Top fall trails in east-central Wisconsin, Pt. I

Potawatomi State Park, Wisconsin

There’s no better way to experience autumn colors around east-central 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 east-central Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Brown County
A grove of cottonwoods awaits hikers on the Woodcock (Blue) Trail at Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve in Suamico. The 0.75-mile trail heads north from the interpretive center and curves around a small pond in the preserve’s northwest corner. During autumn, it’s a gloriously beautiful walk, as the tall eastern cottonwoods – which are largely absent in this part of Wisconsin – turn a bright yellow. From U.S. Hwy. 141 in Suamico, take Lineville Road east. Turn left/north onto County Road J/Lakeview Drive and then right/east into the preserve. Park at the center.

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Hikers can head through a remnant of the great oak forests that once covered all of Brown County. The 1.15-mile round trip McMahon Woods Trail sits in the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, which surrounds the UW-Green Bay campus. The trail runs alongside McMahon Creek, which flows into nearby Green Bay. Russet-colored oaks dominate the McMahon Woods' uplands while colorful sugar maples can be found in the understory. Fifty-nine different trees and shrubs can be seen along the trail. From Wis. Hwy. 57, take Nicolet Drive north. Turn right/southeast onto South Circle Drive. Roadside parking is available along the road’s first curve.

Calumet County
Day hikers can enjoy great views of Lake Winnebago atop a ridge on the Red Bird Trail at High Cliff State Park. The mostly level 3.4-mile trail runs along the ancient Niagara Escarpment’s western edge. Autumn offers the opportunity to see the lake through a northern wet-mesic forest, which offers the evergreen of northern white-cedar, Balsam fir and spruce, the yellows of black ash, the light orange of speckled alder, and the reds of mountain maple. A bonus is an observation tower you can climb to see the canopy and lake from above. From the park’s entrance road (State Park Road) turn left/southeast onto Lower Cliff Road. Next, go left/northeast on High Cliff Road. Park in the observation tower lot.

Door County
Day hikers can enjoy great autumn colors on the Tower Trail at Potawatomi State Park in scenic Door County. The 3.5-miles loop traverses the state park’s northern end. Part of the trail is the eastern terminus of the nearly 1200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail that crosses Wisconsin. The trail is among the best in Wisconsin to see fall leaves. The reds, oranges and yellows of maple, the amber and oranges of beech, and the olive of American basswood all light the trail with the brilliant blue waters of Sturgeon Bay in the background at vistas. From Wis. Hwys. 42/57 on Sturgeon Bay’s west side, head north on Park Road. The park is in a little over a mile; turn right/east into it on Entrance Road. At North Norway Road, turn left/north. After passing the North Camp Area, the park road intersects with Shoreline Road. A parking lot is at the intersection. From the lot, hike north alongside Shoreline Road. The Tower Trail crosses the road in about 330 feet.

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Hikers can enjoy majestic views of blue Green Bay and the yellow and orange leaves of a blufftop forest at Ellison Bay Bluff County Park. An unnamed 1-mile trail loops through a woods of sugar maple, white ash, red oak, birch and beech. A spur trail leads to an observation deck at the edge of the 100-foot high limestone bluff. An enclosed catwalk extends outward from the bluff; walking on it will make you feel like you’re flying. From Ellison Bay, take Wis. Hwy. 42 south. Turn right/west onto Porcupine Bay Road then right/north onto Ellison Bluff Road. The road loops through the park; leave your vehicle in the lot on the loops’ southwest side.

Fond Du Lac County
Golden tamaracks circle the shores of Mauthe Lake in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit every October and November. The 2-mile Tamarack Nature Trail hugs the lake’s northweastern shore and then rambles over the nearby ice age-shaped terrain. Though tamaracks look like pine trees, their needles turn color and fall off like leaves on deciduous trees. From Campbellsport, take Wis. Hwy. 67 east. Turn right south on County Road SS then right/south on County Road GGG. Take the first right/west into the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area. The trail begins near the Mauthe Lake Beach and loops around the waterbody via the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Lake to Lake Bike Trail.

