Day Hiking Trails: Great trails await hikers in Birchwood WI

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Great trails await hikers in Birchwood WI

Tuscobia Trail east of Birchwood, Wis.

Cabin-goers to the Birchwood, Wis., area will find that a couple of the state’s best hiking trails run in or near the village. Among them:
g Ice Age National Scenic Trail segment – Directly south of town, the Ice Age Trail cuts roughly north-south through the Cedar Lake Area County Forest. Take the forest’s eastern most jeep trail off Lemler Lane and pick up the Ice Age Trail for a 3.5-mile one way to Pigeon Creek.
g Red Oak East and West trails – Located northwest of town at the Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary, combine the two looping trails for a 1.8-mile hike. Despite the trails’ name, the highlight is a grove of large white pines that have been growing since the 1800s.
g Tuscobia Trail – Running on a former rail line, the trail runs through Birchwood on its way from Rice Lake to Park Falls. Heading northeast from downtown, the trail heads past Birchwood Lake, scenic farmland, and a bucolic woods for a 4-mile round trip to County Road F and back.

Learn more about these and nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Washburn County.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.