Riverside trail includes S-shaped bridge

Banbury Bridge. Photo courtesy City of Eau Claire.

Map, Eau Claire River Route.

Day hikers can walk across a unique S-shaped bridge on a short urban trail in downtown Eau Claire, Wis.

The 0.6-mile round trip Eau Claire River Route – often referred to on maps as a side trail of the Chippewa River State Trail – runs alongside and crosses its namesake. Its connections with the main Chippewa River State Trail allow for quick access to various parks.

Park at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Library then cross South Dewey Street, heading east onto the paved trail. Breaks through the trees allow for views of the Eau Claire River, which in this stretch runs over a series of cascades.

The Eau Claire River is one of the Chippewa Rivers’ major tributaries, flowing for 40 miles out of the east. Two nearby dams back it up into reservoirs.

With the elevation changes on the river, a variety of trees can be spotted along the way, making for a colorful autumn walk. Eau Claire is officially a Tree City USA, and a walk along this trail proves why.

In short order, the trail curves northeast and crosses the river on a trestle S bridge that originally served the railroad. The bridge offers great views of the river and of Banbury Place, which sits on the river’s north side.

Now a complex of apartments, retail shops and offices, Banbury Place used to be the site of the Uniroyal tire plant that before closing its doors during the early 1990s was the city’s largest employer. More than 1350 people worked at the 1.9 million-square-foot plant. The complex stretches a quarter-mile in length.

Upon reaching the Chippewa River State Trail on the river’s north side, turn back. The Chippewa trail runs alongside busy Galloway Street and while pleasant for bicyclists, for hikers it’s more akin to a sidewalk.

If you wish to continue, however, going left/west on the Chippewa trail takes you to beautiful Phoenix Park; you also can turn it into a loop by heading left/south at North Dewey Street and heading to the library. Going right/east on the trail offers access to Boyd Park and the Fairway Trail which leads to Archery Park; just past Banbury Place, turn right/south onto the trail that crosses that river and via a wood-chip path enters Boyd Park.

Learn more about Chippewa Valley day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley guidebook.

Urban hike heads link historic area, park

Chippewa River State Trail from Historic Water Street District to Phoenix
Park in Eau Claire, Wis.

Chippewa River State Trail runs through heart of Eau Claire, Wis.

Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant urban hike along a river in the Chippewa Valley’s largest city.

Though most of the Chippewa River State Trail runs through rural areas, its most used portion sits in the middle of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A 3.7-mile round trip segment of the trail links the Historic Water Street District to beautiful Phoenix Park.

People have used the route since at least 1882 when the Milwaukee Road set down a rail line on most of what is now the trail. The rail line was abandoned in 1980 and soon converted to a bicycling trail that also can be hiked. Like most former rail lines, the trail is fairly flat and wide (10 feet); much of it is also paved.

Start at the Chippewa River State Trail’s 10th Avenue trailhead. From Menomonie/Water Street, drive south onto 10th Avenue; a small parking lot sits at the road's end southwest of Hobbs Memorial Ice Center. A short stem trail then connects the lot to the Chippewa River trail.

Historic Water Street District
Once at the main trail, go right/north, heading through quiet neighborhood. At Seventh Avenue, you must walk along the street. Turn right/east at Menomonie Street and then pick up the trail again at Sixth Avenue. The trail then passes through Historic Water Street District with the Chippewa River on the trail's right/south side.

The majority of the business buildings in the Water Street District were constructed in the early 1880s. At that time, the lumber industry was king in the Chippewa Valley with logs floating from the Northwoods down the Chippewa River to sawmills in Eau Claire.

Upon leaving the historic district, the trail passes through a small stretch of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus, specifically in front of the Haas Fine Arts Building. The university’s music, theater arts, and arts programs, along with performance halls, are located there.

As the river curves north, so does the trail, crossing Water Street and running through Owen Park. Downtown Eau Claire sits on the opposite shoreline. At West Grand Avenue, a bridge crosses the Chippewa, linking the trail to downtown.

Phoenix Park
Next, the trail comes to the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers. North of the confluence, the trail swerves right/northeast and via a trestle bridge crosses the Chippewa and enters Phoenix Park.

A steel company sat on the site for decades, though you would’t guess that today. Several years after the manufacturer closed its doors, the city reclaimed the area as a green space, with the park opening in 2005. A Farmers' Market is held each Saturday at the park, making it an interesting urban hiking destination.

