Top fall trails in east-central Wisconsin, Pt. I

Potawatomi State Park, Wisconsin

There’s no better way to experience autumn colors around east-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 around east-central Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Brown County
A grove of cottonwoods awaits hikers on the Woodcock (Blue) Trail at Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve in Suamico. The 0.75-mile trail heads north from the interpretive center and curves around a small pond in the preserve’s northwest corner. During autumn, it’s a gloriously beautiful walk, as the tall eastern cottonwoods – which are largely absent in this part of Wisconsin – turn a bright yellow. From U.S. Hwy. 141 in Suamico, take Lineville Road east. Turn left/north onto County Road J/Lakeview Drive and then right/east into the preserve. Park at the center.

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Hikers can head through a remnant of the great oak forests that once covered all of Brown County. The 1.15-mile round trip McMahon Woods Trail sits in the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, which surrounds the UW-Green Bay campus. The trail runs alongside McMahon Creek, which flows into nearby Green Bay. Russet-colored oaks dominate the McMahon Woods' uplands while colorful sugar maples can be found in the understory. Fifty-nine different trees and shrubs can be seen along the trail. From Wis. Hwy. 57, take Nicolet Drive north. Turn right/southeast onto South Circle Drive. Roadside parking is available along the road’s first curve.

Calumet County
Day hikers can enjoy great views of Lake Winnebago atop a ridge on the Red Bird Trail at High Cliff State Park. The mostly level 3.4-mile trail runs along the ancient Niagara Escarpment’s western edge. Autumn offers the opportunity to see the lake through a northern wet-mesic forest, which offers the evergreen of northern white-cedar, Balsam fir and spruce, the yellows of black ash, the light orange of speckled alder, and the reds of mountain maple. A bonus is an observation tower you can climb to see the canopy and lake from above. From the park’s entrance road (State Park Road) turn left/southeast onto Lower Cliff Road. Next, go left/northeast on High Cliff Road. Park in the observation tower lot.

Door County
Day hikers can enjoy great autumn colors on the Tower Trail at Potawatomi State Park in scenic Door County. The 3.5-miles loop traverses the state park’s northern end. Part of the trail is the eastern terminus of the nearly 1200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail that crosses Wisconsin. The trail is among the best in Wisconsin to see fall leaves. The reds, oranges and yellows of maple, the amber and oranges of beech, and the olive of American basswood all light the trail with the brilliant blue waters of Sturgeon Bay in the background at vistas. From Wis. Hwys. 42/57 on Sturgeon Bay’s west side, head north on Park Road. The park is in a little over a mile; turn right/east into it on Entrance Road. At North Norway Road, turn left/north. After passing the North Camp Area, the park road intersects with Shoreline Road. A parking lot is at the intersection. From the lot, hike north alongside Shoreline Road. The Tower Trail crosses the road in about 330 feet.

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Hikers can enjoy majestic views of blue Green Bay and the yellow and orange leaves of a blufftop forest at Ellison Bay Bluff County Park. An unnamed 1-mile trail loops through a woods of sugar maple, white ash, red oak, birch and beech. A spur trail leads to an observation deck at the edge of the 100-foot high limestone bluff. An enclosed catwalk extends outward from the bluff; walking on it will make you feel like you’re flying. From Ellison Bay, take Wis. Hwy. 42 south. Turn right/west onto Porcupine Bay Road then right/north onto Ellison Bluff Road. The road loops through the park; leave your vehicle in the lot on the loops’ southwest side.

Fond Du Lac County
Golden tamaracks circle the shores of Mauthe Lake in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit every October and November. The 2-mile Tamarack Nature Trail hugs the lake’s northweastern shore and then rambles over the nearby ice age-shaped terrain. Though tamaracks look like pine trees, their needles turn color and fall off like leaves on deciduous trees. From Campbellsport, take Wis. Hwy. 67 east. Turn right south on County Road SS then right/south on County Road GGG. Take the first right/west into the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area. The trail begins near the Mauthe Lake Beach and loops around the waterbody via the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Lake to Lake Bike Trail.

