Day hike one of Wisconsin’s oldest trails

Jonathan Carver's map of the Upper Midwest Region,
published in 1778. Carver is among the explorers with
a historic stone on the Bois Brule-St. Croix River Historic
Portage Trail. Photo courtesy of National Park Service.

French explorers used
route as early as 1680 

Day hikers can walk upon what ranks among Wisconsin’s oldest hiking trails – dating to 1680 but probably used as far back as prehistoric times – at the St. Croix River’s headwaters.

The Bois-Brule-St. Croix River Historic Portage Trail runs 4.4-miles round trip from Upper St. Croix Lake to the Brule River. It is part of Wisconsin’s Brule River State Forest.

The trail can be a difficult hike through swampy territory so is best done by only adults or families with older teens. May through October mark the best time to hit the trail, but you’ll need to bring bug spray for mosquitoes in spring and summer.

Quick link
To reach the trailhead, from downtown Solon Springs, Wis., take County Road A north for about three miles, rounding the northern side of Upper St. Croix Lake. Watch for signs saying the North Country Trail is “1000 Feet Ahead”, then turn into the boat landing where you can park. Across the road from the parking lot, take the trail heading right/northeast. The Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail heads left or directly north.

The historic portage trail is the same route crossed centuries ago by Daniel Greysolon Sieur duLhut (a French explorer who opened the way for fur traders in the 1680s), Pierre Lesueur (who established French stockades across this region in the 1690s), and Henry Schoolcraft (who found the source of the Mississippi River in the 1830s). Historical markers on moss-lined boulders along the trail tell their stories as well as other significant white explorers.

They selected this portage because it was a quick link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Upper St. Croix Lake is the St. Croix River’s headwaters while the spring-generated Brule River flows north into Lake Superior. It was the easiest way to traverse the continent from the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico…though for the marshy 2.2 miles between the Brule and Upper St. Croix, they would have to portage – or carry on foot – their boats and supplies.

As with so many of the early white explorers, Native Americans showed them the route. Local tribes had used the portage for millennia. Today, the Portage Trail is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

Glacial river valley
The portage was possible only because at the end of the last ice age some 10,000 years ago, a river flowed here from Glacial Lake Duluth, carving out a gorge and then the steep-sided valley. As the heavy glaciers retreated, the land rose in elevation, causing the river to dry up between the Brule and Upper St. Croix. The section that became the Brule reversed its course and now drops 420 feet over 44 miles from the portage to Lake Superior.

The trail is fairly narrow and at spots only shoulder-wide. It's heavily forested with leaves covering much of the path. Wild blueberries grow alongside the trail.

There are some up and down climbs during the first mile as the trail parallels St. Croix Creek, which is on the left. Where the creek pools marks the St. Croix River’s northernmost reach.

The out-and-back trail remains fairly flat to the Brule. After passing the Lesueur Stone, look on your left for the spring-fed creek that flows into the Brule. Upon reaching the river, turn back. The route is part of the North Country National Scenic Trail and continues north along the river.

Read more about day hiking the scenic riverway in my guidebook Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

Day hike ‘forest primeval’ on Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail in northern Wisconsin

Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Route leads through wetlands between rivers

Visitors to the Solon Springs, Wis., area can day hike what feels like the forest primeval on the Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail.

Located in southern Douglas County’s Brule River State Forest, the 2.3-mile boardwalk cuts through a wooded bog. Part of the North Country National Scenic Trail, it is entirely handicapped accessible.

To reach the trail, from downtown Solon Springs take County Road A north for about three miles, rounding the northern side of Upper St. Croix Lake. Watch for signs saying the North Country Trail is “1000 Feet Ahead”, then turn into the boat landing where you can park.

Across the road from the parking lot, the trail heading right/northeast is the Bois-Brule-St. Croix Historic Portage Trail. The boardwalk trail heads left or directly north.

Continental divide
An elevated boardwalk takes hikers through a conifer swamp at the bottom of a narrow valley. The valley is part of a continental divide – all rivers to the south ultimately feed the Mississippi River while those to the north flow into the Lake Superior, which is part of the St. Lawrence watershed.

In short order, the boardwalk crosses St. Croix Creek. You’ve now entered the heart of Brule Bog. Ferns and moss, as well as several varieties of orchids, cover the ground while white cedar, balsam fir, and spruce crowd out the sunlight.

Several rare plants and animals can be found in the bog. Among the insects you’ll quickly notice is the zebra clubtail dragonfly. Songbirds include the black-backed woodpecker, golden-crowned kinglet, Lincoln’s sparrow, olive-sided flycatcher, and saw-whet owl. Plants include the sheathed and sparse-flowered sedges and the endangered Lapland buttercup.

The sense of having traveled back in time to the ancient Carboniferous Period is temporarily interrupted as the trail crosses County Road P, which runs smack down the middle of the bog.

Rebounding land creates bog
After County Road P, the boardwalk trail veers northwest. You’ll come to the edge of the bog against a hillside, where the trail begins to meander. The uplands above the bog consist of sandy pine barrens.

Some 9,000 years ago as the Ice Age ended, a river flowing from the much higher Glacial Lake Duluth carved out the valley where the Brule River, this bog, and Upper St. Croix Lake now exist. Released from the retreating glacier’s weight, the land rose, causing water to flow in the opposite direction. As Lake Superior’s depth gradually dropped and the flow of the prehistoric river declined, we were left with the terrain that exists today.

The boardwalk ends at a spur off of Croshaw Road. This is the turnaround point.

A final note: You’ll definitely want to apply insect repellant before hitting this trail, and be sure to carry it with it in case it sweats off.

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

Several trails run in Solon Springs region

Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Outstanding day hiking trails await cabin-goers to the Solon Springs, Wis., region. Among them:
g Brule Bog Boardwalk trail – A boardwalk wends its way north of Lake St. Croix through the Brule Bog across a continental divide in which rivers on one side flow into Lake Superior while rivers on the other side flow into the mighty Mississippi. The trail is 4.6 miles round trip and fairly flat.
g Brule-St. Croix Portage Trail – People have used this trail for hundreds of years, most notably beginning in 1680 when French explorer Daniel Greysolon Sieur duLhut first noted the route linking the Brule and St. Croix rivers. The route is an easy 4.4-mile out-and-back trail with minimal elevation gain.
g North Country National Scenic Trail-Douglas County Forest segment – South of town, the seven-state North Country Trail crosses the Douglas County Forest for roughly three miles. Along the way, it passes several idyllic ponds.
g North Country National Scenic Trail-segment through town – Before reaching the county forest, the trail cuts through the village. A pleasant 2-mile route runs south of town to the county forest from South Holly Lucius Road/U.S. Hwy. 53 to Bird Sanctuary Road at the forest’s edge.
g Wild Rivers State Trail segment – The rail line turned hiking path also runs through the village on its way between Gordon and Superior. To avoid highway noise, take the roughly 4-mile route heading north from the municipal airport to County Road L.

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