Generally, there are no picnic areas, restrooms, or other developments. Very few State Natural Areas have public facilities, but nearly all are open for a variety of recreational activities as indicated below. It was formerly known as the Chase Creek State Natural Area. Devil's Backbone is owned by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy and was designated a State Natural Area in 2011. The cool microhabitat of the slope provides a habitat for several uncommon periglacial relict plants and animals. A tiny algific talus slope, characterized by fractured blocks of limestone bedrock that emanate refrigerated air throughout the year, is found perched on a shaded hillside. The upland adjacent to the stream valley contains a southern mesic forest recovering from selective timber harvests. To the east, the natural area protects a nearly mile-long stretch of Chase Creek, a cool, spring-fed, Class II trout stream. The sweeping vista of the river valley from the top of the bluff is striking. Dolomite rock outcrops harbor ferns and wildflowers, including the amethyst shooting star, a showy, magenta-colored beauty that blooms in May. Near the base of the bluff, along Dugway Road, is a woodland dominated by the uncommon chinquapin oak. The limestone-capped bluff lies 300' above the Mississippi's floodplain and is vegetated with a deciduous forest of oak, maple and basswood. A precipitous ridge, which slopes down to the Mississippi River on the west and into the Chase Creek valley to the east, creates the steep-sided "spine" that gives the Devil's Backbone its name. Devil's Backbone supports several Driftless Area features on 126 acres located between Wyalusing and Nelson Dewey State Parks.
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