Top fall trails of northwest Wisconsin, Part II

View from top of Timms Hill

There’s no better way

to experience autumn colors around Northwest Wisconsin than a hike.

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 Northwest Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Price County
An array of autumn colors await day hikers on the trail to Wisconsin’s highest point. The 0.5-mile round trip Timms Hill Trail heads to the summit and a wooden observation tower on Timm’s Hill. The drumlin rises to 1,951.5 feet. Northern hardwoods – mostly maples of yellow and red leaves with a few oaks and other trees mixed it, resulting in a cornucopia of harvest colors – cover and surround the hill at Timms Hill County Park. To reach the trailhead, from Ogema take Wis. Hwy. 87 east. Turn right/south onto County Road C then straight-left/east onto County Road RR. Watch for the signed entrance to the park and turn left/northeast onto that road. Use the parking lot for the Timms Hill Trail. From the parking lot, go north on the Timms Hill Lake Trail. Then take the first left and head west to the hill. A wide dirt path, the trail is shaded until reaching the summit.

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Northern hardwoods and pines await hikers on the Wintergreen Trail in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The 5.6-mile trail consists of four loops that head over rolling terrain. A perfect autumn hike, the forest is diverse, consisting of pine and balsam fir mixed with plenty of yellow-leaved aspen and birch in the bogs and orange-red maple, buttery basswood, and russet-colored oaks on the higher ground. From Fifield, drive five miles east on Wis. Hwy. 70. The parking lot for the trailhead is on the left/north; a national forest pass is required to park your vehicle.

Sawyer County
A beautiful forest walk with an array of autumn leaf colors awaits day hikers of the 4.9-mile Rim Creek Loop in Flambeau River State Forest. Sugar and red maples dominate the state forest but quaking aspen, birch and white ash also can be found here. From the village of Winter, take County Road W east into the state forest. After crossing the Flambeau River, turn at the first left/north into a parking lot.

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Hikers can enjoy a variety of autumn colors on the Namekagon-Laccourt Oreilles Portage Trail in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway near Hayward. The easy, 0.8-mile loop memorializes a famous 18th century route where fur traders and explorers carried their canoes between rivers. Each fall, the second-growth forest here brightens with the amber, oranges and reds of sugar maples, the yellow of birch, and the russet and tans of oaks while red pine and spruce offer green accents. From Hayward, travel south on Wis. Hwy. 27. Turn left/west onto Rainbow Road then right/north onto Rolf Road. The trailhead is at a parking lot at the first left/west.

Taylor County
Day hikers can enjoy a hemlock and aspen grove and a panoramic view of a forest on the East Lake segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The 13-mile round trip makes for a spectacular fall hike. The trail heads east from a wayside into the Taylor County Forest. The hilly forest mainly consists of mixed hardwoods with maples and oaks, resulting in a show of yellow, orange, red and brown leaves throughout autumn. Signs along the trail identify types of trees in the forest. A hemlock grove, aspen regeneration project, and 1780-foot high Moose Mountain are other highlights of the trail. From Medford, take Wis. Hwy. 13 north about 15 miles. After crossing the Black River, look for a wayside on the road’s right/east side. Park there.

Washburn County
A pleasant walk through the woods along a wild river await hikers on the Trego Nature Trail in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Early autumn is a good time for those who enjoy fall colors. The trail parallels the Namekagon River through a woods of pine, yellow-leaved aspen and white birch, and russet-colored oaks, with views of the waterway. Hikers are likely to see a variety of wildlife or at least signs of it. White-tailed deer, turtles, fox, muskrat, bobcats, squirrels, snowshoe hares, and great blue heron abound in the riverway. Watch for otters and their slides, muddy paths cleared in the river’s bank in which they move from land to water. From Trego village, take U.S. Hwy. 63 north. About 1.3 miles from visitor center and after crossing the bridge over the Namekagon River, take the first right. The parking lot is at end of this entrance road. Look for the trailhead on the parking lot’s east side. The trail is fairly well-maintained.

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A pretty autumn hike through a Northwoods forest awaits hikers on the Trego Lake Trail. The 1.9-mile trail loops through the forest next to Trego Lake in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The comely trail presents the yellow of birch trees leaves and orange and browns of various oaks amid the mixed hardwood and pine forest. You stand a good chance of spotting white-tailed deer and ruffed grouse along the way. From Trego, drive north on U.S. Hwy. 53. Go left/west on North River Road. In two miles, turn left/south into a parking lot. Take the stem trail from the lot’s southern side to the main trail, where you’ll go left/east.

