Nineteen Can't-Miss Autumn Day Hikes along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border, Part 2

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

If living in a border county or traveling near the Wisconsin-Illinois state line, you may want to check out some of the great autumn trails in the region. The trails largely are in prairies, though two counties can be found in the Driftless Area along the Mississippi River and so are hillier.

Illinois

McHenry County
Day hikers can enjoy fall colors and the reflections of those harvest-hued canopies in ponds and lakes at Moraine Hills State Park. The 3.7-mile Lake Defiance Trail circles the lake, passing through woodlands and oak savannas. From McHenry, take North River Road south; the road becomes South River Road at the Charles J. Miller Memorial Highway. Turn left/northeast on Main Park Road. Leave your vehicle at the hickory ridge parking lot and take the connector to the main trail.

Stephenson County
A walk through a forest of oaks, hickory and walnut awaits on the plains of northern Illinois at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. Autumn is a particularly good time to hike the 2.6-mile High Point Trail. Located north of the park’s 40-acre lake, the four-loop trail winds past the tan and brown leaves of oaks and hickory and the yellows of walnut, as well as an evergreen pine planation. From Freeport, take U.S. Hwy. 20 west. Turn right/north onto Ill. Hwy. 73 then in Lena left/northwest onto East Lena Street and right/north onto County Road 7/North Lake Road. At the park, go left/west toward the Site Office and follow the road past Pine Ridge Campground to the parking lot. Cross the road to the trailhead. Note: The state park is closed for remodeling of facilities during 2020.

Winnebago County
Hikers can enjoy a blufftop view of a maple-oak forest at Seward Bluff in the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County. The 0.8-mile Seward Bluffs Trail sits above Grove Creek valley and passes through a forest of yellow-, orange- and red-leaved maples and tan-colored oaks. From Rockford, take U.S. Hwy. 20 west. Turn left/south on South Pecatonica Road and then right/west onto Comly Road. Go right/north on the entry road into the preserve and take the first right/north, crossing a bridge over the creek. The road curves in a U-shaped; park in a pullout and pick up the trail heading left/west from the center of the U-shaped curved. A stem leads to a figure 8 trail.

Wisconsin

Rock County
Hikers can see unique sandstone rock formations in an oak-dominated forest at Magnolia Bluff County Park. A 1-mile looping nature trail heads along the limestone and sandstone bluff, the county’s second highest point. Autumn is colorful in the forest of black, red and white oak, shagbark and bitternut hickories, American and slippery elms, black cherry, red and sugar maples, white ash, basswood, hackberry, aspen, white birch, black walnut, and butternut. From Evansville, go south on Wis. Hwy. 59 then left/south on North Croak Road. Enter the park by turning left/east and park in the lot where the road ends. Head straight-west from the lot and follow the loop south.
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A plethora of autumn colors await at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville. More than a half mile of trails wind through the 20-acre site, where 4000 varieties of plants grow in 26 garden styles. The best sections in autumn include the North Woodland Path, which runs by a pond, and the woodland walk and woodland glen areas. From the intersection of Interstate 90 and U.S. Bus. Hwy. 14, take the latter northwest. Turn left/southwest onto Palmer Drive. The botanical gardens are on the right/north.

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Beautiful views of the Rock River amid a canopy of yellow and orange leaves awaits hikers at Big Hill Park in Beloit. The 190-acre park sits on bluffs overlooking the river. A great route is the 1.9-mile round trip unnamed trail that runs through the park's south side then turns north with the Rock River below and ends at a parking lot on the Big Hill's northeast side. From downtown Beloit, take Sixth Street/South Afton Road north. Turn right/east onto West Big Hill Road then left/north onto Big Hill Drive. Park at the environmental education center and walk south alongside Bill Hill Drive; the trailhead is on the road's left/east side.

Walworth County
Among the best places in southwest Wisconsin to enjoy fall colors are its moraine ridges. They offer terrain relief and slopes where different trees can flourish. One great trail for hiking a moraine is the 9-mile round trip Lake La Grange Trail. Part of the trail climbs to a ridge 200 feet above the surrounding terrain, sporting a hardwood forest of yellow-orange-red sugar maple, bronze basswood, and gold to maroon-colored white ash. From Whitewater, take Bluff Road east. Turn right/south on Duffin Road. Park at the Ole Oleson Historic Log Cabin and from there join head east on the connector to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Go south on the Ice Age Trail.

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A pleasant walk through the woods past a tiny stream at Price Park Conservancy near Elkhorn will delight day hikers, especially during fall. The 0.51-mile Red Loop heads through a forest of sugar maple, shagbark hickory, elm, oak and dogwood and and a grove of evergreens near a tributary to Sugar Creek. In autumn, the trees turn orange-gold, with an occasional purple crown. From Elkhorn, take U.S. Hwy. 12 north. Turn right/east onto Potter Road. then left/north onto Hodunk Road. The parking lot is on the left/west.

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A pleasant walk alongside a small creek through a woods awaits hikers at Springs Park in Delavan. During autumn, the trees shimmer gold on the 1.3-mile round trip trail next to Swan Creek. The trail is located in the lower part of the 33-acre park. In Delavan, from the junction of Spring Lane and West Washington Street, take the latter east. Turn right/south into the park.

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Though known for its beautiful Lake Geneva shoreline, Big Foot Beach State Park is an excellent place to enjoy autumn leaves. Each fall, the leaves of hardwood trees turn gold, orange, russet and olive. One of the best routes for walking under the harvest-hued canopy is the 1.3-mile Yellow Trail, which loops through the park’s wooded western section and past Ceylon Lagoon. In Lake Geneva, take South Lake Shore Drive south to Buttons Bay. Turn left/east into the park and leave your vehicle at the first lot on the road’s left/north side. The trail is on the lot’s north side.

Read Part 2

Nineteen Can't-Miss Autumn Day Hikes along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border, Part 1

Hiking trail along Pike River, Petrified Springs Park, Kenosha County.

If living in a border county or traveling near the Wisconsin-Illinois state line, you may want to check out some of the great autumn trails in the region. The trails largely are in prairies, though two counties can be found in the Driftless Area along the Mississippi River and so are hillier.

Illinois

Boone County
Native prairie, small towns, an apple orchard, and a woodland with beautiful fall colors awaits hikers on the Long Prairie Trail. The paved rail to trail route runs 14.6 miles from northwest of Caledonia through Poplar Grove to northeast of Capron. A great segment is Caledonia to Beaver Creek just past Poplar Grove, as it largely stays away from the highway. Park in Caledonia in a trailhead lot at the corner of Main and Front streets for a 10-mile round trip. Trees buffer both sides of the trail almost the entire way.