For day hikers, the park marks a good spot to turn back. The trail does continue east, though, following the Eau Claire River, with a spur crossing the waterway to the Fairway Trail, before swerving north at U.S. Hwy 53 on its way to Chippewa Falls.

Generally on the Chippewa River State Trail, passes are required for bicyclists, inline skaters, and horse riders but not for hikers or for casual walking. Pets also are allowed but must be on a leash no longer than 8 feet long.

Alternate south route: Back at the parking lot, going left/south rather than right/north takes you to a junction with the Lakeshore Trail that circles to Carson Park, or you can continue south out of town to Carryville and on to Tarant Park in Durand. The trail sticks to the Chippewa River shoreline the entire way.

Learn more about Chippewa Valley day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley guidebook.

Video of Wisconsin’s Red Cedar State Trail

Day hikers can enjoy a variety of wilderness areas on the Red Cedar State Trail in western Wisconsin.

The 14.5-mile trail passes through woodlands, prairies, marshland bottoms, and farmland, all while skirting the Red Cedar River. Sandstone bluffs and other interesting formations including the Devil’s Punchbowl also can be found along the way.

Running from Menomonie to the Chippewa River State Trail, the trail can be accessed at four major points: off Wis. Hwy. 29 in western Menomonie; County Road D in Irvington; Wis. Hwy. 72 in Downsville; and the County Road Y at the Dunnville Wildlife Area.

Here’s a video of the Red Cedar River taken from the trail near the Irvington access:

Here's an article more fully describing the trail from its start in Menomonie to the Devil’s Punchbowl.

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

Day (er, Night) hike trail through Midwest’s most haunted swampland in Wisconsin

Bird's-eye view of Chippewa River bottoms
along Chippewa River State Trail northeast
of Meridean; photo courtesy of WI DNR.

Drowned girl seeks to lure you into
watery grave on Chippewa River

The spirits of children, a dead high school prom queen, and hellhounds await night hikers on a segment of the Chippewa River State Trail in west-central Wisconsin.

Tucked in the southwest corner of Dunn County may be among the Midwest’s most haunted regions. A 5-mile round trip hike through the Chippewa River swamps offers just a small sample of those specters.

To reach the trail, from Wis. Hwy. 85 between Eau Claire and Durand, turn north onto County Road O. Upon entering the crossroads town of Meridean, continue past 160th Avenue onto the dirt Ferry Road. Park at its terminus, the site of the former Meridean boat landing.

Mary Dean
The spirit of a young girl named Mary Dean, who the village is named after, allegedly haunts the landing. She died on a ship traversing the river and was buried nearby. These days, the girl’s ghost allegedly tries to encourage passersby to save her. Like the Greek Sirens of old, though, her goal is to lead you to a watery grave.

Topo map, Chippewa River State Trail, Meridean section.

Walk Ferry Road back to the Chippewa River State Trail, turning left/northeast into farmland. Should the local farmer have planted corn, listen closely for the sound of laughing children. Several stories have been told of ghosts of children playing in corn fields across the area.

And when entering wooded areas, keep a watch for hellhounds – ethereal, black dogs with glowing red dogs – whose snarls and howls allegedly have been heard here.

At the 1.7-mile mark, the trail veers east, paralleling a back channel of the river. Keep a lookout for headlights gazing up at you from the water. An intoxicated high school prom queen allegedly drowned in the river after driving her car into it.

Ghosts of running children
Atop the hill across the river is Sand Hill Cemetery. About 20 graves there is the last resting place of people who died on nearby Meridean Island. Ghosts of running children have been seen in the fields around the cemetery. Others have reported balls of light hovering over the cemetery or hearing their names called from it. And those hellhounds are there, too.

Among the other supernatural legends in the area are a schoolhouse haunted by a boy who allegedly froze to death there and of a haunted church in nearby Caryville where a priest hung himself. Both of those stories appear to be apocryphal, however.

At 2.5 mile mark, the trail comes to shoreline of backchannel for the Chippewa River. This marks a good spot to return back.

Be careful when driving back to civilization, though. Remember that drowned prom queen? Sometimes she plays chicken with drivers, her phantom headlights heading right for you then disappearing just before smashing into your vehicle.

Learn more about Chippewa Valley day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley guidebook.