Looking for a quick getaway? Check out Kenosha's Petrifying Springs Park, on Highway 31, between county A and county JR, which mixes a peculiar natural feature with lots of amenities, including what many consider Kenosha's best golf course. The park is the oldest and largest in the county's park system.

The 360-acre park is named for the contact springs found in a ravine along the southern edge of the park. Although there is not really any petrified rock here, early visitors thought that the lime residue that emerges after rainfalls was petrified matter.

Early settlers first described the springs more than 150 years ago. But in the years since, southeastern Wisconsinites have focused on some of the park's other aspects.

Features include great cross-country ski trails, sled hills, baseball diamonds, picnic facilities, bridle paths for horseback riding and more than 11 miles of trails for biking and hiking along the Pike River from which visitors can spy the "petrifying" contact springs.

The Pike River, with its small rapids, also makes for easy canoeing in a serene swiftwater setting.

Petrifying Springs Park also has a wide variety of birdlife and trees, including Kenosha County's largest maple, basswood and black maple trees and the largest stand of white cedar trees (in the northwest ravine).

Golfers will want to check out the 18-hole, 5.979-yard Petrifying Springs Golf Course, which opened in 1930. The par-70 course is open from 5 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily and offers a host of amenities, including cart rental, a pro shop, a snack bar, club rental, locker room, chipping and putting greens and a bar and grill.

For more information on the golf course, call (262) 552-9052.