Jo Daviess County
An impressive array of fall colors await at Apple River Canyon State Park. The 2-mile round trip River Route Nature Trail parallels the Apple River in one of the few Illinois counties that is part of the driftless area. Giant old sugar maples with amber, orange and scarlet leaves grace the picnic area at the trailhead. On the trail, musclewood resembles a small beech tree, but its dense orange-red canopy delivers far more spectacular colors. From Galena, take U.S. Hwy. 20 east. Turn left/north on North Canyon Park Road. Once in the park, leave your vehicle at the lot on the road’s west side before crossing Apple River.

Lake County
Hikers can ramble through an oak woods at the Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve. The 1.7-mile Yellow Trail – located on higher ground just east of the Des Plaines River’s – is a great way to enjoy fall colors, as the oak leaves change in late autumn to tan and brown with a few even orange and scarlet. Acorns abound. From the Wisconsin-Illinois border, take Interstate 94 south. Exit south onto U.S. Hwy. 41. Turn left/east onto Ill. Hwy. 173 then enter the preserve by going left/north. Make a right/east onto Forest Preserve Road. Park in the third lot you come to; it will be on the right/south. A connector trail links the park to the Yellow Trail.

Wisconsin

Grant County
Day hikers can explore an oak savanna that’s nearly 300 feet above the Wisconsin River at the Boscobel Bluffs State Natural Area. In autumn, the bluffside lights up in an array of colors. The 3-mile round trip trail climbs 400 feet on an old logging road along the Lower Wisconsin River valley’s south flank. After passing through a globally rare dry prairie, the trail reaches a savanna offering the yellow to brown leaves of bur oak, the rich gold of shagbark hickory, and the maroon of American hazelnut. From U.S. Hwy. 61/Elm Street in Boscobel, turn east onto Mary Street, which becomes Freemont Street and then County Road MS. Just past Oakes Street, a parking lot is on the left/north.

Green County
A variety of fall colors – including the golds of shagbark hickories, rich yellows of birch, and the bronze of dried prairie grass – await hikers on the Havenridge Nature Trail in New Glarus Woods State Park. The 4.2-mile trail heads through each of the park’s landscapes. Some of the trees here are enormous, as the hilly New Glarus Woods escaped the logger’s ax in the 1800s. Basswood, black walnut, elm and oak also can be found in the park. From New Glarus, head south on Wis. Hwy. 69. enter the park by turning right/west on County Road NN. Park in the first lot on the road’s left/south side.

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Tree leaves along the scenic Sugar River turn gold each autumn, making for a wonderful walk. The 2.5-mile round trip Sugar River Trail West runs on an old jeep trail that hugs the Sugar River between Brodhead and the Decatur Lake dam. Closer to a floodplain forest, this side of the river offers more trees than the Sugar River Trail that travels through farmland east of the waterway. From the junction of Wis. Hwy. 11 and County Road E in Brodhead, go north on the former. Turn left/west on Decatur Road. The parking lot and trailhead is at the Sugar River’s west side.

Kenosha County
Among the best places to see fall colors are streams, where the leaves reflect beautifully against the blue water or brighten a gray sky. Such is the case at Petrifying Springs Park, where an unnamed trail traverses 2 miles (round trip) through a woods and alongside Pike River in the park’s southwest corner. Be sure to take the side trails with footbridges crossing the river, where you can enjoy orange and yellow leaves on trees and shrubs, some of them falling into the water and slowly gliding downstream. In Kenosha, from Wis. Hwy. 31 exit east onto Berryville Road/7th Street. Take the second right/south. Drive 0.17 miles to the second parking lot. Pick up the hiking trail from the paved sidewalk on the lot’s west side, going southwest into the woods.

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Hikers can experience the richly colored orange-red leaves of the hawthorn tree that grows along Pike Creek near Kenosha. The 0.4-mile looping Hawthorn Trail runs in the Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum. Hawthorns grow from 16 to 49 feet tall, and when more shrub than tree-like, their leaves branch out all around the trunk from the ground to its top. A bonus in autumn: The woods is a major stopover for migrating songbirds. From Kenosha, head north on Wis. Hwy. 31. After crossing Somers Road, turn left/west into the nature sanctuary. Park at the nature center; the trail begins west of it.

Lafayette County
Ridgetop views, an oak woods, and prairie grasses await hikers on the Windy Ridge Trail at Yellowstone State Park. The 1.7-mile trail passes through an oak grove, where leaves shine tan, red and brown overhead and oodles of acorns crunch underfoot. From Darlington, take County Road F northeast. Turn right/southeast onto N. Lake Road. Go left/northeast on the road leading tot he campground and park int the lot past the turnoff to the campground. Walk the road south back toward the turnoff; the trailhead is on the road’s left side.

Read Part 2

Autumn hikes book available for pre-order

I’m proud to announce that pre-orders are now being taken for my forthcoming and latest title, “Wisconsin's Best Autumn Hikes.”

The book lists the state’s top 10 fall foliage trails, as well as offers the best hikes in each of its regions and counties. More than 100 fantastic day hikes are described in the volume, and all are guaranteed to delight. Downloadable 8 x 11 inch trail maps are available online for all featured trails.

Release date for the book is Aug. 28, and on that date the paperback (in full color!) also will be available. The title is my 13th Wisconsin hiking guidebook.

You can pre-order the ebook here.

Minnesota hike heads through maple forest

Trails at Maplewood State Park head through a maple forest.

Cow Lake Trail map. Trail outlined in purple.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy the bright splendor of a maple forest during an autumn hike in east-central Minnesota.

The 4.6-mile unnamed lollipop trail – called here the Cow Lake Trail for the major waterbody it circles – sits in Maplewood State Park. The route is a combination of mowed grass and a wide dirt path, and leashed dogs are allowed.

To reach the trail, from Pelican Rapids, take U.S. Hwy. 59 north. Turn right/east on Minn. Hwy. 108. The park entrance is in 7 miles. When the entry road, splits, go left/south. Just after the RV sanitation station, turn left/east. Follow the road toward Knoll Campground. At the turnaround for drinking water, park on the road’s side, and walk east uphill. The trailhead is in about 100 feet on the right/south.

Kames and kettles
The mowed grass trail heads uphill into an oak savanna with sumac alongside the path. At 0.2 miles, the trail enters the woods.

The park sits in a boundary zone between the hardwood forest of the east and the great prairie of the west. Located near the Red River Valley, the Alexandria Moraine runs through the park, dotting it with kames and kettles.

Kames – large piles of sand and gravel deposited by melting glaciers during the last ice age, can rise up to 1500 feet here. In contrast, kettles formed when blocks of ice broke off from retreating glaciers and their weight depressed the surface; as the ice melted, the basin filled with water, forming a lake.

