3 Great Day Hiking Trails in St. Croix County

Willow Falls at Willow River State Park

St. Croix County’s hiking trails largely can be divided into three geographical areas, each with great hiking trails.

The Great River Road region is a rapidly urbanizing area paralleling the St. Croix River. It makes up the western third of the county and includes the communities of Hudson, Somerset and River Falls. The region’s best sight is 45-foot-high Willow Falls, which sits in a 200-foot-high gorge.

The Central region mainly is farm country, but the cities here – New Richmond, Roberts, Hammond and Baldwin – also are growing at a faster rate than most communities across Wisconsin. Among the many great hikes here is the New Richmond Heritage Center and Paperjack Creek Trail, which gives a good sense of the area’s history while also getting back to nature.

The Eastern region still is largely untouched by the growth of the Twin Cities and remains primarily farmland and woods. A good hike that passes both pastoral scenes and forests is the Wildwood Trail, a former rail line that connects the villages of Woodville and Spring Valley.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of St. Croix County.

Video of Willow River SP's Little Falls Lake

Among western Wisconsin’s prettiest waterbodies near an urban area is Little Falls Lake.

Located in Willow River State Park at the edge of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, the lake covers 170 acres and discounting an island on the eastern side, offers 4.12 miles of shoreline in the park. Home to panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and northern pike, the lake reaches a depth of 18 feet.

A beach stretches for 400 feet along a section of the shoreline. Amenities include picnic tables, beach house, playground, and restrooms.

Here’s a brief video of buffleheads swimming on Little Falls Lake:

A great trail to enjoy the lake from is the Little Falls (Green) Trail. The paved route skirts the lake’s southeastern shore for 0.6 miles one-way (1.2-miles round trip).

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of St. Croix County guidebook.

Video of Wisconsin’s Willow Falls

Among Wisconsin’s most impressive waterfalls is Willow Falls.

Located in Willow River State Park near the Minnesota border, the Willow River descends 45 feet over the falls. The main drop is about 15 feet high but more than a hundred feet wide.

A sandstone gorge nestles the falls beneath 200-foot high walls. Geologists estimate the rock at the bottom of the gorge is about 600 million years old and have found trilobite fossils in it.

Here’s a brief video showing Willow Falls:

A great trail to see the terraces from is the Willow Falls Hill (Gray) Trail. It runs 0.85-miles round trip on Willow Falls State Park’s eastern side.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of St. Croix County guidebook.