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Hikers can explore the autumn beauty of a creek along the bottom of a deep ravine at Hobbs Woods Nature Area. The Main Trail Loop plus the access trail to it runs 1.31 miles on both sides of Parsons Creek, crossing it twice and a tributary once along the way. The autumn canopy casts a yellow and orange glow over the trail and creek in the 60-acre, thickly wooded county park. From Fond du Lac, take Interstate 41 south. Exit onto County Road B (exit 92), going right/west. Turn right/north onto Wis. Hwy. 175 then left/west onto Hamilton Road and finally left/south onto Hickory Road. The entry to Hobbs Woods is on the left/east.

Kewaunee County
A pretty fall hike along a river awaits on a segment of the Ahnapee State Trail. The 2.25-mile round trip rail-trail between County Road M and Washington Road sits in the Ahnapee River’s wetlands cooridor where migrating birds gather each autumn amid the bronze grasses. On higher ground, look for the willows’ shimmering gold leaves in the breeze, dogwoods’ deep scarlet leaves and berries, and bog birch’s amber. From Algoma, take County Road M north. The parking lot is on the northeast corner of where the the road and trail meet.

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A perfect spot for taking young children to see autumn leaves is a segment of Ice Age National Scenic Trail at the Bruemmer County Park and Zoo near Kewaunee. The trail skirts the park’s northern side, from where it crosses County Road F in the west to the zoo in the east. The trail – including the small zoo’s exhibits – runs about a mile total. Leaves along the trail and at the zoo turn orange, crimson and various yellows. From Kewaunee, head west on Wis. Hwy. 29. Turn right/northwest onto County Road C/Ellis Street. Enter the park by going left/southwest onto County Road F and park at the zoo.

Walk heads to Lake Winnebago lighthouse

Fond du Lac Light

Fond Du Lac Light trail route. Click for larger version.

In Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, day hikers can explore one of the state’s few lighthouses not located on a Great Lake.

The Fond du Lac Light is an easy 100-foot round trip walk if you get close parking. At worse, the walk can be 500 feet round trip.

To reach the lighthouse, from the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 45 and Wis. Hwy. 23 in downtown Fond du Lac, head north on Hwy. 45/North Main Street. Stay straight/north on North Main Street when Hwy. 45 splits to become Scott Street. After entering Lakeside Park, the street naturally curves right/east and becomes Promen Drive. Next, turn left/northeast onto Lighthouse Drive and park in the lot along the lakeshore. The lighthouse is east of the lot.

Sitting at the south end of Lake Winnebago, the lighthouse marks the entry to Fond du Lac’s harbor and the Yacht Club. With a flagstone base and wooden frame tower, the lighthouse rises 40 feet. The eight-sided tower is of Cape Cod design.

In many ways, the lighthouse is a symbol of hope. It was constructed in 1933 at the heights of the Great Depression when nearly 1 in 4 of workers were unemployed. Local lumberman W.J. Nuss donated money for the project, and out-of-work city laborers were hired to erect it. Soon other residents donated money as well, and the local Yacht Club paid for the $200 red beacon. The lighthouse replaced a red light that guided mariners in and out of the harbor.

With the post-war boom of the late 1940, the lighthouse fell into disuse and was almost demolished in 1967. It was restored the following year then again in 1993. Today the lighthouse has become an iconic symbol of Fond du Lac, appearing in its city seal and various promotional efforts. Each holiday season, a cutout of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is placed atop the tower with its red light used as his nose.

The lighthouse is an oddity. Most of Wisconsin’s lighthouses sit on either Lake Superior or Lake Michigan. A few though, like the Fond Du Lac Light, can be found on Lake Winnebago, which connects several large cities via the Fox River to Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Shallow Lake Winnebago covers 215.5 square miles, stretching 30 miles from north to south and up to 10 miles across at its widest.

Hikers can climb an interior wooden staircase that winds around the lighthouse’s sides. An observation deck at the top offers great views of Lake Winnebago and the city. The tower typically is open May 1-Oct. 15 and is free to enter.

To extend the hike, 400-acre Lakeside Park offers several walkways. Most trailheads for the short nature trails are on Promen Drive.

Wildflowers carpet old forest floor in Wisc.

The trout-lily blooms all across Waupun Park Maple Forest in spring.

Waupun Park Maple Forest Trail aerial map.
Click map for larger version.

