for changes at popular Lion’s Den preserve

Officials are looking at ways to improve access to Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve for emergency vehicles that may include adding more paved parking areas.

After a recent meeting with Grafton Fire Chief Bill Rice, Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck said his department will adjust signage to provide more room for emergency vehicles when called to the preserve.

“We were just brainstorming solutions to improve access, especially when the park is very busy,” Struck said.

Access to the 73-acre preserve has been an issue since it opened and the topic of “ongoing conversations” between the county and Grafton Fire Department, which serves the Town of Grafton where the preserve is located. 

The issue came to a head recently as the number of Lion’s Den visitors has doubled in recent months during the Covid-19 pandemic, filling the parking lot and cars lining both sides of High Bluff Road leading into the park.

At times Ozaukee County Sheriff’s deputies have had to be called in to direct traffic.

And recently, two women who fell down a slope had to be rescued by first responders.

“They (the Grafton Fire Department) had some trouble getting their vehicles in there,” Struck said.

“One  of the big concerns is not so much getting in but being able to get close to the scene,” Struck said. “We resolved to block off more space, possibly with paint, for emergency vehicles (to park).”

That “short-term fix” will include putting out more no-parking signs to provide additional emergency parking and clearing some brush, he said.

That can be done in-house with current funding and staff, he said.

A larger project to create an additional paved parking area for emergency or service vehicles would require additional funding, he said.

Another concern is to improve the intersection of Highway C and High Bluff Road, where emergency vehicles have difficulty turning on to High Bluff if cars are parked too close to the intersection.

Making changes there will require the cooperation of the Town of Grafton, he said.

Struck said most of the trails at the nature preserve have already been widened to allow all-terrain vehicles, although a few “pinch points” still exist, he said.

“They (emergency workers) pretty much have good access on the trails,” he said.

Recent damage to the trails at Lion’s Den caused by heavy rains have been repaired and a new drainage culvert has been installed, he added.