• This is a foot traffic-only preserve, to be used for hiking, running, or snowshoeing.
• River, oak savanna, prairie, wetland
• Fishing access
• Hunting is permitted. Please inquire with info@driftlessconservancy.org for more information

• Wintergreen is newly protected and we’re still working on signage, trails, and safe visitor access.
• The gate will remain closed unless open for a private event.
• Please park in the designated area outside of the gate and access the property on foot.
• The building is closed unless open for an event.
• No facilities access at this time.
• Please tread carefully and with respect for this amazing place.

PRESERVE RULES

• Open from sunrise to sunset for hiking, fishing, XC skiing, and snowshoeing
• Stay on designated trails
• No climbing, camping, fires, swimming or biking
• Keep dogs leashed to protect plants and wildlife
• Leave plants, rocks and other natural materials undisturbed
• Respect neighboring private property and boundaries
• Clean footwear before entering to prevent the spread of invasive species
• Hunting and trapping permitted according to State law & local ordinances, but first contact us to register (info@driftlessconservancy.org)

• For several generations, it was owned by various members of the Sliter family.
• In the early 1950s, half of the property was purchased by Ben Graves, manager of the Taliesin estate, and the other half by Wes Peters, architect of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and Taliesin Associated Architects.
• They sold the property in the late 1960s to the Wisconsin River Development Corporation, owned by Willard “Bud” Keland, who was married to a member of the Johnson Wax family, which had retained Frank Lloyd Wright to design the Johnson Wax headquarters and Wingspread, their private residence in Racine, WI. Robert Graves was the Property Manager.
• A ski run was constructed and opened in December of 1969, with plans for a five-story mountain-top ski lodge designed by Wes Peters. But only the foundation was built.
• The property was then acquired by Green Growth Realty in 1976, followed by British Land of America in 1982. Robert Graves was the Property Manager for both companies.
• In the late 1980s, Euroactividade, an international development company, pursued the acquisition of the Wintergreen property along with The Springs golf course, which was completed in 1989. Robert Graves was retained as the Property Manager.
• In 1989, Euroactividade retained Taliesin Associated Architects and the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture to design the current Wintergreen Lodge. Charles Montooth, the architect of record, did the second design incorporating the existing foundation. Paul Wagner, a graduate of the school, was the design architect who oversaw the construction of the Wintergreen
  Lodge. Numerous FLW School of Architecture students and faculty worked on the building as Rowland Construction was constructing it.
• The lodge was opened in 1990, but the ski hill ceased operations in 1991. Inconsistent winter weather and high insurance costs contributed to the closing.
• In the years that followed, various groups tried to revive the ski hill but were unsuccessful, and the lifts were dismantled.
• Euroactividade, because of financial difficulties, unloaded the property in 1992 to Clyde Engle, a Chicago businessman who folded the property into Coronet Insurance, a holding company.
• A few years later, the Illinois Insurance Commission seized control of the property and sold it in the early 2000s to Arthur Donaldson, owner of the House on the Rock.
• In 2021 the property was acquired by Shifflet Prop LLC.