Day hikes abound in central St. Croix Co.

Trail leading to bridge crossing Paperjack Creek in New Richmond, Wis.

Several great day hiking trails – ranging from primitive, grass paths near rookeries to paved, wide routes alongside urban lakes – can be found in the central portion of Wisconsin’s St. Croix County.

The trails generally are located in or close to the four communities making up the region. Trails by community include:

Baldwin-Hammond
• Casey Lake Trail – Day hikers can sight great blue herons on the 0.2 miles-round trip Casey Lake Trail in the Casey Lake Wildlife Management Area. From 130th Avenue east of U.S. Hwy. 63 north, look for a gravel parking lot on the left/south side of the road between 200th and 190th streets.
• Wintergreen Park trails – Several unnamed walking paths wind through the 32-acre pine and hardwood forest on the town’s southwest side. Use the lot in the park’s northwest corner off of 60th Avenue west of U.S. Hwy. 63.

New Richmond
• Doar Park Trail – About 0.7 miles of trails ramble about the 14.6-acre park, which is being restored to native prairie grasses. The trailhead is on a private road east of 115th Street, just south of Sixth Street West.
• Doughboy Trail – The 0.33-mile paved trail runs from the Mill Pond Walk along the Willow River to North Pierce Street south of High Street. Park in the lot west of the New Richmond depot off of High Street.
• ELC Trail – The 0.2-mile paved trail links East Sixth Street to Paperjack Elementary School. Park at the northwest end of the elementary school, off of East 11th Street on weekends or during school vacations.
• Richmond Way Trail – The 1.7-mile trail parallels East Richmond Way and briefly West Richmond Way from 140th Street west to County Road A with connector trails. Park along the street.
• Freedom Park Trail Loop – Formerly the Hatfield Lake Trail Loop, the 2.4-mile trail circles the park with a long side hugging the shore of Hatfield Lake. Park then pick up the trail at the end of Liberty Drive north of Industrial Boulevard.
• Hatfield Lake Trail – The 1-mile trail runs along the south side of Hatfield Lake into Hatfield Park with a spur heading southeast to North Knowles Avenue and Johnson Drive. Parking is in the southeast corner of the Hatfield Park lot.
• Mary Park Trail – Day hikers can enjoy a 0.6-mile round trip walk alongside a placid lake in Mary Park at the southwest end of Mary Park Lake. To reach the trailhead, on Wis. Hwy. 65 in downtown turn east onto County Road K/East First Street; next, turn left/north onto North Green Avenue.
• Mill Pond Trail – The 0.1-mile trail runs across the Willow River dam then partially alongside the small reservoir. Access the trail from West First Street just west of South Knowles Avenue.
• Monette Park Trail – A 0.1-mile paved path sits in the neighborhood park and connects to Marshall Road. Park and start the trail at the end of Fifth Street South just west of South Washington Street.
• Nature Center Trail – A 0.5-mile trail rambles through woodlands at the 16.5-acre nature along the Willow River. The park is at the corner of Wis. Hwy. 64 and County Road A.
• New Richmond Heritage Center and Paperjack Creek Trail – Hikers can combine a walk near a stream with a loop through a historical village and farm that show what life was like in western Wisconsin decades ago; they combine for a roughly mile-long stroll. The trailhead is on Heritage Drive east of Wis. Hwy. 64; when the drive curves south, turn left/east into the Heritage Center’s parking lot.
• North Shore Trail – The 0.3-mile trail links two ends of North Shore Drive. Use street parking.
• Rail Bridge Trail – This 1.7-mile paved trail runs between West Richmond Way and West Sixth Street. Four short connectors link the trail to residential areas and to Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College.
• Somerset Road Trail – The paved 0.5-mile trail runs between Nature Center Park and Victoria Park. The regional hospital is along the trail between the parks.
• Willowind Trail – The paved 0.4-mile trail runs alongside West Eighth Street next to the hospital and then south with spurs. A connector trail links it to Somerset Road Trail.
• Woodland Creek Trail – The 0.5-mile trail heads from County Road A north of Woodland Creek Park to the street Pinewood Trail. The trail is in a residential area.

