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| Declined trillium grows along the Hemlock Trail. |
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| Hemlock Trail topo map. Click map for larger version. |
The 1.4-mile Hemlock Trail runs through an area that escaped the lumberjack’s ax when much of the state’s great pineries were clearcut during the late 1800s. The state natural area is located within Wildcat Mountain State Park.
The trail consists of a dirt surface with leaves or pine needles often covering it. Best of all, the route is shaded most of the way.
To reach the trailhead, from Ontario take Wis. Hwy. 33 south. In 2.5 miles, turn right/southwest onto a park road heading to the Lower Picnic Area. In 0.6 miles, the road comes to the picnic area; park there. The trailhead is near the picnic area’s bulletin board.
The trail follows the Kickapoo River. It’s a popular section of the river to float down and for good reason – a number of interesting sandstone cliffs line the river canyon.
Towering pines
If the rock formations don’t wow you, the 400-year-old white pine certainly will. They are truly enormous, with some of the tree trunks measuring six feet as they soar 15 to 20 stories high. White pine like these once covered the state, and this is one of the few spots left where they remain.
Along the trail, several wildflowers usually are in bloom during the first two weeks of May. Among them are wild ginger, showy orchids, declined trillium, Virginia bluebells, bloodroot, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and skunk cabbage.
Wild ginger dots the hillsides. The flower is a brown to green, though sometimes red, tube about one- to two-inches long. It usually blooms between two leafstalks on the ground, as it relies on ground-dwelling insects, like beetles, to pollinate it. Though the leaves smell like ginger when crushed, this is not the plant that bears the spice used in cooking. The plant is found throughout Wisconsin.
Showy orchids offers beautiful flowers. Its purplish-pink two petals and three sepals form a hood that sits above two white petals, all about an inch long. Several flowers grow on a single stem. The plant mainly thrives in the state’s southern half.
Other wildflowers
Declined trillium usually blooms April-May on the forest floor. Its white flowers are three-parted and about 1.5-inches wide. The flower typically grows on a stem just above the leaves at an angle. The plant can be found in the Driftless Area and southern Wisconsin.
Virginia bluebells, also known as Virginia cowslip and longwort, sport a flower that starts pink but changes to light blue or purple. Each flower consists of five petals that fuse to form an inch-long bell-shaped tube known as a corolla. Bluebells are found in the southern half of the state, but a related species grows along Lake Superior.
Among the first of the wildflowers to bloom on the hillsides in spring is bloodroot. Sometimes it pops up from soil that has just thawed. It sports a large white flower, about 1.5 inches wide, with 8-10 petals and a yellow center. The red orange juice in its stem has been used over the centuries as a dye and an insect repellent. It grows all across Wisconsin.
Skunk cabbage is another of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in spring, and can actually melt the surrounding snow and ice. It prefers wet areas, so look for it in depressions. Its flower is shaped like a shell and usually brown to purple, though it also can be a quite attractive yellow, that grows three- to six-inches tall. Unfortunately, it has gives off a strong odor of carrion, which attracts insects who then unwittingly pollinate flowers. Skunk cabbage is found in the southern half of the state.
Jack-in-the-pulpit’s erect two- to three-inch long flower sits inside a green or purple hood at the top of a single stalk. American Indians cooked its below ground stem as food, so it’s sometimes referred to as Indian turnip. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, however, so no part of it above ground is edible, as it causes a burning sensation in the mouth.
Mt. Pisgah
After the river bottoms, the trail climbs to the summit of Mt. Pisgah, which tops out at 1152 feet above sea level. The last several feet to the summit are switchbacks.
Near the top, during early June look for broomrape, also known as cancer root, poking through oak leaves on the forest floor. A threatened plant, its blooms in June. Its purplish flowers are cup-shaped and half-inch to a full-inch long. Several flowers will bloom in a cluster on a spike rising out of the ground. Broomrape is a parasite that attaches itself to other plants’ roots.
An observation post sits atop Mt. Pisgah, some 450 feet above the river. While there are some good views of the river valley below, high trees block some of the sightlines. Be sure to look up – eagles nest in the area and often fly near the bluff.
East loop
Heading down the east side of the loop are a couple of interesting plants.
Partridge berry is a trailing vine that in late spring sports a fuzzy four-petaled white flower. It produces red berries with two spots on them. The plant can be found throughout Wisconsin and is quite common in eastern North America forests.
Chicken of the Woods fungi also is abundant here. The bright orange fungi grow in shelves. Look for them on oaks.
Be sure to wear hiking boots and carrying a trekking pole, as sometime parts of the trail wash out after a good rainstorm. In May 2019, the eastern side of the loop was closed after a storm.
