Great trails crisscross Douglas County, Wis.

Wild Rivers Trail, southeast of Superior, Wis.

Wisconsin’s Douglas County, tucked into the state’s northwest corner, offer a variety of excellent day hiking options.

With the exception of the city of Superior, Douglas County is sparsely populated, dotted by small villages and several four-corner towns.

Though sporting a population of just under 30,000, Superior is an international harbor on the largest of the Great Lakes. The city might have been far larger and even more important if not for a pre-Civil War economic downturn. Though the first log cabin here was erected in 1853, within four years the population had risen to 2500 as excitement rose over a Lake Superior to Pacific Coast railroad, but the Panic of 1857 dashed those plans for a quarter century.

Today, a number of multi-county trails that used to be rail lines start (or terminate, depending on your perspective) at the county’s northwestern limit. In addition, the city’s municipal forest offers a number of wooded hiking trails. Among the Superior area’s top trails are:
•Big Manitou Falls Trail
•Millennium Trail
•Osaugie Trail
•Tri-County Trail
•Wild Rivers Trail
•Wisconsin Point Trail

The hamlets of Brule, Maple and Poplar sit in the county’s northeast corner. Each village sports a population of around 600 people. Brule is the gateway to the Brule River State Forest, a kayaking, fishing and hiking destination. Some popular trails near those communities include:
•Amnicon Falls Island Trails
•Stoney Hill Nature Trail

In the southeast, visitors to Douglas County first come across the villages of Gordon and then Solon Springs. Both towns have a population of about 600 and offer access to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and the St. Croix River’s headwaters. Popular trails include:
•Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail
•Bois Brule-St. Croix River Historic Portage Trail

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.

Day hiking trail heads along edge of ancient Glacial Lake Duluth

Brule River Outlet Trail

Ice Age lake
once covered
northern
Wisconsin

Day hikers can wander among the remains of an ancient glacial lake that significantly shaped the Upper Midwest.

The Brule River Outlet Trail runs about 3-miles round trip in Wisconsin’s Brule River State Forest. An unnamed trail, it has been christened here for the major geological event that occurred in the region about 9000-8500 BC.

To reach the trailhead, from Brule, head west on U.S. Hwy 2. Turn left/west onto Afterhours Road. In about 2000 feet, as the road curves southwest, watch for unmarked trailheads on the left/southeast. Should the road curve straight west, you’ve gone too far. Park off the side of the road and take the trail southeast into the woodlands.

Lake bottom
Upon hitting the trail, you’re walking at the edge of ancient Glacial Lake Duluth near its outlet to the Bois-Brule River. About 11,000 years ago during the last ice age as the Superior Lobe glacier advanced westward, it blocked the outlets of rivers flowing eastward. The water collected between the ice wall and the basin, resulting in several lakes.

When the lobe retreated, those lakes coalesced to form a larger one called Glacial Lake Duluth. Located in modern Lake Superior’s southwestern corner, it stretched as far east as Marquette, Mich., and as far north as Grand Portage, Minn. It also covered what is now dry land in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, as the waterbody was 500 feet higher than modern Lake Superior.

After walking about 400 feet, the trail comes to its first major intersection; go right/west. The trail then zig zags for the next 1400 feet until cutting a straight line that heads southeast toward the Brule River.

In its day, Glacial Lake Duluth drained through the Bois-Brule River south to the St. Croix River on its way to the Mississippi River. The hills to the trail’s west – which reach 1100 feet elevation – marked the lake’s shoreline. The trail itself would have been about a hundred feet below the lake’s surface.

A major flashflood when an ice dam broke on Glacial Lake Duluth carved out the St. Croix River Valley to the southwest; many of the impressive geological features of Wisconsin and Minnesota Interstate Parks occurred during that flood. The lake also left a flat plain of red clay and sediment that sits on the modern Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

New river course
After about 500 years, the glacial lake disappeared. As the Superior Lobe retreated, it left a gouge in the landscape that became Lake Superior and freed the local rivers’ outlet to the other Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

Since then, with the heavy glaciers’ disappearance, the land has rebounded upward. The Bois Brule now flows northward into Lake Superior with the space between the Bois Brule and the St. Croix becoming a wetlands that sits at a higher elevation than either river.

Back on the trail, upon reaching the ridge overlooking the Brule, the route curves southwest and descends the bluffs to the river valley. In this area, the basin narrowed enough that the only place for the glacial lake to flow was an outlet into the Bois-Brule about where modern Hoodoo Lake is.

The trail next reaches a jeep road just north of Little Joe Rapids. This marks a good spot to turn back.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Lake Superior beach walk offers true get back to nature experience

Bear Beach. Photo courtesy
of Wisconsin DNR.

Bear Creek Trail rambles for 3.4 miles

A walk along a pristine sand beach awaits day hikers of the Lake Superior shoreline in Wisconsin’s Bear Beach State Natural Area.

The unmarked trail runs for up to 3.4-miles round trip along narrow Bear Beach. While the Brule River State Forest begins with the woodline bordering the sand, the beach itself is set aside as a state natural area.