Day hikers can see spring wildflowers galore as walking through an old growth forest in southeast Wisconsin.

The 1.6-mile round trip Waupun Park Maple Forest Trail heads first through the Waupun County Park then then enters the northernmost section of the Waupun Park Maple Forest State Natural Area, which is where you'll find the wildflowers and giant trees.

To reach the trailhead, from Waupun take County Road MMM north. After crossing the South Branch Rock River, the road enters Waupun County Park. Park in the second/northernmost of the two lots.

A trail heads northwest through the county park on a concrete sidewalk. In the woods, it veers right and arches northeast through the county park near the campground's north side. Once past the campground, it enters the state natural area, cutting across its northern side.

Old-growth forest
The state natural area is a remnant of an old sugar maple-oak forest that once covered about 3.4 million acres of southern Wisconsin. As the trees here missed the lumberjack's ax, many are more than a 150 years old and so quite large, often well over two feet in diameter.

Sugar maple dominates, but several other mature trees can be spotted here, including basswood, black walnut, red oak, white ash, and white oak. All fill the canopy. As the northwestern portion of the state natural area is drier, more oaks, including black oak, can be found there than in the rest of the site.

The mid-canopy trees are fairly small. They include bitternut hickory, black cherry, eastern hop-hornbeam, and slippery elm.

Thanks to the mature sugar maple, the understory is absent of shrubs. This creates prime real estate for several wildflowers to flourish.

Trout-lily, Jack-in-the-pulpit
Most impressively, in late-April, there are areas where white trout-lily practically covers the forest floor. On each stalk is a hanging yellow flower, about an inch wide, with three petals and three petal-like sepals that curve backward. It can be found across Wisconsin but typically only grows in the southern two-thirds of the state.

Beyond that, the forest is also home to plenty of other beautiful wildflowers, including Jack-in-the-pulpit, meadow-rue, toothwort, Virginia water-leaf, red and white baneberry, wild-blue phlox, bloodroot, blue cohosh, may-apple, sharp-lobed hepatica, spring-beauty, violets and wood anemone.

Jack-in-the-pulpit blooms in spring. Its erect 2- to 3-inch long flower sits inside a green or purple hood at the top of a single stalk. American Indians cooked its below ground stem as food, so it's sometimes referred to as Indian turnip. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, however, so no part of it above ground is edible, as it causes a burning sensation in the mouth.

Meadow-rue is ephemeral, flowering in late April to early May before the tree canopy's leaves grow large enough to block out the sunlight. The flowers are pendant shaped. Each flower has either only male parts (stamens) or female parts (pistils), and each plant bears only male or female flowers. The flowers have five to seven green sepals but no petals since they rely on wind, instead of attracting insects, to pollinate. Meadow-rue is found in all but eight Wisconsin counties, with most of those in the state's Northwoods.

Otherworldly baneberry
Cut-leaved toothwort blooms early in spring before the leaves in the tree canopy can grow large enough to block sunlight. Each white or pale lavender flower has four petals and is a mere half-inch across. The flowers grow in groups of three to 15 per stem. The plant hosts the Checkered White butterfly caterpillar.

Virginia water-leaf blooms in spring. Each white to light blue flower is tiny, a miniscule quarter- to a half-inch long, and consists of five petals fused in a bell shape. The flowers blossom in clusters. The forb grows in large mats across the woodland floor, as their underground roots shoot up through the ground and form new plants. It is found across Wisconsin except the state's northern boundaries.

Red baneberry blooms in spring. Its teensy white flowers, each a mere quarter-inch wide, form a dense round cluster that can be up to three-inches wide. The flowers produce red berries that cause extreme illness if eaten. The plant grows 8-24 inches high and is common throughout Wisconsin.

White baneberry is nearly identical to red baneberry - blooms in spring and has small white flowers that form a dense ball. After the flower produces its fruit is when the plant gets interesting. The white berries, each with a black spot that creepily looks like doll eyes, sit at the end of red stems, appearing truly alien in the green woods. Its berries are poisonous as well. The forb is found throughout the state.

Phlox, mayapples
Wild blue phlox, also known as wood phlox, usually blooms around Mother's Day. Quite fragrant, it prefers dappled sunlight. Each five-petaled purple flower is about an inch across; sometimes their color can be white or dark blue. Phlox grows throughout southern Wisconsin.

