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| Roche-A-Cri rises 300 feet above the Adams County plains. |
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| Roche-A-Cri Stairway map. Click for larger version |
The 0.12-mile round trip Stairway trail heads up the side of the prominent Roche-A-Cri formation. While short in length, the first-half is all uphill. It’s a beautiful hike in autumn when scarlet, amber and orange leaves line the forest canopy and float upon the stairs.
To reach the trailhead, from Adams-Friendship take Wis. Hwy. 13 north. Turn left/west at the park entrance. Follow the park road to the opposite side of the formation, where there is a lot. A short trail leads to informative kiosks about the formation and the stairs.
Ancient river sediment
The 303-step stairway and observation deck, both built in 1992-94 by Wisconsin Conservation Corps with the deck redone in 2011, are wide enough to walk up hand-in-hand. The stairs is shaded most of the way.
Roche-A-Cri formed when meandering ancient rivers during the Cambrian, creating a braided pattern as heading out to sea, deposited sediment across a vast area. The buried sediment then hardened into sandstone. Over the eons, erosion of that continuous sheet of sandstone have left only several butte-like formations such as Quincy Bluff, Lone Rock and Roche-A-Cri in the region.
About 18,000 years ago during the last Ice Age, trapped water formed Glacial Lake Wisconsin on the Adams County plains. Its waves helped shaped the sides of these sandstone islands so that they appear castle-like today. Roche-A-Chi would have sat near the center of the lake, which could be seen from space, as it was about the size of today’s Great Salt Lake.
Early French explorers gave the formation the name we use today, which literally translates to “rock scream.” (Some books and websites often wrongly claim the name means “crevice in the rock,” for the formation’s large cleft that can be seen a distance.) The name probably refers to the shrieking hawks that nest on the formation’s rocky prominences.
Roche-A-Cri's top
The observation deck at Roche-A-Chi’s top offers spectacular views of other late Cambrian sandstone bluffs and towers rising from the green plain. To the south is Rattlesnake Mound and to the east is Pilot Knob Bluff.
A forest of red, black and white oak with red, white and jack pine sits atop Roche-A-Chi. Plants common in the sand barrens and prairie below also grow here, their seeds blown high by the wind. Turkey vultures roost atop the the high mound.
Because of the top’s sensitive environment, always stay on the stairs and observation deck. No pets, food or beverages (other than water) are allowed at the top. If there’s ice or snow on the stairs, stay off them; it’s a long way down should you slip.
If afraid of heights or unable to take 30 stories of stairs, instead opt for the flat 0.3-mile Mound Trail heading west from the rock formation’s base. The Mound Trail offers great ground views of Roche-A-Chi. The walk can be extended, as it connects to the Acorn and the Eastern Ridge trails.
