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.

Trail heads to Wisconsin’s third highest hill

Autumn view from Rib Mountain.

Gray Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can see the world from 741 feet above the surrounding countryside at Wisconsin’s Rib Mountain State Park.

The 1.8-mile round trip Gray Trail traverses Rib Mountains’ north and south slopes. A brief side trip on the Blue Trail leads to the observation tower.

To reach the trailhead, from Interstate 39 in Wausau, exit onto Rib Mountain Drive, heading southwest. Go straight-right/west onto Park Road and ascend the hill. Park in the first lot on the road’s left/south side. The trail leaves from the lot’s southwest corner.

The first junction is at 0.1 miles. The Yellow Trail splits left/south. Continue right/west. You’re at 1700 feet above sea level.

Ancient volcanoes
About 1.45 billion years ago, a string of volcanoes stretched along what is now the west side of Interstate 39. Rib Mountain’s current location was at about the center of the volcanic region, known as the Wolf River Batholith.

The trail gradually climbs until reaching Cobler’s Nob. The Yellow and Gray trails split here at 1750 feet elevation and then rejoin. Stay on the Gray Trail be going left/west.

Deep below the volcanoes, magma that fed them cooled and hardened into rock. Over time, erosion reduced these craters to just their roots, which is what remains today between Rib Mountain south to Mosinee. Those roots are still impressive – Rib Mountain is a four mile-long ridge of ancient, hard quartzite that at 1924 feet is Wisconsin’s third highest point.

The trail rejoins at 0.41 miles and 1840 feet elevation and then splits. Go left/southwest. Along the way, you pass Sunrise Lookout.

Autumn glory
As September comes to a close, trees for miles around and on Rib Mountain turn brilliant yellows, oranges and reds. For a bird’s eye view of the harvest colors across the mountainside, consider taking a ski lift ride (at Granite Peak Ski Area) to the top then hiking around the summit and to the 60-foot tower before coming back down.

At the next junction, the trail meets the Lower West Yellow Trail from the left/southeast. Continue right/northwest. The CCC Gazebo is to the trail’s left/west.

The mountain got its name from the Ojibwe, who called the nearby Rib River O-pic-wun-a-se-be. The first part of the word means rib.

The Gray Trail crosses the park road at 0.68 miles and 1880 feet elevation. From there, leave the Gray Trail and walk straight-northwest alongside the road.

Observation tower
On the left side, pick up the Blue Trail at about 0.78 miles and go west. This leads to directly to the observation tower, which sits at 0.88 miles and 1920 feet elevation.

From the 60-foot tower’s top, you can see about 30 miles on a clear day. To the northeast is Wausau and the Wisconsin River, the latter of which runs to the southeast. Big Rib River is immediately north. Marathon City and a vast patchwork of farmland and tiny woods is to the west and Mosinee to the south.

Spend some time as well enjoying and scrambling over the ancient rocks at the summit. One of them – the Queen’s Chair – is perfect for a selfie.

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

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.

Short hike leads to vista of saguaro forest

The Valley View Overlook Trail heads up a ridge in a dense saguaro forest.

Day hikers can head

to a vista of one of Arizona’s densest populations of saguaro cactus on the Valley

View Overlook Trail

near Tucson.

The 0.8-mile round trip trail sits in Saguaro National Park’s

western Tucson

Mountain District. It’s

flat and can easily be traversed by children.

To reach the trailhead, from Interstate 10 in Tucson, exit onto West Ina Road and head west. At North Wade Road, turn left/south. When the road veers west, it naturally becomes West Picture Rocks Road and enters the park. Next, go left/south onto North Sandario Road then left/east onto North Kinney Road and finally left/east into Hohokam Road. A small parking lot is on the left.

The trail heads northwest form the lot with a slight descent into a wash. The Bajada Wash Trail uses the usually dry streambed for its track.

Continue straight/north on a gradual ascent to a ridge via stone steps.

Several desert plants can be spotted along the trail, including brittlebush, and buckhorn cholla, Engelmann’s prickly pear, hedgehog cacti, ocotillo, and the pencil cholla, to name just a few. And, of course, there are plenty of Saguaro cacti – probably more than you’ve ever seen before. Signs along the way point out the different flora.

