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| Roche-A-Cri rises 300 feet above the surrounding plain. |
The state park sits off of Wis. Hwy. 13 north of Adams-Friendship in the Central Sands region. During the last ice age, the region was under Glacial Lake Wisconsin, which when it drained away created the Wisconsin Dells’ fascinating sandstone features to the south.
Roche-A-Cri’s six day hiking trails include:
• Acorn Trail – The park’s longest trail at a meandering 3.5-miles, the mowed trail circles the Roche-A-Cri formation. A segment of it crosses a restored oak and pine barrens at the park’s southern entrance off Czech Avenue.
• Chickadee Rock Nature Trail – The 0.34-mile wheelchair-accessible trail runs past oaks, jack pines and blueberry and huckleberry bushes to Chickadee Rock, a 30-foot high formation. You can extend the hike via the connecting Acorn Trail. A parking lot for the trail sits off the park road.
• Eagle Ridge Trail – From the historical marker off the park road (with a parking lot at the trailhead), the trail heads 0.35 miles to the Acorn Trail. The marker notes Roche-A-Cri’s place on the National Register of Historic Places because of the formation’s petroglyphs and pictographs.
• Mound Trail (and Stairway) – At 0.3-miles, the route connects to the Acorn Trail while the Stairway on its heads to the top of the 300-foot Roche-A-Cri formation. It can be accessed via the park road with a parking lot at the Stairway.
• Spring Peeper Trail – Day hikers can enjoy a 0.25-mile walk through a maple and oak woods along Carter Creek; among the seasonal sights are cardinal flowers, dragonflies, marsh marigolds, nesting birds, spring peeper frogs, swallowtail butterflies, and turk’s-cap lilies. The trail starts next to the park office and links with the Acorn Trail.
• Turkey Vulture Trail – The 0.9-mile loop heads through both creekside forest and a restored prairie as turkey vultures and raptors fly overhead. Reaching it requires taking the Acron Trail; the shortest way is via the park’s southern entrance.
