Kid-friendly trails explore Interstate S.P.

Dalles of the St. Croix at Wisconsin Interstate State Park.

The heart of Wisconsin Interstate State Park’s can be explored on day hikes through a series of connecting trails.

Take the park entrance road to the parking lot to the Lake O’ the Dalles beach parking lot. From there, you have the choice of two trails.

Summit Rock Trail heads to the bluff’s highest point and is a dirt surface, so expect an uneven and steep walk at times. Small sections of the 0.5-mile trail (one way) consist of stone and wooden steps through the forested area. The highlight of the hike without question is the incredible view of the riverway from the summit. Looking north, the Old Man of the Dalles rock formation is visible just beyond glacial potholes.

Taken clockwise, the Eagle Canyon Trail links the Summit Rock and the Lake O’ the Dalles trails in a 0.7-mile loop. The trail crosses an ancient riverbed that glacial meltwaters carved out of the landscape at the end of the last ice age. If the day is hot, you’ll instantly feel cool down on the Eagle Canyon Trail as the nearly sheer, talus canyon walls moderate the temperature. There are some stone stairs, and the trail can be steep at spots.

The route briefly shares a segment of the Lake O’ the Dalles Trail, a one-mile loop circling the 23-acre Lake O’ the Dalles. The trail offers exceptional opportunities to view wildlife.

The Lake O’Dalles Trail can be extended by taking two connecting paths:
•River Bluff Trail – This 0.7-mile trail in takes hikers between the St. Croix River gorge and the Lake of the Dalles. The rocks and sparse vegetation gives it a Rocky Mountain feel.
•Camp Interstate Shelter connector – The short path heads southeast to a reservable shelter and a picnic area.

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

Hiking opportunities abound in City of Trails

St. Croix Falls is the self-proclaimed “City of Trails,” and it’s a richly deserved title. Of all cities in northwestern Wisconsin – and probably the entire state for that matter – none can boast the number or diversity of trails available to hikers. Here’s a small sampling:

g Gandy Dancer State Trail – The trail runs roughly north-south for 98 miles with a number of accessible points in Wisconsin cabin country, making it ideal for a day hike. A scenic segment to hike is the 4.5 miles from St. Croix Falls to Centuria.
g Esker Trail – This short trail runs atop a tall ridge of sediment left by the meltwater of a retreating glacier that was last seen in these parts some 10,000 years ago. The ridge offers fantastic views of the St. Croix River with visibility of up to 8 miles on clear days.
g Indianhead Flowage Trail – Walk atop billion-year-old volcanic rock surrounded by the deep blue of the St. Croix River and the lush green of the Northwoods forest on this 1.5-mile trail. It is located in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
g Ladder Tank Trail – At the scenic riverway visitor’s center, you can take 60 stairs to the top of a ridge for an overlook of the St. Croix. It’s a short trail but pretty with a great view at the top.
g Pothole Trail – When flood waters from melting glaciers swept through at the end of the last Ice Age, swirling water literally drilled holes into the basalt rock underlying this region. The 0.4-mile loop takes you past a number of these interesting geological features in Wisconsin Interstate Park.
g Riegel Park Trail – The west end of the Wisconsin Ice Age Trail runs with this trail at the village’s 76-acre Riegel Park Preserve. Moss and lichen with scattered trees covers a trap rock meadow.
g River Bluff Trail – This 0.7-mile trail in Wisconsin Interstate Park takes hikers between the St. Croix River gorge and the Lake of the Dalles. The rocks and sparse vegetation gives it a Rocky Mountain feel.
g Rock Creek Trail – Located about 5 miles east of town, the trail parallels its namesake through a 20-acre restored prairie. Boulders on the forested part of the trail were brought here by glaciers.
g Shadow and Angle rocks lookouts trails – Across the border in Minnesota Interstate Park are a couple of set of short trails that upon reaching the top offer great vistas of the St. Croix River and the gorge rock formation.
g Summit Trail – The trail takes hikers to a high scenic vista at Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls. It runs atop billion-year-old lava flows, the sands of a 500-million-year-old sea, and at the edge of a massive glacial flood from 10,000 years ago.

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