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Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant walk along a classic trout stream during autumn at the Beaver Brook Wildlife Area south of Spooner. The East Trail, with its many side trails, goes for a little more than two miles. Most of the trail runs beneath amber- and red-leafed maple, tan- and russet-colored oak, yellow aspen, and tamarack, whose needles turn a bright orange. From Spooner head south on U.S. Hwy. 53. Turn left/south onto Cranberry Drive. After about a mile, just before road curves southeast away from Beaver Brook, turn right into the parking lot.

Lookout tower offers great autumn vista

The Mountain Lookout Tower offers spectacular views of the surrounding
national forest in northeast Wisconsin.

Mountain lookout Tower Trail topo map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers not bothered by heights can enjoy a spectacular vista of autumn leaves from Wisconsin’s Mountain Lookout Tower.

The 0.26-miles round trip hike sits in the vast Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The tower is at an elevation of 1,254 feet.

To reach the trailhead, in Mountain on County Road W just east of Wis. Hwy. 32, take National Forest Road 2106 (Old 32) north. In about 2.25 miles, turn right/southeast onto Mountain Tower Road. Pull off to the side of the road so you’re not blocking traffic. Hike the road up to the tower.

The road heads through a classic North Woods setting that is beautiful any time of the year but particularly so in autumn. A September walk takes you past sugar, red and mountain maples, white, red and black oaks, paper, yellow and river birch, aspen, beech, basswood, and sumac. Various green conifers – including pine, spruce, fir, and juniper – dot the hardwood forest.

At the end of the road is the Mountain Lookout Tower, which rises 100 feet high. An Aermotor tower, it is one of the few remaining lookouts in the eastern portion of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. When erected in 1935 by the U.S. Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps, it was part of an extensive system of more than a dozen towers in Nicolet National Forest.

The tower closed in 1970. After years of falling into disrepair, it was restored in 1994 then refurbished again in 2016. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Today, it’s the only tower in the old lookout system that people can go up into it. First you’ll have to climb 132 steep steps. At the top is a 7-by-7 foot cab, from which you enjoy a 360 degrees view above the tree canopy for miles around. During autumn, you’ll see an array of harvest colors, from gold and sienna to honey yellow and crimson.

Most of those trees were planted during the 1930s by the CCC. Logging during the early 1900s wiped out the old growth forest, of which only isolated remnants remain in the national forest.

The lookout tower is open about mid-May through the end of October daily from 8 a.m. until sunset. There is no charge to enter the tower, but donations to help keep up the tower are welcomed.

Parking is available at the tower, by the way, but if you drive right up to it, then you wouldn’t be hiking, right?

Wood ducks await at Jones Spring area trail

Wood ducks spend part of their year at Jones Spring.

Jones Spring area map.
Click map for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy wildflowers and wood ducks in the northern portion of Wisconsin’s Jones Spring area.

The 4.7-miles looping Red Trail runs through Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. This trail is best done in early spring before the ground has thawed or in late fall after a freeze, as parts of it can be overgrown by summer and too muddy to cross.

To reach the trailhead, From Townsend, take County Road T south. Turn right/west onto Unity Drive then right/west onto Sawyer Lake Road (Forest Road 2122). After crossing Mary Creek, park at the road going left/east into the woods.

Take the stem trail east to the Red Trail. In 0.2 miles at the next junction, you’ve reached the loop. Go left/south.

The loop runs atop a low ridge here. It passes a small pond on the left/east and then Jones Springs.

Wildflowers
The next junction, in a clearing at 1.7 miles, is a stem trail heading right/west to a parking lot off of Jones Spring Road. Continue left/southwest.

A hardwood forest dominates this section of the walk. A number of wildflowers can see here and in the nearby wetlands. Among them are butterfly milkweed, Indian pipe, Northern blue iris (usually blooming in June or July), and partridge berry.

At 2.4 miles, the trail arrives at the bottom leg of the loop. The leg is shared with the Yellow Trail. Go left/northeast.