Roberts
• Clapp Waterfowl Production Area – A 0.36-mile round trip grass path crosses part of the production area to a woodline. A parking lot and the trailhead sit off Kinney Road south of Highlander Trail.
• Kinnickinnic Headwaters Fish and Wildlife Area and Trumpeter Swan Preserve walkabout – Day hikers with a taste for bushwhacking can explore the headwaters of a Class 1 trout stream at the Kinnickinnic Headwaters Fish and Wildlife Area and Trumpeter Swan Preserve. From 70th Avenue, go right/south onto 150th Street; a parking lot is on the road's right/west side.
• Kinnickinnic River State Fishery Area Trail – A 0.3-mile round trip path runs to the center of the fishery. On 140th Street, once south of 70th Avenue, take the first gravel road heading west; look for the fishery area sign and turn left/south.

Star Prairie/Deer Park
• Prairie Flats North Waterfowl Area – For a primitive hiking experience, grass paths leave from the parking lot toward and around a pond and the surrounding wetlands. Park in the gravel lot on the north side of County Road H between 90th Street and Thrush Drive.
• Stanton County Forest trails – Trails stacked in two columns run through the 40-acre forest east of South Prairie. Park in the lot off of 185th Street about a mile north of the County Roads H and T intersection.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of St. Croix County guidebook.

Trail offers chance to spot great blue heron

Casey Lake Trail. Photo courtesy of WI DNR.

Casey Lake Wildlife Management Area

Casey Lake, grasslands provide ideal heron home

Day hikers can sight great blue herons on the Casey Lake Trail in western Wisconsin.

The 0.2 miles-round trip trail heads near a rookery for the great blue heron, which is one of Wisconsin's two big birds (the other being the sandhill crane) As the trail is located in a section of the Casey Lake Wildlife Management Area that can be utilized for training bird dogs, it’s best hiked April 15-July 31, when the site is closed to such use.

To reach the trail, in Baldwin take U.S. Hwy. 63 north. Turn left/west onto 130th Avenue. Look for a gravel parking lot on the left/south side of the road between 200th and 190th streets.

From the parking lot, take the jeep trail south across a grassy area. It jogs east to a pond that an intermittent stream feeds and runs through. A woodlands surrounds the stream’s shoreline.

Great blue heron rookery
This habitat is perfect for a great blue heron rookery. The gangly-legged birds are easy to spot – at four feet tall, they often stand motionless in the water waiting to stab at fish and frogs with long, scissors-shaped beaks. They’ll also spear snakes, mice and other birds if the opportunity arises.

Seeing a great blue heron fly is an impressive sight. With a 6-foot wingspan, they usually reach speeds of 20+ miles per hour.

If you see dead fish hanging in trees or on the ground, you’re probably near a heron nest, as they’re messy birds. Look up into the tops of tall trees; their large nests made of sticks often weigh down the branches.

It's best to stay away from a nest, though. Great blue herons have been known to attack intruders by throwing up on them. If that doesn’t work, some will resort to puncturing skulls.

If you don’t spot a great blue heron, you’ll probably see one of many other birds that call the wildlife area home. Among them are blue winged teal, bobolinks, mallards and pheasants.

Prairie restoration
Two important geographical features make the wildlife area ideal for the great blue heron and these other birds.

First is Casey Lake to the south. With a surface area of 29 acres, the lake can reach a depth of 12 feet. It offers plenty of food to eat and shoreline to nest.

Secondly is the segment of the Western Prairie Habitat Restoration, in which a long-time agricultural field to the trail's east is being converted to native prairie habitat, to the trail’s east. An expansive effort that includes 15 different locations in St. Croix County and neighboring Polk County, the project aims to restore 20,000 acres to pre-pioneer grasslands, which provide excellent nesting sites for bobolinks and pheasants.

Note: Some maps and documents refer to the state site as the “Casey Lake State Wildlife Area.” And as with other wild management areas, public facilities are nil.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of St. Croix County guidebook.