Among the first of the wildflowers to bloom here in spring is bloodroot. Sometimes it pops up from soil that has just thawed. It sports a large white flower, about 1.5 inches wide, with 8-10 petals and a yellow center. The red orange juice in its stem has been used over the centuries as a dye and an insect repellent. It grows all across Wisconsin.

Often blooming near the white trout-lily is the blue cohosh, a one- to three-foot high bush. A cluster of yellow-green flowers with six petals sits atop the plant, which grows throughout Wisconsin. Don’t eat its blue berries, which are poisonous.

Another spring wildflower in the woods is the mayapple. Its waxy white flowers consists of six to nine petals. It’s sometimes called the umbrella plant because the leaves form an umbrella shape that shades the flower. The mayapple grows in the state's southern half.

Mayflowers, violets
Among the first wildflowers to bloom is the sharp-lobed hepatica. It keeps its leaves through the winter and when spring arrives in spring arrives quickly blooms before the trees above it have a chance to grow leaves that shade it out. Its flowers consist of five to nine petal-like sepals that range from pale blue to lavender, pink or white. Each flower is just a half-inch to an inch wide. Sharp-lobed hepatica grows across Wisconsin but is more common in the southern half; its cousin, the round-lobed hepatica, is more common in the northern half.

Carolina spring-beauty blooms from April to June. Each of its half-inch wide flowers consists of five white petals with pink-purple veins. It’s very common in New England, the Appalachians, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In Wisconsin, it grows mostly in the northeast, on the north side of a line from Bayfield to Door counties.

Another wildflower found here is wood violet, also known as a common blue violet, which is Wisconsin’s state flower. Ranging in color from deep violet to lavender, the flower consists of five distinct petals with three veined lower petals, and measures about an inch wide. The flowers usually grow on their own stalk and stay beneath the plant’s heart-shaped leaves. The latter is high in vitamins A and C, and should you ever be lost in the woods with no food, know that they can be eaten raw.

The wood anemone, also called the mayflower, also blooms in spring here. It bears a single white flower, about an inch wide, with five petal-like sepals rising above the leaves. Wood anemones with flowers are older than those without; sometimes the plant doesn’t flower until it reaches five years old. It grows throughout Wisconsin.

Late spring flowers
As the weather warms, blooms of large-flowered trillium and wild geranium pop up.

Among the state’s prettiest wildflowers, the large-flowered trillium's blossom consists of three white, wavy petals that are two to four inches wide. The flower turns pink with age. Ants carry their seeds to underground homes but strangely enough don’t eat them, allowing the wildflower to spread. The large-flowered trillium is found all across the state and is a protected species.

Wild geranium is lavender to purple in color and has heavily veined five petals about 1-2 inches wide. Colonies in natural woodland openings are formed from long-lived clones of an individual plant. Wild geranium grows all across the state.

As enjoying the wildflowers and majestic trees, you may hear some strange sounds above. If it sounds like yodeling and is spring or summer, it's probably sandhill cranes flying to the nearby Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.

The trail doesn't quite reach County Road MMM but ends in the woods. Once the dirt path peters out, retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

Avoid walking off the trail across the forest floor, as this can trample delicate plants. Be sure to carry insect repellent.

Wildflowers abound on southern Wisc. trail

Large-flowered trillium can be found at Haskell Noyes Woods.

Haskell Noyes Memorial Woods topo map.
Click map for larger version.

Hikers can discover wildflowers common to a sugar maple-red oak forest, common across southern Wisconsin, at Haskell Noyes Memorial Woods.

The trail at the state natural area runs no more 275 feet one-way or 0.1 miles round trip, but a number of small paths cross the open forest understory, so the hike can be extended. Be sure to stay on a pathway, though, as the forest floor can be fragile.

To reach the trailhead, from Campbellsport take Wis. Hwy. 67 northeast. Turn right/south onto County Road SS then right/southeast onto County Road GGG. A small parking area is the historical marker on the road’s right/west side.

Old forest
From the parking lot, head down the steps to the trail. To the trail’s north is a swamp hardwoods and tamaracks.