The trail passes through a wetlands then crosses Mary Creek. Mud can be deep in sections – be forewarned that at times of the year it can be impassable, at least not without sinking up to your knees into the mire. Because of that, you may need to turn back here.

Wood ducks
Along the way through the wetlands areas, you may see wood duck boxes aimed at increasing the wood duck population.

Adult male wood ducks are quite striking. Their plumage is multicolored and iridescent with a white flare running the neck’s length. The eyes are red with black pupils.

Even if you don’t see a wood duck, you probably will hear one. The male’s call is a rising jeeeeee while females squeal cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek if alarmed and do weep do weep when fleeing.

Habitat loss and overhunting for meat and European hat fashions nearly wiped out the wood duck in the 1800s. New conservation laws and measures helped the wood duck begin rebounding by the 1920s. Today, Wisconsin is prime breeding ground for the aquatic fowl.

The next junction, at 3 miles, is at Fanny Lake’s southwest corner. The Red and Yellow trails split here. Turn left/north to start a new leg of the Red Trail loop.

Jones Spring Impoundment
After the trail curves west, it climbs a low ridge. The Jones Spring Impoundment, a six-acre pond and marsh, is on the trail’s right/north side at 4.3 miles. Sometimes sandhill cranes hang out at the wetlands.

The trail then crosses Mary Creek again.

The next junction, at 4.4 miles, heads northwest to Sawyer Lake Road. Continue left/southwest on the Red Trail.

Look for a trail going right/west at 4.5 miles. This is the stem trail that leads to your parking lot.

Dogs are allowed to use the trail but must be leashed. Be sure to bring insect repellent.

Wildflowers, pines await at Jones Spring

The Yellow-Orange-White Trails at Jones Spring passes several lakes.

Jones Spring area map.
Click map for larger version.

Hikers can enjoy wildflowers and pine groves in the southern portion of Wisconsin’s Jones Spring area.

The 6.1-miles Yellow Trail – with two side trails, the Orange and White – loops through the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. This trail is best done in early spring as parts of it can be overgrown in summer or underwater.

To reach the trailhead, from Townsend, take County Road T south. Turn right/southwest onto Fanny Lake Road. A parking lot sits at the end of the road.

A wide stem trail runs southwest. At 0.2 miles, it reaches a trail heading right/north that goes around the east and north sides of Fanny Lake. A few feet west of it, at 0.3 miles, the loop for the Yellow Trail begins. Continue straight-right/southwest.

Fanny Lake
The trail passes Fanny Lake’s south shore. Birch trees line the small lake.

At the lake’s southwest corner, about 0.4 miles in, the Yellow Trail meets the looping Red Trail. Continue left/southwest onto the Yellow-Red Trail; the two trails share this leg to make their loops.

The trail crosses Mary Creek then heads through a wetlands. Mud can be deep in sections – be forewarned that at times of the year it can be impassable, at least not without sinking up to your knees into the mud. Because of that, you may need to turn back here and then do the trail in reverse from how it is described here, as well as treat it as an out-and-back hike.

On the other side of the wetlands, the Red and Yellow trails split at 1 mile. Go left/south onto the Yellow Trail.

Orange Trail
The route next comes to a side trail, the Orange Trail, at 1.1 miles. Take it right/southwest.

The Orange Trail heads between Upper Jones Lake and Lower Jones Lake. About half-way between them, a three-sided shelter sits on a knoll, nestled in pine and birch, to the left.

On the other side of the isthmus, the Orange Trail rejoins the Yellow Trail at 2.1 miles. Go right/south onto it.

After crossing Mary Creek, the trail comes to a four-way junction, at 2.8 miles, where the White Trail loop connects with the Yellow Trail. Turn right/southwest onto the White Trail.

Pine groves and open fields dominate the White Trail.

Wildflowers
Several wildflowers also can be seen along the trail. Among them are butterfly milkweed, Indian pipe, Northern blue iris (usually in June or July), and partridge berry.

Upon completing the White Trail loop, you’re back to the four-way junction at 4.5 miles. Go right/northeast onto the Yellow Trail.

Pine and birch dominate this part of the trail. A wetlands appears on the trail’s left/west.

The next junction, at 5.7 miles, brings you to the stem trail on Fanny Lake’s south shore. Go right/northeast onto it back to the parking lot

Dogs are allowed to use the trail but must be leashed. Be sure to bring insect repellent.

