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| Gibraltar Rock rises 200 feet above the surrounding countryside. |
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| Ice Age National Scenic Trail-Gibraltar Rock segment map. Click for larger version. |
The 2.2-miles round trip Gibraltar Rock segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail climbs the butte’s northeast side. It’s a spectacular hike to take in autumn, when harvest colors abound along the trail and the surrounding countryside.
To reach the trailhead, from Portage, Wis., take Interstate 39 south then Interstate 90 south/east. Exit onto Wis. Hwy. 60 and go right/west. In Lodi, turn right/north onto Wis. Hwy. 113 then left/west onto County Road V and lastly left/south onto Gibraltar Rock Road. Park off the road at the curve in about 250 feet. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail enters the woods 125 feet to the east on the road’s left side.
Red oak, basswood forest
The trail starts at a little more than 1020 feet above sea level and makes a gradual uphill climb through a forest dominated by red oak and basswood.
Red oak leaves fully change color after the sugar maples already have passed their prime, so this is a great hike for later in the autumn. The red oak’s leaves vary from scarlet to orange and light brown.
Basswood nicely accents the red oak’s colors with chartreuse to yellow-green leaves. Depending on the amount of sunlight received, sometimes the leaves turn a deep yellow with hints of orange.
At 0.7 miles, the trail turns steep. That’s short-lived, though, for in 0.1 miles, you reach the flat butte’s summit, which tops out at 1,246 feet and is Columbia County’s highest point.
The butte formed around 480 million years ago when this part of the continent was at the edge of a great sea. Wind and rivers brought quartz sand from the continent’s interior to here. With each new layer, the sand hardened into stone. Erosion over the eons has removed the surrounding quartz sand that once blanketed this part of Wisconsin.
Later, the sea reclaimed the land and covered the sandstone. As ancient sea creatures died, their shells fell to the sea floor, forming limestone. Wind from tropical storms stirred and concentrated the limestone into what is known as the Platteville-Galena dolomite cap. This cap, which is more erosion-resistant than the underlying sandstone, keeps the butte in place.
Butte-top views
While tall, fragrant red cedars dominate the butte top, there are plenty of breaks in the woodline to see the surrounding countryside, a quilt of farmland with woodland patches, a pretty scene in autumn.
Directly to the butte’s north is Lake Wisconsin, a widening in the mighty Wisconsin river. Devil’s Lake State Park with its forested bluffs is to the northwest. A leatherleaf bog is to the southwest directly below the butte.
Be sure to look to the south of hiking in autumn or spring. That side of the butte is a sheer 100-foot rock face, and migrating raptors ride the thermals formed by the warm cliff face.
Take a few minutes as well to look at what’s beneath your feet on the butte. A thin layer of soil blankets the dolomite cap, allowing a dry prairie to take root. You can spot asters, bergamot, big and little blue-stem, bird’s foot violet, blue eyed grass, goldenrods, lead-plant, pasque flower, prairie drop-seed, prairie smoke, side oats grama, and whorled milkweed.
At 1.1 miles, the trail descends along the butte’s north and western sides. This marks a good spot to turn back. If you have a little extra energy, though, the Ice Age Trail continues for 0.7 miles to County Road V, making this is a great hike for arranging a pickup.
