The forest acts as a resource protection zone for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The forest is 55 miles long and up to two miles wide, and encompasses 32,500 acres of which 19,343 acres are currently state owned. Fish Lake Wildlife Area and Crex Meadow Wildlife Area. Canoeing the St. Croix River winds the canoeist through a wild and scenic countryside. This is an excellent way to view geologic formations left by two ice ages.
Wildlife is the focus of attention for both the hunter and sightseer.
Hunters will find whitetail deer, ruffed grouse, black bear, snowshoe hare, squirrel and woodcock on the forest. For visitors more interested in watching wildlife, the varied habitat on the forest afford opportunities to see a wide variety of birds and animals such as sharp-tailed grouse, common yellow throat, bald eagles, pocket gopher, mink and muskrat. All around is the imprint of the immense ice sheet that covered the upper Midwest some 20,000 years ago. Here in the area of the Kettle Moraine State Forest two finger-like lobes of the glacier met along a northeast to southwest line. At their junction, billions of tons of sand, gravel, and rock were deposited as the ice slowly melted away 10,000 years ago.