Wading creeks
June through September mark the best time to hike the trail, but be sure to bring a sweatshirt or windbreaker. In addition, always check the weather and tide schedule; storm surges and high tide will inundate most of the beach with water.

To reach the trailhead, from Brule take U.S. Hwy. 2 west. In Maple, turn north onto County Road F. Next, go left/west onto Wis. Hwy. 13 then right/north onto Beck’s Road. Park in the dirt lot at the end of Beck’s Road near the Lake Superior shore.

From the lot, head northeast to the mouth of Pearson Creek. You’ll need to wade the creek, which can reach about knee high, so always wear sandals and shorts, or be prepared to take off and put back on your hiking boots and socks.

Shorebirds and driftwood
Hiking the beach, you’ll get a good sense of what this area of the world looked like before Euro-Americans settled it. A thick woods of paper birch, balsam fir, speckled alder, trembling aspen, white pine and white spruce hugs the beach’s southern side while the lake stretches wide beyond to the north. Cobblestone and driftwood gardens also can be found.

Don’t be surprised to see paw prints for bears in the sand and osprey flying overhead. Sometimes otters will play a game of hide and seek as they follow you from the safety of the lake’s waters.

During migration season, the beach is a favorite of several bird species, especially gulls, shorebirds, snow buntings, terns and water pipits. They particularly congregate around the estuarine lagoons where the creeks flow into Lake Superior.

A number of small streams flow into Lake Superior, and as each needs to be waded, any one of them mark a good spot to turn back based on your energy levels. Haukkala Creek is a half-mile from the trailhead, and Nelson Creek is in 1.7 miles. Several smaller streams can be found between Pearson and Nelson creeks. You also can double the length of the hike by walking another three miles until the beach runs out near the Bois Brule River mouth.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Great vista awaits day hikers on Wisconsin’s Stoney Hill Nature Trail

Rapids on Bois Brule River. Photo courtesy of TravelWisconsin.com.

Route leads
to overlook of
scenic river valley

This short loop trail offers fantastic views of northern Wisconsin’s Brule River Valley.

The Stoney Hill Nature Trail runs 1.7-miles in the Brule River State Forest. If staying overnight at the Bois Brule Campground, the sunrise seen from atop Stoney Hill definitely is worth getting up early for.

River of Presidents
To reach the trailhead, from Iron River take U.S. Hwy. 2 west about six miles past Brule. Turn left/south onto Ranger Road, following it for a little more than a mile to the ranger station on the banks of the Bois Brule River. Parking is available at the station. From there, take the connector heading south to the nature trail.

As the river sits at about 950 feet elevation near the station, you’ll have some climbing to do to reach the top of Stoney Hill. Parts of the trail will be steep.

One of the country’s best coldwater trout streams, the Bois Brule also is a favorite of paddlers. Salmon can be found in the river, which from wetlands near Upper St. Croix Lake meanders for 44 miles to Lake Superior and drops 328 feet along the way.

The Bois Brule for many years was popular with outdoors-minded U.S. presidents. Privately-owned Cedar Island Lodge hosted five U.S. presidents – Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Dwight Eisenhower – with Coolidge spending the summer of 1928 there. Because of this, the Bois Brule has been nicknamed the “River of Presidents.”

Stoney Hill overlook
Interpretive signs along the nature trail describe the various trees found in the state forest. A variety of hardwoods, including oak, can be seen, and part of the trailheads through a pine plantation.

The top of Stoney Hill is at 1181 feet elevation and today hosts a radio tower and overlook. From the summit are good views of the Bois Brule River with its Little Joe Rapids to the west and Doodlebug Rapids to the north, Hoodoo Lake to the south, and the Little Bois Brule River to the east.

Though pets are allowed in the state forest, they cannot be taken on this trail.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Superb trails abound in Poplar-Brule, Wis.

The ancient Douglas Fault cuts through Amnicon Falls State
Park. Photo courtesy of UW-Green Bay.

A variety of impressive hiking trails await visitors to the Popular-Brule, Wis., area this summer. Among them:
g Amnicon Falls island trails – Hikers can view the results of an earthquake from 500 million years ago while walking the island trails past waterfalls at Amnicon Falls State Park. Known as the Douglas Fault, this split in the earth stretches from Ashland to near the Twin Cities and is readily visible at the state park.
g Bayfield Road Trail – The 2.25-mile loop trail in the Brule River State Forest passes through red oak stands that recently came under attack by the two-lined chestnut borer, offering insights into woodlands and a tree species man is trying to rescue. A connecting trail leads to the Copper Range Campground.
g North Country National Scenic Trail – The scenic trail runs roughly north-south through the lower half of the Brule River State Forest. A peaceful segment to walk is from State Hwy. 27 (north of Radio Station Road) south to County Road S for a 6-mile round trip.
g Stoney Hill Nature Trail – The 1.7-mile loop offers fantastic views of the Brule River Valley. Sections can be steep, but there is a rest stop and overlook at the hill’s top.
g Tri-County Corridor Trail – Connecting Superior to Ashland, the trail heads through Poplar. To get away from the highway noise, try the roughly 2.25-mile one-way segment between Midway Road and County Road F.

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.