Top fall hikes in west-central Wisconsin, Pt. I

Sisters’ Farm Trail System

There’s no better way to experience autumn colors in west-central

Wisconsin than a hike.

The brilliant yellows, oranges and red

of maples to the scarlet and russets of oaks...the crisp, fresh autumn air and

the last warm rays of sunlight before winter arrives...the crunch of fallen leaves and acorns beneath your boots...stopping to enjoy a warm mug

of apple cider or a caramel apple pulled from your backpack – it all calls for an afternoon on the trail.

Fortunately, there are plenty of great autumn trails across west-central Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Chippewa County
Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant walk around several placid lakes and ponds on the South Loop at the Hickory Ridge Recreational Area east of Bloomer. Though primarily cross-country skiing trails, the series of stacked loops can be hiked during the other seasons. The South Loop, a 3.1-miles round trip lollipop, is a good choice, as almost the entire trail runs through a northern hardwood forest. In Wisconsin, such a forest typically consists of sugar maple, beech, basswood, white ash, and yellow birch. The trail makes for a colorful walk in autumn when the leaves change. From Bloomer head west on Wis. Hwy. 64. Go left/north onto County Road AA then right/east onto 226th Avenue, which as veering south naturally becomes 225th Avenue (aka Bob Lake Road). The parking lot is on the north side of the road just east of Big Buck Lake.

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Day hikers can walk under a canopy of amber, orange and scarlet leaves at Irvine Park. A paved 1.1-mile paved trail loops through the park’s southeast corner, runs alongside a creek and passes through a tiny zoo, making it a perfect autumn outing if children are with you. From downtown Chippewa Falls, head north on Wis. Hwy. 124. Turn left/west onto Bridgewater Avenue. Go right/north onto Bear Den Drive and pull into the parking lot on the left/west. At the lot, angle northeast past the restrooms. At Bear Den Drive, walk left/north along the sidewalk.

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A cornucopia of colors await hikers each autumn at Lake Wissota State Park. Though much of the park consists of evergreen plantations, sections of it contain deciduous forests. Try the south end of the Lake Trail, which runs 1-mile round trip from the beach house to the Red Pine Trail junction. Yellow-, orange, and red-leaved sugar maples, russet-colored oaks, and a few evergreen red and white pine – surround the trail. From Chippewa Falls, head north on Wis. Hwy. 178. Turn right/east onto County Road S. Immediately after the Chippewa River bridge, go right/east on County Road O. The park entrance is about two miles on the right. Park in the lot for the beach house.

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For more Chippewa County trails, see Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley.

Eau Claire County
Day hikers can enjoy a walk along two waterways through a wildlife-laden forest in the heart of Eau Claire. Several undesignated trails run through the Putnam Park State Natural Area on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus. Hike the natural area’s eastern section, which is largely centered on Little Niagara Creek. The natural area is heavily forested, with red and white pines dominating the higher ground while hackberry, paper and river birch, and red and silver maple thrive in the lower, wetter areas. Tamarack and white cedar also can be found in the eastern portion’s wettest sections. Day hikers will be impressed by the size of the trees, especially the red and white pine, which have largely been undisturbed for more than a century. It can be reached by walking alongside Putnam Drive, which starts across from campus parking lot #14.

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Hikers can enjoy a waterfalls shrouded in autumn colors while perched atop rock that is at least 1.85 billion years old at Big Falls County Park. Though there’s no designated trail, hikers easily can walk a half-mile along the Eau Claire River and across the rock. The waterfalls – surrounded by trees that have turned yellow and various shades of red– consists of two drops that total 25 feet over outcroppings of ancient gneiss. From Eau Claire, take U.S. Hwy. 12 east. Turn left/north on N. Elco Road. At County Road SS (aka 9 Mile Creek Road), go right/east. This road runs out at County Road K (aka N. 130th Avenue); head left/north onto County K. Just before crossing the Eau Claire River, turn left/west onto Big Falls Forest Road. The sandy road heads straight to a parking lot; from there, walk west toward the river.

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Day hikers can walk through an oak savanna and along a stream at the Beaver Creek Reserve north of Fall Creek. The 1.3-mile round trip Interior Loop runs through a small section of the 400 acres overseen by the Friends of Beaver Creek Reserve. Each autumn, the savanna's oak leaves range from yellow-brown to wine red. A variety of colors also can be seen on other trees along the creek and the trail's uplands portion. From U.S. Hwy. 12 in Fall Creek, go north on County Road K. The reserve is on the north side of the Eau Claire River. Park in the lot for the nature center on the road’s right/south side. From there, take a connector trail east to the trailhead.

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For more Eau Claire County trails, see Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley.

Rusk County
By Wisconsin standards, the 1300-foot high Blue Hills are like mountains. With that kind of relief from the surrounding terrain, it’s an excellent place to see a variety of fall colors. The Blue Hills primarily sit in a mixed deciduous forest of maple basswood, and oak, but you also can find red and white pines, balsam and hemlock. The Blue Hills West Trail’s first stacked loop at 2.3 miles total is particularly good during autumn. From U.S. Hwy. 8 in Weyerhaeuser, go north on Second Street. Take the road out of town for about seven miles. At the Y intersection, turn right/east. After passing Christie Mountain, turn left/north onto Fire Lane Road. Next, go left/west onto Excelsior Road (unmarked); if you pass the turnoff for the East Side Trailhead and parking lot, you’ve gone too far.

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Autumn colors can be found aplenty on the Sisters’ Farm Trail System just outside of Ladysmith. Ten miles of trails cover the varied terrain inside a bend of the Flambeau River. Leaves along the trail shimmer red, yellow and orange. From downtown Ladysmith, take U.S. Hwy 8 south. Turn right/west onto Port Arthur Road then straight/left-south on Sisters’ Farm Road, which leads to the parking lot.