The trail soon enters a textbook example of southern dry-mesic forest, common in southern Wisconsin. Sugar maple and red oak are most common, but basswood, white ash, bitternut hickory, and ironwood also are present.

The woods sit on an interlobate moraine, or a spot where two glacial lobes made contact during the last ice age. The lobes when retreating leave large amounts of debris at such locations, so there the terrain is hilly. A lot of gravel also is found in the soil and on the slopes, making the area susceptible to erosion.

While some of the forest was logged in the 1800s, it was never clear-cut while the moist soils prevented forest fires for the last several hundred years. Because of that, the red oaks here date to the 1860s-70s and so are enormous. It also means the forest understory has only a few shrubs, allowing ferns – such as cinnamon, maidenhair and lady ferns – and plenty of wildflowers to flourish.

First to bloom
Among the first wildflowers to bloom is the sharp-lobed hepatica. It keeps its leaves through the winter, and when spring arrives quickly blooms before the trees above it have a chance to grow leaves that shade it out. Its flowers consist of five to nine petal-like sepals that range from pale blue to lavender, pink or white. Each flower is just a half-inch to an inch wide. Sharp-lobed hepatica grows across Wisconsin but is more common in the southern half; its cousin, the round-lobed hepatica, is more common in the northern half.

Skunk cabbage is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in spring, and can actually melt the surrounding snow and ice. It prefers wet areas, so look for it in depressions. Its flower shaped like a shell and usually is brown to purple, though it also can be a quite attractive yellow, that grows three- to six-inches tall. Unfortunately, it has gives off a strong odor of carrion, which attracts insects who then unwittingly pollinate flowers. Skunk cabbage is found in the southern half of the state.

Large-flowered trillium, aka white-flowered trillium, also is among the first flowers to bloom in spring. Among the state’s prettiest wildflowers, its blossom consists of three white, wavy petals that are two- to four-inches wide. The flower turns pink with age. Ants carry their seeds to underground homes but strangely enough don’t eat them, allowing the wildflower to spread. The large-flowered trillium is found all across the state and is a protected species.

Red trillium blooms from mid-April until June. The dark red flower has three petals and three sepals about an inch across. It is a common trillium of southern oak savannas so is rare in Wisconsin.

Another pretty spring wildflower here is wild geranium. Lavender to purple in color, it has heavily veined five petals about one- to two-inches wide. Colonies in natural woodland openings are formed from long-lived clones of an individual plant. Wild geranium grows all across the state.

More spring wildflowers
The wood anemone, also known as the mayflower, also blooms in spring here. It bears a single white flower, about an inch wide, with five petal-like sepals rising above the leaves. Wood anemones with flowers are older than those without; sometimes the plant doesn’t flower until it reaches five years old. It grows throughout Wisconsin.

Another spring wildflower in the woods is the mayapple. Its waxy white flower consists of six to nine petals. It’s sometimes called the umbrella plant because the leaves form an umbrella shape that shades the flower. The mayapple grows in the southern half of the state.

Large-leaved bellwort, also called merrybells, blooms in spring as well. Its drooping bell-shaped yellow flower is about one- to two-inches long with up to six petals. The long-leaved is one of two bellworts that grow in Wisconsin; four other species grow in eastern North America. Its found throughout the state.

The two-leaved miterwort, also known as Bishop’s cap, blooms from spring to summer. Its tiny white to cream flower measures only one-sixth of an inch wide and is arranged in a spike-like pattern on its stem. The petals are strangely fern-like. Miterwort grows mostly in the western part of the state, so it’s a rare find for eastern Wisconsin in Haskell Noyes.

Summer wildflowers
Clustered black snakeroot also blooms in summer. It bears three to five clusters of white flowers, each a half-inch to an inch wide, per stem. The plant once was thought to have healing powers. It is common all across Wisconsin.

The large-leaved shinleaf blooms June to August. Its white flower is five-parted and very small, only a quarter to a third of an inch long. The petals often have green veins while the leaf is pear-shaped. It appears in almost every Wisconsin county.

Most of these wildflowers would not exist in the woods today if not for a strong conservationist effort to preserve it. A land purchase in 1947 prevented imminent logging, and it has been a state natural area since 1952.

After taking in the sites, retrace your steps back to the parking area.