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| Blue Mound State Park, Wisconsin |
The brilliant yellows, oranges and red
of maples to the scarlet and russets of oaks...the crisp, fresh autumn air and
the last warm rays of sunlight before winter arrives...the crunch of fallen leaves and acorns beneath your boots...stopping to enjoy a warm mug
of apple cider or a caramel apple pulled from your backpack – it all calls for an afternoon on the trail.
Fortunately, there are plenty of great autumn trails around southcentral Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.
Iowa County
A walk through a maple-oak forest that blazes with color each autumn awaits day hikers at Blue Mound State Park. The 1.5-mile Flint Rock Nature Trail loops up and down Blue Mound’s side as well as around and over large rocks. It ends near an observation tower that hikers can go to the top of. During September and October, hikers will be delighted by the array of autumn colors here – the yellow, orange and red hues of sugar maple as temperatures cool, the amber of basswood, the deep crimson of the red oaks, the russet of white oak, and the gold of shagbark hickory. From County Road ID in Blue Mounds head north on Mounds Park Road (maps sometimes refer to it as Mounds Road). Follow the road to the beginning of where it circles back on itself. Park in the small roadside lot on the circle’s northwest side. From there, walk west along the roadside for a little more than 100 feet to the trailhead, which goes north into the woods.
Jefferson County
An incredible vista of fall colors and farm fields await on Bald Bluff in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit. The steep 0.5-mile (one way) Bald Bluff Nature Trail heads to the summit, which at 1050 feet is one of Jefferson County’s highest points. You can extend the hike by walking another 2.9 miles (one way) to the Stone Elephant, an eratic that looks a lot like an elephant’s head. From Palmyra, take County Road H south. A parking lot is on the road’s left/east side.
Lafayette County
Ridgetop views, an oak woods, and prairie grasses await hikers on the Windy Ridge Trail at Yellowstone State Park. The 1.7-mile trail passes through an oak grove, where leaves shine tan, red and brown overhead and oodles of acorns crunch underfoot. From Darlington, take County Road F northeast. Turn right/southeast onto N. Lake Road. Go left/northeast on the road leading tot he campground and park int the lot past the turnoff to the campground. Walk the road south back toward the turnoff; the trailhead is on the road’s left side.
Rock County
Hikers can see unique sandstone rock formations in an oak-dominated forest at Magnolia Bluff County Park. A 1-mile looping nature trail heads along the limestone and sandstone bluff, the county’s second highest point. Autumn is colorful in the forest of black, red and white oak, shagbark and bitternut hickories, American and slippery elms, black cherry, red and sugar maples, white ash, basswood, hackberry, aspen, white birch, black walnut, and butternut. From Evansville, go south on Wis. Hwy. 59 then left/south on North Croak Road. Enter the park by turning left/east and park in the lot where the road ends. Head straight-west from the lot and follow the loop south.
Sauk County
Mix fascinating rock formations, a clear blue lake, and fall colors, and you’ve got a recipe for an awesome hike. Devil’s Lake State Park serves up this dish on the 2.6-miles round trip East Bluff-East Bluff Woods Loop. September and October is gorgeous as harvest leaves frame the trail and neighboring Devil’s Lake. East Bluff Wood features maples and oaks with some sumac and birch mixed in. From Baraboo take Wis. Hwy. 113 south. Enter Devil’s Lake State Park by turning right/west on County Road DL. Follow it past two junctions – one for the campgrounds and the other with Old Lake Road – then turn left/south onto Park Road. Cross the road that leads to the park headquarters. Pass through the first parking lot and use the second one. The trailhead leaves from the east side of road just after it exits the second lot’s south side.
Fortunately, there are plenty of great autumn trails around southcentral Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.
Iowa County
A walk through a maple-oak forest that blazes with color each autumn awaits day hikers at Blue Mound State Park. The 1.5-mile Flint Rock Nature Trail loops up and down Blue Mound’s side as well as around and over large rocks. It ends near an observation tower that hikers can go to the top of. During September and October, hikers will be delighted by the array of autumn colors here – the yellow, orange and red hues of sugar maple as temperatures cool, the amber of basswood, the deep crimson of the red oaks, the russet of white oak, and the gold of shagbark hickory. From County Road ID in Blue Mounds head north on Mounds Park Road (maps sometimes refer to it as Mounds Road). Follow the road to the beginning of where it circles back on itself. Park in the small roadside lot on the circle’s northwest side. From there, walk west along the roadside for a little more than 100 feet to the trailhead, which goes north into the woods.
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Fall colors light up the trail to picturesque Stephens Falls in Governor Dodge State Park. The 0.5-mile round trip Stephens Falls Trail passes beneath a canopy of hardwoods before arriving at the waterfalls, which spills 20 feet over a moss-covered sandstone into a splash pool below. The hike can be extended by continuing past the falls on the Lost Canyon Trail. From Dodgeville, take U.S. Hwy. 23 north. The park entry road is on the right/east. Follow the entry road north to the Stephens Falls parking area on the right/east. Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail.Jefferson County
An incredible vista of fall colors and farm fields await on Bald Bluff in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit. The steep 0.5-mile (one way) Bald Bluff Nature Trail heads to the summit, which at 1050 feet is one of Jefferson County’s highest points. You can extend the hike by walking another 2.9 miles (one way) to the Stone Elephant, an eratic that looks a lot like an elephant’s head. From Palmyra, take County Road H south. A parking lot is on the road’s left/east side.