At 0.3 miles, the trail leaves the woods. Bass Lake is on the left/east. Any children hiking with you will be delighted to find that the trail here includes walking across a beaver dam.

Mesic forest
After the dam, the trail re-enters the woods. Sugar maple, basswood, American elm, and oak – known as a mesic forest – dominates. Ironwood, aspen, tamarack, and red cedar also can be found in the park and along the trail.

If visiting in spring or summer, the forest floor is a wonderful spot to look for wildflowers. Trillium, bloodroot and liverwort all thrive here. Scattered among the colorful blooms are boulders carried and left by glaciers during the last ice age.

The trail soon joins an old dirt road and crosses a series of small hills. At 1.1 miles, it reaches a four-way intersection; the crossing trail is for horses. Continue straight/south and head on to the loop.

You’ll be able to spot Cow Lake through the trees at about 1.4 miles. The hills turn steeper as entering a maple and paper birch woods.

Sugar maple and paper birch
The sugar maple is among the few plants whose leaves turn different colors from tree to tree. Sugar maples contain three different pigments in their leaves. Each autumn when trees stop making food from chlorophyll, the leaves’ greenness disappears and those pigments stand out. Which pigment appears depends on how much sunlight they receive and genetics.

If a sugar maple is in the shade, it’ll turn yellow. If it’s in the full sun, expect red. The proportion of sun of shade, as well as the leaves’ DNA, affects how they change throughout the day from yellow to red to orange. Usually the top of the tree and its sides turn red first with the inlaid portion of the tree yellow.

Set against the maple is the striking white bark of paper birch with its yellow autumn leaves. The vaguely heart-shaped leaves have a leathery feel to them.

Native Americans used the paper-like bark to make everything from canoes and wigwams to baskets and cups. Today, the birch still is useful in making a variety of products, whether it be spools and toothpicks, snowshoe frames or flooring, paper pulp or interior finish.

Paper birch doesn’t much like shade, so it must grow fast to outcompete other trees for canopy space. They typically rise 66 feet high, but some have reached double that height. The sugar maple still beats it out, though, usually growing between 80-115 feet high, so birch often will stick to wetter soil, which maples don’t like.

Quaking aspen
At 1.7 miles, the trail enters a small grass and thistle meadow. The exposure to the sun is short-lived, though, as in a tenth-mile the trail re-enters the woods.

You’re now on the bottom side of loop. A small kettle pond on the right is visible through the trees, as you head downhill through large quaking aspen and elm.

The quaking aspen’s flat, spade-like leaves flap at the slightest breeze. In autumn when the leaves turn amber, that makes for quite a show, especially so on trees that grow at least six stories tall and under ideal conditions can reach 10 stories.

Quaking aspen is the most abundant and widespread tree in Minnesota and the most common of the 35 populus tree species – which includes poplar, aspen, and cottonwood – across North America. A pioneer species, it quickly replaced northern Minnesota’s great pineries and the continent’s many forests when they were logged off in the 1800s. Prevention of forest fires has allowed the quaking aspen to maintain its hold.

American elm
A rare find in most mesic forests these days is the American elm, which was almost wiped out when Dutch elm disease spread through its populations in the early 20th century. The tree is large – usually 50 to 70 feet high with a diameter of 24-48 inches.

Its wide-spreading branches droop at the ends, making for a showy display of yellow leaves in autumn. Though somewhat shade tolerant and fast growing to outpace other tall tree species, the elm is common on rich bottom lands, and in Minnesota that usually means the southern portion of the state.

Back on the trail, look for a beaver sign at 2.1 miles and as coming to the loop’s east side, a small kettle pond on the right at 2.4 miles.

A tenth of the mile from the pond, a path diverges right/northeast. This is part of the equestrian trail crossed earlier. Stay on the main trail by going straight/north. The hiking trail is shared with horse riders from there to the four-way intersection where the loop began.

At 2.8 miles, you’ll reach an open meadow on the loop’s north side. Cow Lake is on the trail’s left in the distance to the west, and Beer Lake is on the right/north.

Prairie flowers
A variety of common prairie wildflowers grow in the meadow. Among them are beardtongue, prairie rose, showy milkweed, and wild onion.

The trail runs along Beer Lake’s southern shore at 2.9 miles and then leaves the waterbody behind 0.4 miles later and re-enters the woods and its brilliant autumn leaves.

Next up are two spurs, neither of which leads to anything not already seen on the trail. One spur at 3.4 miles heads north through the woods to a hike-in campsite and then another spur goes south to Cow Lake and a campsite along it.

At 3.5 miles, you’ll reach the four-way intersection where the loop began. Go right/north on the stem trail, and retrace your steps past Bass Lake back to your vehicle.

Wisc. trails head through changing forests

Wisconsin's northern mesic forest, like that found in Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest, is an awesome spot for enjoying autumn leaves.

Wisconsin day hikers on several trails can experience autumn forests that are closest to the ones Native Americans and pioneers encountered during the 1800s.

Before Euro-American settlement, the northern mesic forest was the dominant ecological landscape in Wisconsin. It now covers slightly more than half of the state, mainly the northern portion. Today’s mesic forest looks far different than what pioneers found, however, because most of the forest was logged off during the late 1800s and early 20th century.

The second growth forest that replaced it is starting to become an old growth forest, though.

Sugar maple is the mesic forest’s dominant tree. Each autumn, its leaves vary from yellow to orange or red. Basswood, whose leaves turn olive in fall, and white ash, which changes to a deep maroon, usually are mixed in the canopy. In other northern mesic forests, usually those near Lake Michigan, American beech can appear.

In the subcanopy during autumn, balsam fir offers a green accent while ironwood provides light yellow leaves and American elm bright yellow. The shrub layer adds to the leaf display, most notably alternate-leaved dogwood’s deep crimson.

Oak also is common along many of the trails. Red oak often appears in northern mesic forests, and their leaves turn brown in fall, another nice accent to the oranges, reds and yellows of the other trees.

There are some differences between this forest and that which Native Americans and pioneers saw. Eastern hemlock and and eastern white pine both are nearly gone in today’s forest. Deer love the young hemlock’s leaves and so often overgraze it while aspen and maples outcompeted the white pines.

Though yellow birch does show up in today’s northern mesic forests, conditions are no longer ripe for it to reproduce, and so it’s slowly disappearing. Canada yew, a shrub, already is gone, thanks primarily to browsing by deer, whose population has exploded since the mid 20th century.