Great trails found in Chippewa Valley’s cities

Duncan Creek at Irvine Park in Chippewa Falls, Wis.

Several small cities and villages can be found in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley. Most of those communities have longed served as agricultural centers, but the region’s four dominant towns became manufacturing, education or government hubs. Not surprisingly, those four all are on the region’s three major rivers.

Eau Claire, with a population of nearly 70,000, sits at the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers. At one time, this was the nation’s lumber capital, but that role gave way to industry in the 20th century. Today, it’s best known as the home of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and as a regional government and retail center. Recent efforts to make the city trail-friendly has led to a number of hiking opportunities there, especially in the campus/downtown area and on the Chippewa River State Trail.

Menomonie, to the west, is the valley’s second most populous city at around 16,500. The Red Cedar River, a major tributary to the Chippewa River, runs through town. It is home of the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus and offers several excellent trails, most notably the Red Cedar State Trail.

Chippewa Falls, the valley’s third largest city at about 14,000, also is on the Chippewa River and shares a similar lumbering and manufacturing legacy as Eau Claire to the south. Today, it is headquarters for the original Cray Research and home of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. The southern end of the Old Abe Trail is located here; a couple of other good trails also can be found in Irvine Park.

Though smaller than a couple of other cities in the valley – specifically Altoona and Bloomer – Durand with 2000 people is Pepin County’s seat of government. It is downstream from Eau Claire on the Chippewa River, and the Chippewa River State Trail’s southern terminus is here.

Learn more about Chippewa Valley day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley guidebook.

Trio of Wisconsin trails head around lakes

Trail at Hickory Ridge. Photo courtesy of chippewacounty.com

Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant walk around several placid lakes and ponds at the Hickory Ridge Recreational Area in western Wisconsin.

Though primarily cross-country skiing trails, the series of stacked loops can be hiked during the other seasons. There are three main trails on site.

To reach Hickory Ridge, from Bloomer, head west on Wis. Hwy. 64. Go left/north onto County Road AA then right/east onto 226th Avenue, which as veering south naturally becomes 225th Avenue (aka Bob Lake Road). The parking lot for the South Loop is on the north side of the road just east of Big Buck Lake. To reach the North and the Tram Lake loops, from 225th Avenue, go left/north on 157th Street immediately after Hemlock Lake and then turn right/east onto Hickory Ridge Trail.

The trails include:
• South Loop – The 3.1-miles round trip lollipop mainly circles around Burnt Wagon Lake as cutting through a classic northern hardwood forest. Before getting to the lake, it passes a wet meadow known locally as the “Great Swamp.”
• North Loop – The 3.75-miles round trip trail mainly winds around Fishpole Lake. Park on the shoulder of the road west of Hay Meadow Trail.
• Tram Lake Loop – To reach the trail, which winds around Tram Lake, head north on the western leg of the North Loop then take the first trail junction going right/east. Tram Lake Loop runs 2.2-miles. As with the North Loop, park on the road shoulder.

A nonprofit, Friends of Hickory Ridge, maintains the trails. No fee is required to hike the trails, but a donation box is at the parking lot. Dogs are not allowed on the trails.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Loop circles lakes formed during last ice age

Map courtesy of Friends of Hickory Ridge

Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant walk around several placid lakes and ponds on the South Loop at the Hickory Ridge Recreational Area in western Wisconsin.

Though primarily cross-country skiing trails, the series of stacked loops can be hiked during the other seasons. The South Loop, a 3.1-miles round trip lollipop, is a good choice as it’s a little flatter than the other two routes on site.

To reach the trailhead, from Bloomer head west on Wis. Hwy. 64. Go left/north onto County Road AA then right/east onto 226th Avenue, which as veering south naturally becomes 225th Avenue (aka Bob Lake Road). The parking lot is on the north side of the road just east of Big Buck Lake.

The trail runs north from the lot, curving around a wet meadow known locally as the “Great Swamp.” It then passes the eastern side of Horseshoe Lake, which is on the trail’s west side. At 19 acres in size with a maximum depth of 28 feet, panfish are common and northern pike thrive in the lake.

Next, the trail slips between a pond and another wet meadow. The lake-pond terrain is part of the same geographical system that makes up the Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area to the north. The region consists of irregularly shaped lakes and ponds formed by glaciers at the end of the last ice age.

Upon reaching a trail junction, the loop portion of the route begins. Go left/west.

Horseshoe, Burnt Wagon lakes
This takes you between Horseshoe (on the left/south) and Burnt Wagon (on the right/north) lakes. A ski shelter sits next to the trail on the Burnt Wagon Lake side.

Almost the entire trail is through a northern hardwood forest. In Wisconsin, such a forest typically consists of sugar maple, beech, basswood, white ash, and yellow birch. The trail makes for a colorful walk in autumn when the leaves change.

The loop next curves north along Burnt Wagon Lake’s western shore. A 19-acre lake, Burnt Wagon has a depth of 17 feet.

On the lake’s north side, the trail forks; going left/north takes you onto the North Loop. Continue straight/east, leaving the lake behind and passing a wet meadow on the left/north.

Silver Lake
At the next junction, go right/southeast; the other way takes you onto another leg of the North Loop.

As the trail heads south, it passes a pond and then Silver Lake, both on the left/east. Though small at 2 acres, Silver Lake has a maximum depth of 16 feet so supports panfish, largemouth bass and northern pike.

The next trail junction is the stem you came in on. Continue straight/south back to the parking lot.

Friends of Hickory Ridge, a nonprofit, maintains the trails. No fee is required to hike, but a donation box is at the parking lot. Dogs are not allowed on the trails.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of the Chippewa Valley guidebook.