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Day hikers can see a variety of autumn colors common to southern Wisconsin on the rugged Orange Loop in Kettle Moraine State Forest’s Southern Unit. The 6-mile loop heads up and down glacial geography through a hardwood forest. Part of the Emma Carlin trail system, it’s just one small sample of the more than 300 miles of trails spread across 30,000 acres in the state forest. Fall leaves range from the reds of black cherry and golds of quaking aspen to the cinnamon of northern red and yellow of white oaks. The trees all make up a classic southern dry-mesic forest. From Palmyra take Wis. Hwy. 59 east. Turn right/south onto County Road Z/Little Prairie Road. In just under a mile is a parking lot on the road’s right/west side. From the lot, go left/southeast on the trail.***
Great autumn colors await at historic Tivoli Island Natural Park in Watertown. About 0.25 miles of paths cross the heavily wooded island, located on the Rock River. Since the 1870s, the island has served as a recreation getaway for local residents. Today, wood chip paths maintained by the local Izaak Walton League pass beneath oak, maple, and ash trees. From downtown Watertown, take Wis. Hwy. 16/East Main Street east. Turn right/south on Tivoli Drive. Park along the street. A footbridge crosses to the island.Lafayette County
Ridgetop views, an oak woods, and prairie grasses await hikers on the Windy Ridge Trail at Yellowstone State Park. The 1.7-mile trail passes through an oak grove, where leaves shine tan, red and brown overhead and oodles of acorns crunch underfoot. From Darlington, take County Road F northeast. Turn right/southeast onto N. Lake Road. Go left/northeast on the road leading tot he campground and park int the lot past the turnoff to the campground. Walk the road south back toward the turnoff; the trailhead is on the road’s left side.
Rock County
Hikers can see unique sandstone rock formations in an oak-dominated forest at Magnolia Bluff County Park. A 1-mile looping nature trail heads along the limestone and sandstone bluff, the county’s second highest point. Autumn is colorful in the forest of black, red and white oak, shagbark and bitternut hickories, American and slippery elms, black cherry, red and sugar maples, white ash, basswood, hackberry, aspen, white birch, black walnut, and butternut. From Evansville, go south on Wis. Hwy. 59 then left/south on North Croak Road. Enter the park by turning left/east and park in the lot where the road ends. Head straight-west from the lot and follow the loop south.
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A plethora of autumn colors await at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville. More than a half mile of trails wind through the 20-acre site, where 4000 varieties of plants grow in 26 garden styles. The best sections in autumn include the North Woodland Path, which runs by a pond, and the woodland walk and woodland glen areas. From the intersection of Interstate 90 and U.S. Bus. Hwy. 14, take the latter northwest. Turn left/southwest onto Palmer Drive. The botanical gardens are on the right/north.***
Beautiful views of the Rock River amid a canopy of yellow and orange leaves awaits hikers at Big Hill Park in Beloit. The 190-acre park sits on bluffs overlooking the river. A great route is the 1.9-mile round trip unnamed trail that runs through the park's south side then turns north with the Rock River below and ends at a parking lot on the Big Hill's northeast side. From downtown Beloit, take Sixth Street/South Afton Road north. Turn right/east onto West Big Hill Road then left/north onto Big Hill Drive. Park at the environmental education center and walk south alongside Bill Hill Drive; the trailhead is on the road's left/east side.Sauk County
Mix fascinating rock formations, a clear blue lake, and fall colors, and you’ve got a recipe for an awesome hike. Devil’s Lake State Park serves up this dish on the 2.6-miles round trip East Bluff-East Bluff Woods Loop. September and October is gorgeous as harvest leaves frame the trail and neighboring Devil’s Lake. East Bluff Wood features maples and oaks with some sumac and birch mixed in. From Baraboo take Wis. Hwy. 113 south. Enter Devil’s Lake State Park by turning right/west on County Road DL. Follow it past two junctions – one for the campgrounds and the other with Old Lake Road – then turn left/south onto Park Road. Cross the road that leads to the park headquarters. Pass through the first parking lot and use the second one. The trailhead leaves from the east side of road just after it exits the second lot’s south side.
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A variety of autumn colors can be enjoyed at Ferry Bluff State Natural Area near Sauk City. The bluff rises 300 feet above the confluence of the Wisconsin River and Honey Creek. Two trails head from the parking lot, one to an overlook at 0.76 miles round trip and one to the river at 0.52 miles round trip. Along the way, you’ll traverse the bluff’s wooded slopes, covered in yellow-leaved white oak, scarlet to orange-colored red oak, amber basswood, hackberry, elm, and ironwood, and green hickory. From Sauk City, take U.S. Hwy. 12 west. Turn left/southwest onto Wis. Hwy. 60 then right/southeast onto Ferry Bluff Road.