Some great Wisconsin trails to experience a northern mesic forest that’s slowly become old growth, include:
• Lakeshore Trail (Apostle Islands National Lakeshore)
• Penokee Mountain Trail (segment of North Country National Scenic Trail)
• Ridge View Trails (St. Croix National Scenic Riverway)
• Tower Trail (Potawatomi State Park, segment of Ice Age National Scenic Trail)
• West Torch Trail (Chequamegon National Forest)

Vista offers 30-mile views of autumn colors

Autumn colors spread across the forest around Skibo Vista Overlook.

Skibo Vista Overlook map.

Day trippers can enjoy sweeping 30-mile views of autumn colors at Minnesota’s Skibo Vista Overlook.

Located on Iron Range, the overlook is an easy stroll, consisting of a mere 250 feet of sidewalk. It is located along the 78-mile Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, which connects the Iron Range to the North Shore.

To reach the overlook, from Hoyt Lakes take Lake County 15 (aka Skibo Outlook Road, Forest Route 110 and Forest Route 128) south. After passing Lake County 129, the lookout is on the left/east.

Located 20 stories above the terrain below, the overlook sits on the Laurentian Divide. One of the continent’s great watershed divides, water on the north side of the Laurentian makes its way toward Hudson Bay while that to the south heads either to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The divide stretches from Triple Divide Peak in northwestern Montana, cuts through Minnesota’s Iron Range, and ends on the Labrador Peninsula at the 60th parallel.

Glacier-shaped terrain
Surrounding the overlook are the Toimi Drumlins. Formed during the last Ice Age, viewed from above the drumlin field looks somewhat like a basket of eggs. Drumlins are a series of elongated, teardropped-shaped hills. Around Skibo Vista, each drumlin ridge is about a mile long, a quarter-mile wide, and 30-50 feet high.

Exactly how the drumlins formed is debated among geologists, but all agree that they were shaped by the glacier’s direction – the ridge’s tapered end points the way the glacier was flowing. Here the drumlins run in a southwest-northeast direction.

Quaking aspen dominates the drumlins’ tops. Their flat leaves easily flutter in the wind, in autumn giving the appearance of moving yellow seas below the overlook. Surrounding them is evergreen balsam fir.

In the distance to the west and southwest are tamarack lowlands. Tamarack is among 20 species of trees in the world that are “deciduous conifers,” meaning they grow cones and sprout needles like conifers but each autumn their needles change colors and fall, just as deciduous trees lose their leaves. Each September, the tall tamaracks – they usually grow between 33-66 high with a trunk two feet in diameter – turn a brilliant gold.

Changes
Mixed amid the aspens and tamaracks are pockets of hardwood forests. Sugar maple, basswood, American elm, and oak populate these enclaves, offering hues of orange, red, yellow and brown.

On a clear fall day, it’s quite a view, with multiple Iron Range towns nestled amid the harvest colors. Soaring eagles and migrating hawks often can be spotted overhead.

Not surprisingly, an observation tower for the Superior National Forest used to stand at the overlook, as it’s a perfect spot to watch for forest fires. A concrete foundation is all that remains of the tower.

Collectively called the Laurentian Mixed Forest, the view didn’t look like this during Minnesota’s early days as a state. When this was Native American land Euro-American settlers arrived, this area was much more like the boreal forests to the north. Red and white pine dominated, with aspen, paper birch, spruce, and balsam fir finding niches. After the pine was cut, aspen and paper birch took over. More change likely is to come in the decades ahead, as global warming allows the the hardwood forest pockets to gain a foothold.

Fire tower offers great view of autumn colors

The Parnell Observation Tower sits at the highest point in Wisconsin's
Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Parnell Tower Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can head to an observation tower on Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest highest point via a short trail. During autumn, the walk through the surrounding forest and the view of it from the tower is a fantastic sight.

The 0.7-mile out and back Parnell Tower Trail heads to the 60-foot wooden Parnell Observation Tower. The hike can be lengthened, though, by adding a loop, known as the Parnell Tower Trail Loop, which runs 2.9 miles.

To reach the trailhead, from Plymouth take Wis. Hwy. 67 west. Turn left/south onto County Road A (aka Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive). County Road U joins County A from the east; in just under 2 miles when County Road U goes right/west, turn onto it. In about 0.15 miles, turn right/north into the parking lot for the trail. A gravel trail – the short stem leading to the loop – heads north from the lot’s northern side.

The stem immediately ascends beneath a canopy of maple trees. Half of the path up the hill consists of log steps. At 0.2 miles is a bench for resting.

Northern red oak, basswood, sugar maple and white ash dominate the dry mesic forest on this part of the hill.

Across southern Wisconsin, Northern red is the most common oak species. They grow quite tall – up at 75 feet high – and have a deeply ridged black bark. During the autumn, their leaves range from russet to bright red, and they drop lots of large acorns, each one up to an inch round.

Observation tower
Slightly taller at up to 80 feet high, basswood has heart-shaped leaves. The tree likes the same rich soils as sugar maples so they often are found together in Wisconsin forests. In autumn, their leaves range from light yellow to dark gold or tan.

Sugar maple with its rounded dense crown can grow up to 75 feet high. The younger trees have smooth bark, but as the trunk ages, it turns shaggy. In fall, the leaves change to yellow, orange or red depending on exposure to sunlight.

White ash grows to a height of 80 feet and perhaps is best known as the wood used to make baseball bats. Its autumn leaves range from yellow to deep purple and maroon. Unfortunately, the white ash is a favorite of the emerald ash borer, and so is in danger across the state.

At 0.3 miles, the trail reaches the observation tower. The top offers 360 degree views, and the autumn leaves and quilt of farmland below seems to stretch forever. Long Lake and 1,230-foot Dundee Mountain can be spotted to the southwest. On clear days when views reach up to 45 miles, look for Lake Michigan to the east and Lake Winnebago in the northwest.

Longer hike
If interested in just a short hike, after descending the tower retrace your steps back to the parking lot. If you’re up for some exploring, though, take the trail the left/east and begin the loop.

From 0.7 to 0.9 miles, several rocks can be seen alongside the trail, which heads down the Kettle (Interlobate) Moraine that the tower sits on. The moraine was formed during the last ice age when sediment pushed forward by advancing glaciers was left behind, as the ice sheet melted. The rock show ends as the trail reaches a gully.

The trail enters a stand of birch at 1.1 miles. Yellow birch reaches a height of 75 feet. It’s easy to spot, as its bark, which ranges from shiny yellow to gray-silver, curls into strips. During autumn, its leaves turn bright yellow and gold.

You’re certain to see at least signs of the forest wildlife if not spotting some of them. Among the forest’s denizens are whitetail deer, foxes, skunks and chipmunks.

Kettle bog
At 1.2 miles, the trail arrives at a glade surrounded by oaks. A kettle bog is to the right.