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Hikers can explore the autumn beauty of a creek along the bottom of a deep ravine at Hobbs Woods Nature Area. The Main Trail Loop plus the access trail to it runs 1.31 miles on both sides of Parsons Creek, crossing it twice and a tributary once along the way. The autumn canopy casts a yellow and orange glow over the trail and creek in the 60-acre, thickly wooded county park. From Fond du Lac, take Interstate 41 south. Exit onto County Road B (exit 92), going right/west. Turn right/north onto Wis. Hwy. 175 then left/west onto Hamilton Road and finally left/south onto Hickory Road. The entry to Hobbs Woods is on the left/east.

Kewaunee County
A pretty fall hike along a river awaits on a segment of the Ahnapee State Trail. The 2.25-mile round trip rail-trail between County Road M and Washington Road sits in the Ahnapee River’s wetlands cooridor where migrating birds gather each autumn amid the bronze grasses. On higher ground, look for the willows’ shimmering gold leaves in the breeze, dogwoods’ deep scarlet leaves and berries, and bog birch’s amber. From Algoma, take County Road M north. The parking lot is on the northeast corner of where the the road and trail meet.

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A perfect spot for taking young children to see autumn leaves is a segment of Ice Age National Scenic Trail at the Bruemmer County Park and Zoo near Kewaunee. The trail skirts the park’s northern side, from where it crosses County Road F in the west to the zoo in the east. The trail – including the small zoo’s exhibits – runs about a mile total. Leaves along the trail and at the zoo turn orange, crimson and various yellows. From Kewaunee, head west on Wis. Hwy. 29. Turn right/northwest onto County Road C/Ellis Street. Enter the park by going left/southwest onto County Road F and park at the zoo.

Ledge View offers ‘wild’ caving experience

The hike through Carolyn's Caverns at Wisconsin's Ledge View Nature
Center requires a lot of crawling.

Day hikers can explore the interior of an ancient rock formation that stretches nearly a thousand miles across the Great Lakes by going into caves at Wisconsin’s Ledge View Nature Center.

Ledge View’s pair of caves systems sit in the Niagara Escarpment, a long ridgeline running from southeast Wisconsin around the top of lower Michigan into Ontario and ending at Niagara Falls.

To reach the caves, from Chilton take County Hwy. G south. Turn left/east onto Short Road. In a quarter mile, go left/north into the nature center. Sign up for a guided two-hour cave tours at the center’s interpretive center.

Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment formed some 420-440 million years ago when this part of the world was under a tropical sea. It consists of reefs and the shells of marine animals that over millions of years hardened into dolomitic limestone.

The Earth’s crust sagged in the what is now lower Michigan sometime since then, so part of the escarpment dropped to form a bowl shape. Edges of the escarpment remained higher and have been exposed above ground by erosion and, more recently, glaciers.

Meltwater from the glaciers, as seeping into the soil, combined with carbonic acid in the groundwater, carved out Ledge View’s caves. Sediment left by the glacial meltwater still can be found inside them.

Guided tours allow visitors to crawl through some of that muddy sediment. In fact, the tour prides itself on being on “wild” cave experience in which you traipse across dirt and puddles, climb ladders, slink through tunnels, and crouch in passages with low ceilings. Layered old clothes, shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty, and a knit cap, are recommended.

Mothers Cave
The underground formations are grouped into two systems – Carolyn’s Caverns and the Montgomery Cave. Tours head through Carolyn’s Caverns, which include such features as the Bat Room, Dave’s Sink, Keith’s Karst, Wayne’s World, the Wishing Well, Temptation Alley, Sliver Passage, and Thunder Dome. Seven crawl passages connect the various features, and drip formations abound.

The most adventuresome part of Carolyn’s Caverns is Mothers Cave, so named because it was discovered on Mother’s Day 1986. The only way through the cave is by crawling, most notably through the Squeeze, a roughly 12 x 18 inch passage. Visitors can try worming through a box at the visitors center to see if they can make it through the Squeeze.

Because of the nature of the caves, children must be at least 5 years old, and for an adventure tour involving Mothers Cave they must be 10 years old and with a parent. A flashlight is required for all tours, and reservations are recommended.

A variety of different cave tours are offered from April through November. Temperatures in the caves range from 42 degrees F to 60 degrees F.

After caving, there’s plenty more to do at Ledge View. A 60-foot observation tower, a 600-gallon Sturgeon exhibit, an ice fishing exhibit, butterfly garden, and a bat barn all are on site.