Trail offers chance to spot Wisconsin elk

Day hikers have a chance to see rare elk in Wisconsin’s Northwoods on the Dead Horse Run Trail.

The Dead Horse Run, an ATV trail system in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, runs 56 miles long. With its vastness, you’ll surely find many segments that can be day hiked without the noise of any ATVs; in addition, the trail is closed to ATV use from March 15 to April 30, so any of those warm, dry days during an early spring is perfect for a hike.

One such segment heads from the Dead Horse Slough Trailhead in the Clam Lake area. It runs 4.3 miles one-way or 8.6 miles round trip.

To reach the trailhead, from Clam Lake head east on Wis. Hwy. 77. A little more than two miles out of town, next to the Dead Horse Slough’s east shore, is small gravel parking lot on the road’s north side.

The trail and slough’s name comes from an early 1900s tragedy when a team of horses broke through ice on the waterbody. The team never was recovered.

A trailhead at the lot’s northeast corner heads into a forest of maple, aspen, oak and birch ideal for fox, racoon, rabbits, and of course, white-tailed deer. Expect to see at least signs of such wildlife and others on the trail.

This forest also a great environment for elk, whose primary habitat used is dominated by aspens and with forest openings and ponds or lakes. Because of that, in 1995, Wisconsin reintroduced Rocky Mountain elk in this part of the state. Today, the Clam Lake herd is estimated at around 200 members.

Before the arrival of Euro-Americans, elk could be found all across Wisconsin. Conversion of land to agriculture limited the elk’s range, though, and overhunting finished them off by the late 1800s. An attempt to bring back elk in the 1930s failed due to poaching.

Elk are an impressive sight to behold. A bull elk can reach up to 700 pounds and stand five-feet high at the shoulder; its antlers can take up to 40 pounds of that weight. Cows are slightly smaller at 500 pounds and 4-1/2 feet at the shoulder. Elk typically feed on grasses and forbs but in winter will turn to shrubs, tree bark, and twigs.

Heading northeast, the Dead Horse Run Trail mostly parallels the peculiarly named Dingdong Creek. Located on snowmobile trails, the Dead Horse Run mostly is wide at 14-feet, to accommodate ATVs.

Upon reaching Forest Road 182, turn back. If backpacking, you can continue on, however; the trail loops south and intersects the Tuscobia State Trail just west of Park Falls. Throughout its course, the Dead Horse Run links to Stock Farm Bridge Campground and ATV routes leading to Glidden and Cayuga.

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

Five best hikes for exploring Ashland WI

Copper Falls State Park/ Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR.

Located along Lake Superior in northcentral Wisconsin, Ashland County is an outdoor recreational paradise. During summers, bicyclists and off-road vehicle enthusiasts explore a number of wooded trails while fishermen cast lines on freshwater lakes and campers set up tents across a sprawling national forest. Come autumn, the roads turn busy with drivers enjoying the colorful blaze of autumn leaves lining the countryside. Throughout winter, snowshoers, cross country skiers and snowmobilers sail across white paths while ice fishing shacks pop up on frozen lakes. And, of course, day and backcountry hikers alike during three seasons enjoy the county’s hundreds of miles of trails, some routes well-groomed and others primitive, but all rambling through fabulous scenery.

Four major attractions await day hikers and backpackers in the loosely L-shaped Ashland County. The massive Chequamegon National Forest covers about a third of the county, filling up the southwest corner. A number of campsites can be found in the forest, which boasts the granite rock formation St. Peter’s Dome and Wisconsin’s second highest waterfalls, Morgan Falls. Just slightly above above the county’s center sits Copper Falls State Park, which offers dramatic waterfalls and cascades over ancient lava flows. The 4600-mile North Country National Scenic Trail winds its way through the county, primarily in the national forest with a spur running through the state park. Lastly, the county’s northern portion includes the Lake Superior shoreline and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the latter of which consists of 21 protected islands that only can be reached by boat in the world’s largest freshwater lake.

Among the best trails to see these attractions and experience Ashland County are:
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• Morgan Falls St. Peter’s Dome Trail
• Black Lake Trail
Copper Falls State Park
• Doughboys’ Nature Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
• Copper Falls State Park segments
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
• Michigan Island Trail
• Stockton Island Trails

Read more about family friendly day hiking trails in my Headin' to the Cabin guidebooks.