Kettle bogs formed at the end of the last age. As the glaciers melted and retreated, large chunks of ice were left behind. Glacial sediment surrounding the ice check dammed the meltwater in place, forming lakes. At the edge of the lakes were swampy flats layered with peat, or decomposed sphagnum moss, creating a bog.

The trail turns rocky as going to the bottom of ravine and then is hilly, with a lot of ups and downs, the rest of the way.

You’ll enter a stand of birch, as curving onto the loop’s north side, about 1.6 miles in.

Ice Age Trail
A downside of the trail is that it runs under a high-tension line starting at 1.8 miles. This unfortunately lasts for much of the loop’s northern leg. Upon reaching a small glade, the trail then swings onto the loop’s western side.

A backpackers shelter that sleeps 10 sits at 2.5 miles in. This is near where the Ice Age National Scenic Trail connects with the loop. The IAT runs concurrent with the trail for about a quarter mile; when they split, go left/east to stay on the tower trail loop.

From there, you’ll head up a steep hill. At the top is the observation tower. Look for the stem trail’s steps and descend them back to the parking lot.

Hiking boots are a must on the trail. Slopes can be steep while roots and rocks sit on sections of the trail, and after rain those inclines can be muddy. Insect repellent also is a must.

Bluff trail winds through oak-hickory woods

The summit of the bluff at the end of the Lookout Trail offers a great view
of the Mississippi River and city of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Lookout Trail aerial map. Click for larger version.

Hikers can head through an oak woodland to top of a bluff at Wisconsin’s Hixon Forest Nature Center.

The 3-mile round-trip Lookout Trail, reached via a segment of the Sumac Trail, sits at the edge of the La Crosse metro area. The trail is exceptional during autumn when acorns and leaves cover the trail beneath a harvest-hued canopy.

To reach the trailhead, from U.S. Hwy. 53 in La Crosse, go east on La Crosse Street. Turn left/north onto Wis. Hwy. 16/Losey Boulevard North then right/east onto Bluff Pass Road and right/south onto Milson Court. The road ends at a gravel parking lot. Park there.

From there, head east onto the Sumac Trail. The Hixon Forest is a dense oak and hickory woodlands with tree branches arcing over the trail. A golf course sits beyond the woodline to the right/south.

The undergrowth is heavy all the way to the top since the trail is on the bluff’s south side. Because of this, spring also is a good time to hike, as wildflowers like Jack-in-the-pulpit, violet and white trillium bloom.

When the trail splits, go left/northeast. The trail slowly climbs up the bluff’s side.

Among the trees to look for in the forest is the white oak. With scaly, ash gray bark, they can tower up to eight stories above the trail. Fall leaves in their expansive canopy range from brown and wine-red to orange-red.

Shagbark hickory
At 1 mile in, upon reaching the next junction, go left/northeast. You’re now on the Lookout Trail. The route is very steep from here on out and starts with a series of switchbacks up a narrow, dirt trail.

Shagbark hickory also is common in the forest. They often grow two stories higher than the white oak. They’re easy to identify with bark that juts from the trunk and curls outward.

During autumn, the hickory delivers two special gifts. The first is the golden leaves, which are far richer than the yellows of the sugar maple. The other is a fragrant, edible nut; it has a sweet flavor.

Red and gray squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons like the nuts, too, so you’re certain to see the first three on the trail gathering them as well as acorns. Raccoons are nocturnal, but you can bet that some are resting in the hollows of the high trees along the trail.

Summit views
Two other oaks you may spot are the red and the black oak.

The northern red oak grows about nine stories high with a trunk between 20-30 inches diamater. Their bark has ridges with which appear to be shining stripes betwene them. Each autumn, its leave turn bright red.

Black oak is comparatively shorter at up to 8 stories high but has a wider trunk than red oak. Primarily located in southern Wisconsin, the number of black oak species in Wisconsin is declining, as we remove nearly twice as much wood as is being replaced by new growth. During autumn, its leaves turn yellow to yellow-brown.

At 1.5 miles, the trail reaches the bluff’s summit. The goat prairie there allows for an excellent view of the Mississippi River surrounded by the amber leaves of the trees inhabiting its backwaters. The city of La Crosse, with its many landscaped trees, is in the foreground. Watch the skies for hawks and turkey vultures; sometimes even a bald eagle can be spotted.

The summit’s ground is dry, but plenty of interesting plants can be found there, including aster, butterfly weed, goldenrod and pasque-flowers. During autumn, the grasses turn gold.

After taking in the sights, retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

Wis. hike heads through sugar maple forest

The Holy Hill segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail heads through a
sugar maple forest below the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary.

Ice Age National Scenic Trail-Holy Hill segment topo map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy the rich and varied autumn colors of sugar maple leaves on the Holy Hill segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

The out-and-back trail runs 2.6-miles round trip in southeastern Wisconsin. It sits beneath the majestic Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary.

To reach the trailhead, from Hartford take Wis. Hwy. 83 south. Turn left/east onto Wis. Hwy. 167 (aka Holy Hill Road). In about 2.5 miles, go right/south on Stationway Road. After about 0.1 miles, look for the parking lot along the road’s left/east side. There’s a small clearing with picnic tables there, and the trail runs southeast from the lot.

Kettle moraine
The first stretch of the trail is fairly level as heading through a woods dominated by sugar maples. Aspen with its golden leaves and the evergreen white pine and white spruce dot the forest, making a perfect accent to the sugar maples’ yellow, orange and red crowns.

The woods sits in the middle of the kettle moraine region, a series of deep glacial depressions stretching across this part of Wisconsin. During the last ice age, two glacial lobes met here, leaving a large amount of debris between them. As the glaciers retreated, an outwash plain of meltwater formed atop the debris with the ice trapped beneath it. As the buried ice melted, the outwash plain collapsed, leaving a bumpy terrain of small knolls and mounds. Sometimes a conical hill of glacial sediment and debris – called a kame – was left behind.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill is built on one such kame that rises in the east above the forest. Constructed in the late 1920s using a neo-Romanesque design, the basilica’s 192-foot high twin towers can be seen from several surrounding counties.

During autumn, the sugar maples’ colorful leaves often block any view of the basilica from the trail. The sugar maple usually grows between 80-115 feet high, though some have been known to reach 148 feet.

Sugar maple leaves
Despite the trees, your certain to hear the basilica’s bells tolling. Between their ringing, songbirds provide a melodic soundtrack punctuated with the staccato of scampering squirrels.

It’s a wonderful accompaniment to the crescendo of colors. The sugar maple is among the few plants whose leaves turn different colors from tree to tree.

Sugar maples contain three different pigments in their leaves. Each autumn when trees stop making food from chlorophyll, the leaves’ greenness disappears and those pigments stand out. Which pigment appears depends on how much sunlight they receive and genetics.

