 |
| The blackberry lily blooms in mid- to late-summer on the Trout Valley Trail. |
 |
| Trout Valley Trail map |
The 7-mile lollipop trail sits in the Trout Valley Management Unit, one of several units making up the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest. The forest protects 1,588 square miles of Minnesota’s Driftless Area.
To reach the trailhead, from Weaver, Minn., head south on Minn. Hwy. 61 for two miles. Turn right/west onto Wabasha County 29; upon crossing the county line, it naturally becomes Winona County 31. A parking lot is on the trail’s left/east side.
The trail’s gravel stem heads with a 300-foot climb up the bluff. Though steep, every step you take crosses eons of geological history, as the limestone and sandstone beneath your feet was set down more than 400 million years ago when this part of the world was alternately beneath and at the edge of a shallow tropical sea.
Blufftop wildflowers
At the second trail junction – specifically the one that is a large ATV turnaround – go right/south. You’re now on the looping Trout Valley Trail.
The terrain crosses a fairly flat, open area. This is a great stretch for wildflowers.
Blufftop wildflowers generally are the same as you’d find in prairies to the west. That’s because the flat tops of bluffs – like prairies – receive a lot of sun and have sandy soil.
During early spring, look for hoary puccoon, Indian paintbrush, prairie smoke, pussytoes, white shooting stars, and wood betony. By late summer, an entirely new set of wildflowers – including asters, evening primrose, fleabane, goldenrod, Queen Anne’s lace, yarrow, yellow coneflowers, white campion, and wild bergamot – are in bloom.
Soon the grasslands gives way to a tree plantation on your left. The trail here is about as wide as a country road and heads through a tunnel of pine trees.
Blackberry lily
Next the trail passes a cultivated field for about a half mile before re-entering the woods. Though wide, the trail is rocky and steep as it descends between two bluffs into a valley.
You’ve reached the valley floor when the trail passes parking area for a snowmobile trail.
What comes down must go up, and the next 0.6 miles is another precipitous ascent. Watch for the blackberry lily along the trailside.
The blackberry lily’s brilliant orange flowers usually bloom in August. The plant grows up to two-and-a-half feet high and are easy to spot because of the spear-shaped petals that are mottled a dark crimson, giving them the nickname of the leopard lily. Its seed pods contain spherical seeds that look like blackberries.
Mississippi river views
At the bluff’s top, the trail makes a hairpin turn, skirting the edge of an open area. Red pines and a variety of shrubs populate this barrens.
Once the trail curves west, pause for a great vista of the Mississippi River below. You’re at about 1160 feet elevation, a full 46 stories above the river. The bluffs and hills on the other side of the river are in Wisconsin.
Bald eagles often can be seen riding the thermals over the bluffs and diving down to the river. They also search the goat prairies along the Mississippi River bluffs for prey.
Other wildlife that can be spotted on the trail include white-tailed deer – you’ll probably spot their tracks on the trail through the tree plantation – and butterflies that flit about the wildflowers in the blufftop prairie.
The trail continues to skirt the north side of the irregular-shaped blufftop, providing glimpses of the river through the tall pines and birch.
Valley vista
When the trail makes a sharp, almost right angle, look for railing that marks a fantastic vista of the bluffs and valleys that sit off the river.
Next the trail enters a woodlands. Upon passing a marshy area, the trail reaches the ATV turnaround. Turn right/west onto the stem trail and retrace your steps to the parking lot.
The state forest is named for Richard J. Dorer, who supervised wildlife development at the Minnesota Department of Conservation in the 1940s-1950s. He proposed a groundbreaking plan for managing woodlands and rehabilitate land deeply eroded by farming.
In 1960, Minnesota put the plan into effect by creating the state forest across seven counties. This included replanting bluff sides and runoff ponds. When Dorer died in 1974, the state forest was named in his honor.