At the next trail junction, go left/west. Heading straight/northeast puts you on the Wild Dog Trail, which runs along the ridge’s bottom.

The Valley View ascends up the side of the ridge in a fairly straight line.

Hikers can get close to the saguaros, many of which are right at the trail’s edge. You’ll feel small next to them, as dozens reach the height of three grown men.

At the ridge’s top is a bench from where you can enjoy fantastic views – a sea of saguaro in the views of Avra Valley to the south and Picacho Peak beyond it. You’re at about 2660 feet above sea level.

The summit also is fantastic spot for watching sunsets. Unlike the taller peaks, getting back to your vehicle in the dark will be much easier as well.

As the entire trail is unshaded, be sure to don sunscreen, sunglasses and sunhat when hiking it.

TOPO MAP

Valley View Overlook Trail. Click for larger version.

Hike passes prairie, wetlands wildflowers

Sunflowers blossom in late summer at Glacial Lakes State Park.

High Peak Trail topo map.
Click map for larger version.

Hikers can see both prairie and wetlands wildflowers on a trail at Minnesota’s Glacial Lakes State Park.

The 3.2-mile round trip trail described here consists of a stem leading to the High Peak Trail’s two connected loops. The trail is mostly flat with some small hills. It sits in the Leaf Hills area, a 19-mile stretch of hills between Detroit Lakes and Willmar.

To reach the trailhead, from Starbuck, take Minn. Hwy. 29 south. Turn left-straight/south onto County Road 41. The park entrance is on the left/east. Once in the park, take the third left and go east to the park road’s end, where there’s a parking lot. The trailhead is on the lot’s east side.

Veer left/east at the next three trail junctions, looping around the east side of Signalness (aka Mountain) Lake, which sits below the path. The lake formed at the end of the last ice age when an esker – a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel left by a receding glacier – trapped the meltwater. It’s entirely spring-fed so is quite clear.

The portion of the trail nearest the lake heads through a woods of American basswood and burr oak. Glacial Lakes State Park is uniquely located in a transition zone between the prairies of the Great Plains and the forests of the Eastern United States, so you’ll find both landscapes here.

Marsh flowers
Close to the lake is a marsh. Two boardwalks cross this wetlands. Along the first boardwalk, look for several wildflowers, including swamp milkweed, Joe-pye weed and arrowhead.

Swamp milkweed blooms in summer. Its tiny rosy-red and white flowers grow only a quarter inch across. Each flower consists of five downward-curving petals and five upward petals, looking vaguely like a crown. The flowers appear in flat clusters. Milkweed is a host and nectar plant for monarch butterflies. It appears in every one of Minnesota’s county except Cook.

Joe-pye weed’s miniscule mauve-colored flowers each are no more than a quarter-inch wide, but hundreds of them grow together in large, flat clusters. A tall plant, it attracts a number of butterfly species when blooming in summer. It’s found throughout Minnesota but is rare in the southcentral counties.

Arrowhead is abundant in the wetlands. Blooming in summer and fall, its white flowers are a half-inch to an inch wide, each consisting of three white petals around a yellow center. Three flowers blossom per stalk. The plant produces tubers loved by ducks, geese, trumpeter and tundra swans, so migrating waterfowl often can be seen here and on the lake in autumn. Native Americans and pioneers both enjoyed the tubers, called wapatoo, as well. Arrowhead grows across most of Minnesota except in the Lake of the Woods and is rarer in the southwest corner.

Jewelweed also can be found along the first boardwalk. The second boardwalk offers up sedges and cattails.

By 0.4 miles, the trail leaves the lake behind and arrives at the campground area. Go right/north at the next two trail junctions, passing the Council Ring amphitheater along the way. Upon reaching the Oak Ridge Campground road, turn right/east then after Campsite 30 take the trail that goes left/southeast. You’re now on the High Peak Trail.

The trail splits at 0.5 miles. This is the beginning of the first loop. Go left/northeast.

Sunflower, lead-plant
Prairie and oak savanna surround the trail. Waist-high grasses – including big and little bluestem, Indian grass, and side-oats grama grass – dominate, as well as shrubs and aspen, but there are plenty of flowers as well.