If a sugar maple is in the shade, it’ll turn yellow. If it’s in the full sun, expect red. The proportion of sun of shade, as well as the leaves’ DNA, affects how they change throughout the day from yellow to red to orange. Usually the top of the tree and its sides turn red first with the inlaid portion of the tree yellow.

Visiting the basilica
About 0.8 miles in, the trail begins climbing a knoll until reaching about 1220 feet elevation. It then descends quickly.

Sugar maples aren’t just loved for their fantastic leaf display. In spring, their sap is used to make a sweet syrup that most of us enjoy on pancakes, waffles and French toast. This is done by placing a tap into a hole drilled just past the tree’s bark. The sap is collected in buckets or through tubes sent to a large tank. It’s then boiled so the water evaporates, leaving syrup behind. About 40 gallons of sap must be boiled to produce a mere gallon of pure maple syrup.

At 1.3 miles, the trail reaches Donegal Road. This marks a good turnback point. If looking to extend your walk, the Ice Age Trail does continue onward by heading east along the roadside before darting south along Emerald Drive and into the Kettle Moraine State Forest’s Loew Lake Unit.

After the hike, drive up to the basilica, where from its spires at more than 1350 feet elevation, you can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding woods (It’s 178 steps to the top!) and on a clear day the downtown Milwaukee skyline about 30 miles away. To reach it, from the trail’s parking lot take Stationway Drive right/north then at Hwy. 167 go left/west. Turn left/south onto Carmel Road. More than 500,000 people from all over the world annually visit the basilica.

Day trail explores exotic Minnesota bog

Tamaracks line the shores of Big Bog Lake in autumn.

Bog Walk map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can explore the unique fall colors of a bog at Minnesota's Lake Bemidji State Park.

The Bog Walk runs miles 2.4 miles round-trip. A boardwalk takes you through wetlands – with leaves of various shrubs turning yellow while others remain green – to a beautiful lake ringed by trees with orange needles.

To reach the trailhead, from Bemidji, take County Road 19/Lake Avenue NE north. Pretty Lake Bemidji sits to the left/west, and along the way you’ll cross the Mississippi River, which this close to its headwaters is just a small, shallow river. At Bass Lake Road NE, turn right/east; this eventually becomes New Bass Road North. At County Road 20/Birchmont Beach Road NE, go left/west. Next, turn left/south onto County Road 414/State Park Road NE and enter the park. At the next junction, go right/south and then take the next left/southeast into the parking area.

From the parking lot walk alongside the road you just came in on, heading west. Where the road forks to the ranger station, instead right/north. You'll cross County Road 414 and pass the campground's western side. Once you pass the second road to the camper cabins, at 0.3 miles, the trail technically begins. Fortunately, the whole route is shaded.

When the trail crosses County Road 20, you’ve entered wilderness. A couple of trails branch off to the left/northwest, but you'll want to stay on the main trail, which veers right/east.

Most of the trail to this point has been pines with a few hardwoods. The region is a transition zone between the deciduous forests of maple, basswood and oak to the south and the great boreal forest of spruce, fir, paper birch, aspen, and jack pine to the north.

At 0.7 miles, the trail junctions a path going left/north. Continue right-straight/east. Once you pass the bike parking area, you'll come to the quarter-mile boardwalk over a bog.

Big Bog
The bog sits in a tamarack spruce lowland forest. At your feet are a number of fascinating plants you won't anywhere but a swamp – sheets of sphagnum moss that look solid but actually sit on oversaturated soil and would sway if stepped on...round-leaved sundew and pitcher plants that dine on insects...and if in late spring or early summer the showy blooms of lady's-slipper and Dragon’s-mouth orchid that look like they belong in an elegant home's expensive vase rather than a mysterious swamp.

On the slightly higher ground around and in the bog, several shrubs and trees grow. The needles of the black spruce provides year-round greenery.

Leaves on the alders growing in the bog also stubbornly remain green through autumn. The multi-stemmed shrub grows 10-25 feet high and often forms thickets that are impossible to walk through. To identify an alder, look for warty bark, which are signs of a mature shrub.

Or during autumn just look for the green leaves, both on the shrub and the ground. Bacteria on the alder's roots help convert nitrogen to energy, so when there’s less sunlight, the plant has no need to abandon its leaves to stay alive as deciduous trees do.

Bog birch
Another common shrub along the boardwalk is the bog birch, known by various other names including dwarf birch, low birch, and swamp birch. Its leaves do change color in autumn, turning yellow.

Growing about 5-8 feet high, bog birch is a clump-forming shrub that colonizes bogs and lake borders. It requires wet areas and the full sun to thrive.

In 1.2 miles, the trail reaches Big Bog Lake. Tamaracks, a deciduous conifer tree, line the lakeside. Each autumn, its needles turn orange and fall off, as if they were leaves on maple tree. They rise between 40-70 feet tall and about 14-20 inches wide. Tamaracks also are known as American larch.

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

Autumn colors glow on waterfalls day hike

Lower Falls of Minneopa Falls drops 39 feet in southern Minnesota.

Minneopa Falls Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can walk to the most scenic waterfall in southern Minnesota, a perfect adventure in autumn when the gorge glows in orange and red leaves.

The 0.4-mile round trip Minneopa Falls Trail sits in Minneopa State Park near Mankato. The trail is located in the park's smaller southern part.

To reach the trailhead, from Mankato follow U.S. Hwy 169 west. Turn right/north onto County Road 69/Gadwall Road. After entering the park, take the first left/south. The road ends in a gravel parking lot; leave your vehicle there.

Follow the paved path from the parking lot past the picnic area. You'll hear the rush of the falls as you approach Minneopa Creek.

The trail next turns northwest and comes to a footbridge that crosses between the falls' two drops, allowing you to see the smaller falls and the lip of the lower falls. Multicolored leaves float and swirl along the shallow creek.

Trail to Lower Falls
Minneopa Creek flows 11 miles, most of that through farmland, before reaching park. The Upper Falls drops 8 feet.

After crossing water, the trail go upon the top of the gorge then limestone steps heads down the edge of ravine. At the bottom is a sandy and rocky trail that runs along the creek bank.

The orange-red glow of the autumn leaves forms a canopy over the trail. Sugar maple, basswood, elm, and northern red oak, with some hackberry and ironwood, all contribute to the harvest colors. A stand of yellow birch also can be found at the southernmost edge of its range.

How the trail looks to your great-grandchildren in a few decades almost certainly will be different than it does now. Dutch elm disease has claimed most of the elms while oaks, unable to tolerate shade, are not replacing themselves as they fall. The result is maples and basswood are becoming more dominant.

