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| White oak leaves turn bright red to wine red in autumn. |
stand of white oak in Minnesota’s famed Big Woods at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
The 2.4-mile round trip White Oak Trail runs through the park’s center.
To reach the trailhead, from Faribault
The 2.4-mile round trip White Oak Trail runs through the park’s center.
To reach the trailhead, from Faribault
take County Road 20/Cannon City Boulevard northeast. Turn right/east onto County Road 30 then right-straight/east onto County Road 88. When the road splits, continue left-straight/east. Go left/north into Nerstrand Big Woods and park at
the lot for the picnic area.
Big Woods
The trail heads south from the
Big Woods
The trail heads south from the
parking lot. As approaching the county road, the trail veers west and enters the Big Woods.
Nerstrand Big Woods preserves 1280 acres of a forest that is now virtually gone. When pioneers arrived in the area during the mid 1800s, the Big Woods covered 5000 square miles, stretching in a diagonal strip 100 miles long and 40 miles wide across Wisconsin and Minnesota.
A temperate hardwood forest, American elm, basswood, sugar maple, and red oak dominated the canopy while ironwood, green ash, and aspen ruled the understory. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote of growing up amid the forest in her novel “Little House in the Big Woods,” which takes place at nearby Pepin, Wisconsin.
All of Big Woods’ trees can be seen along the trail as it crosses Hickory Bridge. At the next trail junction, go right/north for a surprise: A large stand of white oak thriving along a stretch of the trail.
White oak
White oak’s name comes from the color of its wood; its bark actually is a light gray. It usually grows up to 50-80 feet high with a massive canopy supported by large branches.
White oaks primarily grow in southeastern Minnesota and in the Twin Cities. It would be a rare find indeed in the Northwoods or western prairie.
During autumn, their leaves turn a bright red to wine red color. Mature oaks drop massive amounts of acorns, so don’t be surprised to see squirrels and chipmunks scampering beneath them. Each light brown, oval nut has a semicircular cup atop it.
The tree is extremely long-lived, lasting for around 200-300 years. One white oak in New Jersey was known to be more than 600 years old before dying.
White oak is widely used in a number of commercial products because the wood is tough and water resistant. It’s logged to make boats, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, and wine and whiskey barrels.
Prairie Creek
Ignore the next two trails, which come in from the left/west. The trail is a spur that heads to a campsite.
Next, Oak Bridge crosses Prairie Creek, carved out from glacial melt water at the end of the last ice age some 10,000 years ago. The scenic bridge offers a good view of the tree canopy in the ravine below.
After the bridge, the trail junctions with Beaver Trail at 1.2 miles. This marks a good spot to turn back, though if you’re up for it, there are plenty of more oaks on the ascent up the hill for the next 0.6 miles.
Nerstrand Big Woods preserves 1280 acres of a forest that is now virtually gone. When pioneers arrived in the area during the mid 1800s, the Big Woods covered 5000 square miles, stretching in a diagonal strip 100 miles long and 40 miles wide across Wisconsin and Minnesota.
A temperate hardwood forest, American elm, basswood, sugar maple, and red oak dominated the canopy while ironwood, green ash, and aspen ruled the understory. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote of growing up amid the forest in her novel “Little House in the Big Woods,” which takes place at nearby Pepin, Wisconsin.
All of Big Woods’ trees can be seen along the trail as it crosses Hickory Bridge. At the next trail junction, go right/north for a surprise: A large stand of white oak thriving along a stretch of the trail.
White oak
White oak’s name comes from the color of its wood; its bark actually is a light gray. It usually grows up to 50-80 feet high with a massive canopy supported by large branches.
White oaks primarily grow in southeastern Minnesota and in the Twin Cities. It would be a rare find indeed in the Northwoods or western prairie.
During autumn, their leaves turn a bright red to wine red color. Mature oaks drop massive amounts of acorns, so don’t be surprised to see squirrels and chipmunks scampering beneath them. Each light brown, oval nut has a semicircular cup atop it.
The tree is extremely long-lived, lasting for around 200-300 years. One white oak in New Jersey was known to be more than 600 years old before dying.
White oak is widely used in a number of commercial products because the wood is tough and water resistant. It’s logged to make boats, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, and wine and whiskey barrels.
Prairie Creek
Ignore the next two trails, which come in from the left/west. The trail is a spur that heads to a campsite.
Next, Oak Bridge crosses Prairie Creek, carved out from glacial melt water at the end of the last ice age some 10,000 years ago. The scenic bridge offers a good view of the tree canopy in the ravine below.
After the bridge, the trail junctions with Beaver Trail at 1.2 miles. This marks a good spot to turn back, though if you’re up for it, there are plenty of more oaks on the ascent up the hill for the next 0.6 miles.
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| White Oak Trail map. Click for a larger version. |