Most noticeable among them are sunflowers, growing between 3 to 10 feet high. Its large 3-6 inch wide flowers consist of 15-20 yellow petals that surround a large, almost black center. They bloom in summer and fall. Sunflowers do not track the sun, as many claim, but you still can use it as a compass – the flower faces the morning sun and so is turned to the east. Sunflowers mainly are found in the state’s westernmost counties.

Pasqueflower blooms in early spring. Its flowers are white to pale blue and about an inch wide with 5-7 petal-like sepals growing around a yellow center. Often it’s the first flower to bloom, heralding the arrival of spring. Soft hairs on its stem and the sepals are thought to trap warm air so it can survive the colder stretch of spring. Look for it on sunny slopes. It is found mainly in the state’s western, central and southern counties.

The lead-plant blooms during spring and summer. A 1- to 3-foot high shrub, it boasts a spiky cluster of small blue-purple flowers. Its roots dig deep into the ground, up to 10 feet, and the plant can live for centuries. The lead-plant grows across all but the northeast third of the state. It so named because when lead ore deposits were found, the plant grew on the dry soils overlaying them, but there is no relationship between the location of lead ore and where the plants grow.

The yellow coneflower blooms during early summer. Its flower consists of around eight narrow yellow petals that droop downward, revealing a brown button The plant stands between three- to five-feet tall. Native Americans used the flowers to make yellow-orange dyes; its leaves and blossoms can be brewed to make tea. It is mainly found in the lower third of the state

The tall prairie blazing-star, also known as gayfeather, also blooms in summer. Growing 2-5 feet tall, it offers a spiky purple cluster of flowers. The spike can grow up to 18 inches tall and is loved by deer and butterflies. It grows mainly in the state’s western and southern prairie regions.

Purple closed gentian, goldenrod 
Prairie onion, also known as wild onion, from July to August yields a miniscule pink to rose flower that’s a mere quarter- to a half-inch wide. They form a round cluster about 1-2 inches wide, atop a single, straight stem that can reach two feet high. The flower is so named because it smells like an onion, but it actually is a member of the lily family. It grows across much of Minnesota but is largely absent in the southeastern corner and the wooded areas immediately north of the Twin Cities.

The purple closed gentian’s flowers are 1 to 1½ inches long, and tubular with pleats between each of the 5 fused petals. They never open and resemble large buds. The flower’s color can vary greatly but is typically blue to purplish. The closed gentian blooms in late August along the trail. It is found all across Minnesota except for the Lake of the Woods and the Arrowhead regions.

Goldenrod blooms in summer and fall. It has small flowers that appear to make one large one. The Canada goldenrod’s small quarter-inch yellow flowers cluster together into a large, arching spike that produce plenty of nectar. When its roots shoot up through the ground, it can create clones; some goldenrod patches can be 30 feet around. It grows mainly in the state’s southeastern and southwestern counties.

The trail winds up and down a ridge, crosses a wetlands, and passes a pond to the northeast. At 1.3 miles, it reaches another trail junction. Head left/south.

High point
You’ll begin the second loop at 1.5 miles. Go right-straight/southeast. The trail gets a bit rocky, as it ascends to the park’s highest point.

A bench marks the high spot at 1352 feet. Form the vista, you can see for miles. How the ice age shaped the landscape is evident here. Kames – sand, gravel and till left in small mounds and hills by melting glaciers – and kettles – small lakes created by trapped meltwater – can be seen to the west. Two kettle lakes are to the south.

The vista also is a great place to take in a sunset. The grass on the kames glow golden while the lowlands between darken to purple.

Continuing the loop, you’ll head through an oak forest. At 2 miles, you’ll come to the end of the second loop. Go right/northwest.

The trail arrives reaches the first loop at 2.2 miles. This time, you’ll take the part you didn’t walk on by going left/northwest onto a wide, mowed path. Here the oak trees are much shorter and younger, as you re-enter the prairie landscape.

Glacial landscaping
Before the last ice age, the Leaf Hills area consisted of much higher terrain. Glaciers leveled those hills then redeposited the sand and gravel in kames and moraines. Moraines mark the farthest advance of a glacier where it dumped all of the debris it carried before receding.

At 2.7 miles, the trail reaches the end of the first loop. Go left-straight/west.

You arrive back at the campground at 2.8 miles. Take the campground road left/west then after Campsite 27 pick up the trail heading left/south.

From there, retrace your steps around Signalness Lake back to the parking lot.