At last the trail reaches the Lower Falls. It drops 39 feet and is 25 feet wide. If you can take your hike a couple of days after a thunderstorm, the water flow will be heavier that usual in autumn.

Millions of years in the making
Minneopa Falls exists thanks to millions of years of geology that predate the dinosaurs. Beneath the dirt are several stories of dolomite and sandstone, set down in a shallow sea over tens of millions of years atop a layer of steeply tilted granite. The granite slopes to the east toward Mankato.

At the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, the Glacial River Warren carried meltwater from retreating glaciers, carving out what today is the Minnesota River Valley. As the amount of meltwater decreased, so did the size of the glacial river, forming dry, flat terraces where it used to flow. The park sits on one such terrace.

The Lower Falls at one time likely was the the creek's mouth to the Minnesota River, but the creek eroded away the rock below the waterfall until the mouth moved to its current location, about 2.2 miles downstream.

There's a double waterfall because of three different layers of hardness in the sandstone. The site of the waterfalls is the softest while the 66-feet stretch between them is harder or more resistant. The constant spray of the waterfalls ensures nearly vertical gorge walls.

Minneopa Falls got its moniker by shortening the Dakota name for it – Minneinneopa – which means "water falling twice."

After taking in the Lower Falls, retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

Trail heads to Wisconsin’s highest point

Observation tower atop Timms Hill, Wisconsin's highest point.

Timms Hill Tower Trail map.
Click for larger version.

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 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.

Sugar maples
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.

Wisconsin’s official state tree, sugar maples thrive in the Midwest’s and New England’s colder climates. It needs a hard freeze to enter winter dormancy, and seed germination only occurs when the thermometer registers just above freezing. Sugar maples rarely are found any further south than Tennessee, and even there the temperature isn’t cold enough to produce the sap used to make maple syrup.

Global warming is pushing the sugar maple’s range north. It’s disappearing from its southern edges while starting to appear in neighboring Minnesota’s Northwoods. Acid rain and the ensuing soil acidification also has led to the maple’s decline. Meanwhile, the logging off of woodlands allows other tree species to take hold, limiting the maple’s ability to expand. The tree doesn’t do as well in urban areas either, where the Norway maple is displacing it.

Back on the trail, look for signs of the several animals that make the county park its home. You stand a good chance of spotting the tracks of foxes, rabbits, whitetail deer and turkeys and certainly will hear the calls of several varieties of songbirds.

Timms Hill is one of the area’s several drumlins. In this region, drumlins were formed when a lake formed between two glaciers – locally the Laurentide Ice Sheet's Wisconsin Valley and Chippewa lobes – about 20,000 years ago. As lake sediment, till and outwash deposited in the ice-walled lake, it formed a round hill of compacted clay.

A whole line of drumlins shows where the area between the two lobes formed lakes during the last Ice Age. It stretches roughly southwest to northeast from north of Thorp to just north of Wis. Hwy. 86.

View from the tower
A wooden lookout tower sits on the hill. From atop the tower, two nearby lakes reflect the hill’s autumn colors. Timms Lake is to the northwest and Bass Lake to the southeast.

Cedars surround Timms Lake, which can be explored up close via the Timms Lake Trail. The invasive ox-eye daisy, which can grow up to three feet high, blossom there during the summer.

Another drumlin, Pearson Hill, can be seen from atop the tower to the east. It’s a mere eight inches lower than Timms Hill and is Wisconsin’s second highest point.

One a clear day, in the southeast you should be able to spot Rib Mountain, which is 44 miles away by line of sight in Wausau.

Though Rib Mountain is a full 26 feet shorter than Timms Hill, many think the former is Wisconsin’s highest point, especially if they’ve been atop it. Part of the reason might be that Rib Mountain feels higher as it rises 670 feet above the landscape while the elevation change from the base of Timm's Hill to the tower is a mere 151 feet.

Ice Age Trail spur
Timms Hill is named after Timothy Gahan, who owned a logging camp on Timms Lake. Price County purchased the land and turned it into a park during the Carter-Reagan years.

After taking in the sights from the tower, retrace your steps back to the parking lot. If you’ve got some time, cross the road and head over to nearby Bass Lake. A boat launch, swimming area, and fishing pier all are on the bucolic waterbody.

Another option is to continue hiking. The Timm’s Hill National Trail is a spur off the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which is 9.75 miles away.

The county park is open 7:30 am-dusk May through October; no admission is charged. Pets must be under control or remain on a leash at all times; they are not allowed near the swimming area or in buildings.

Trail crosses esker between two blue lakes

The Chase Point Trail runs on a pine-studded esker between two crystal blue
lakes. Minnesota DNR photo.

Tell and Chase Point Trails map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can explore a pine-covered ridge separating two lakes and a woods lit each autumn with colorful leaves at Minnesota’s Scenic State Park.

The 2.9-mile route combines two trails – Tell Lake and Chase Point – that are popular at the state park. This route essentially is a lollipop in which you’ll do the loop (or Tell Lake Trail) first and then the stem (which is Chase Point Trail).

To reach the trailhead, from Grand Rapids take U.S. Hwy 169 east. Just past Taconite, turn left/north onto County Road 7, also known as Scenic Highway. In about 30 miles, go right/north into Scenic State Park on County Road 75. A parking lot is on the road’s right side in 0.4 miles. Park there.

From the lot, take the trail going northwest with Coon Lake on the right/northeast and the park entry road on the left/southwest. This is the loop’s northern side. It heads through an old-growth maple forest on hills overlooking Coon Lake. Each autumn its leaves sparkle orange and red.

At 0.3 miles, the trail reaches the information center. Head west across the park entry road and pick-up the trail at the interpretive sign near the RV dump station.

A boardwalk crosses a marshy area at about 0.4 miles. You’re now on the loop’s west side.

Autumn leaves
Autumn leaves finally arrive at 0.6 miles when the trail enters the woods. The trail turns grassy and wide as heading through a woods of quaking aspen, large-toothed aspen, and balsam poplar.

Quaking aspen is Minnesota’s most common tree. When the state’s great pineries were clear cut more than a century ago, quaking aspen, as a pioneer species, quickly filled the niche.

This is not to say the tree isn’t beautiful. It’s flat leaves flutter at just the hint of a breeze, and with the tree’s height reaching between 60 to 100 feet high, the whole tree canopy can look like a moving sea. This is particularly spectacular in autumn when the aspen’s leaves turn a brilliant gold.

Much less widespread across Minnesota but common throughout the northern part of the state is the large-toothed aspen. It looks similar to the quaking aspen, but the leaf has a blunt, sawtooth-like edge rather than a smooth one. The tree also is a bit shorter, reaching a height of 50-95 feet with a narrow crown. Its bronze autumn leaves flutter in the wind as well, adding a special hue to quaking aspen’s waves.

The balsam poplar also is largely confined to the northern part of the state yet even there stick to edges of streams and wetlands. It’s a bit shorter than the quaking and large-toothed aspen, reaching a height of 50 to 80 feet. Its leaves are similarly shaped to the aspens, but has finely toothed edges. Its leaves turn yellow each autumn.

Osprey
After the boardwalk, an overlook with a bench sits on the trail’s left side. This is a nice spot to search for osprey, who nest in nearby treetops.

Building their nests out of twigs, osprey prefer the tallest trees near water, where they hunt fish. Majestic looking, an osprey can stretch 25 inches long with a wingspan of up to 6 feet. Rough bumps on the bottom of their feet allow them to grasp slippery fish while a reversible end toe ensures they keep a firm grip on their kill as flying back to the nest. Their wings bend backward so that after a dive they can quickly pull up from the water.

At 0.9 miles, a snowmobile trail crosses the route. Continue straight/east.

After coming up the loop’s east side, the trail crosses the park entrance road. The trail then forks; bear right/northeast to along the shore of Coon Lake.

Crystal blue Coon Lake is 340 acres in size. Bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye all inhabit its waters, making for great fishing.

Esker
After leaving behind Coon Lake, at 1.4 miles, the trail passes a black and spruce bog lined by red and white pines atop a ridge known as an esker. As approaching Sandwick Lake, the trail forks again. Go left/north.

This stem portion of the trail runs along a narrow but high, mile-long esker that separates Sandwick (on the right/east) and Coon (on the left/west) lakes. There are hardly any autumn colors ahead, but the esker between two blue lakes is just too beautiful to skip – the lakes are about about 25-30 feet below each side of the trail as sunlight flits through the sweet-scented pines – and since you’re this close, why not?

The esker formed at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. As the glaciers melted, cracks formed in them, allowing water to drip through and hollow out massive tunnels. The water rushing into these large tunnels carried rocks and sediment. When the glacier fully melted and retreated, the sediment piled at the base of these tunnels was left behind, forming an esker. Plants took root on the long, often serpentine ridges, stabilizing them.

Coon and Sandwick lakes consist of meltwater from ancient glaciers that filled depressions between the esker, probably scooped out by the advancing ice or depressed by the weight of the ice sheet.

Sandwick Lake
At 1.8 miles is a memorial to the park’s first superintendent, Hugo V. Kaiser. An island in Sandwick Lake directly to the memorial’s east is named after him. You’re now halfway up the esker.

Sandwick Lake is slightly smaller than Coon Lake at 254 acres. The two lakes actually are connected by a thin waterway and sometimes are considered one waterbody.

The trail reaches Chase Point at 2.1 miles. Wooden steps head to a deck next to the water, where you’ll be treated to a panoramic view of Coon Lake ands its pine forest shoreline.

Next, head back south along the esker. At 2.7 miles, when the trail forks, go right/west. In 0.2 miles, you’ll arrive back at the parking lot.

Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail. You’ll want to carry insect repellent for the boggy part of the hike.

Day trail offers great vista of Sturgeon Bay

View of Sawyer Harbor, Cabot Point and Sturgeon Bay from near the lookout
tower at Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin.

Tower Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy great autumn colors on the Tower Trail at Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin’s 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 copper of American basswood all light the trail with the brilliant blue waters of Sturgeon Bays in the background at vistas.

To reach the trailhead, 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.

Go left/west onto the trail. The trail bisects the North Camp Area then soon heads up a steep hill.

American basswood
Among the native Wisconsin trees that is common along the trail is the American basswood, also known as the American linden. The tree grows across the upper Midwest through New England as well as southern Ontario and Quebec. It’s easy to spot; the domed crown consists of spreading branches, the bark ranges from gray to light brown with narrow fissures, and the 4-6 inch long leaves alternate with the larger ones on the side nearest the branch.

About a half-mile in, the trail levels and passes through forest with an understory of ferns. A connector trail runs right/northeast to the the other side of the loop, then at 0.9 miles a north-south bike intersects the route. As the trail curves southwest, it parallels the road you drove in on.

The American basswood lives for about 200 years and reaches maturity quite quickly. It grows at twice the rate of the American beech and most birch species, topping out between 60 to 120 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 3-5 feet.

At 1.2 miles, the trail crosses another point on the bike trail. Continue straight. Next the trail curls away from the park road and heads northeast, twice intersecting other spots on the bike trail you just crossed.

The American basswood often is used as an ornamental tree because it offers excellent shade. Horticulturalists also plant it as a windbreak to protect to young trees in orchards.

After several curves, the trail at 1.4 miles heads alongside a field. During summer, it’s alit with wildflowers. Turkeys can be seen here and sometimes whitetail deer. Unfortunately, the trail also heads beneath a powerline along the way, but it’s a brief run.

Lookout tower
In autumn, the basswood brightens the forest with chartreuse to yellow-green leaves. Depending on the the temperature and sunlight received, sometimes the leaves will turn a deep yellow with hints of orange. The edges usually brown before the leaves drop.

The footpath again intersects the bike trail then crosses North Norway Road at 2 miles from the trailhead. There it reaches the Old Ski Hill Overlook, which offers a nice view of the valley below, especially when it’s painted in autumn’s harvest colors.

Next the trail parallels North Norway Road before reaching the observation tower at 2.4 miles. You can’t go into the tower, though; it was found unsafe and closed in late 2017. The 75-foot tall tower was completed in 1932 and over the decades has suffered severe wood decay. The tower gave great views of Sawyer Harbor at the base of the cliff below with Cabot Point in the distance. Plans call for tearing down the tower and eventually replacing it.

The tower marks the Ice Age Trail’s eastern terminus. Running across 30 counties, the trail roughly marks the farthest advance of ice during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago.

Sturgeon Bay
From the tower, the trail crosses the park road and runs southeast. A bike trail goes southwest from it. The Tower Trail here heads along a rolling ridgeline, passing through stands of maple and beech.

At 2.6 miles, it crosses Shore Road. The hill there overlooks the waters of Sturgeon Bay, an arm of Green Bay that cuts into the Door Peninsula. A canal connects the inner bay to Lake Michigan. Just 0.2 miles from the road is a steel tower that boats use as a navigation marker on the way to the city of Sturgeon Bay’s docks.

Cedar dominates for the next half-mile or so. The sweet scent of their fallen needles permeates the air.

At 3.2 miles is the connector trail leading to the loop’s other side. Continue left-straight/southeast. When the trail crosses Shore Road, follow the park street left/south to your parking lot.

Hiking boots are a must on the trail, which heads over exposed roots, mud, and flagstone at various points. Autumn leaves often cover those hazards.