SE Douglas County trails access St. Croix

The St. Croix River flows around a rock near the
shoreline at Louise Park near Solon Springs, Wis.

The southeastern corner of Wisconsin’s Douglas County offers an impressive number of quality day hiking trails, most of them centered on the St. Croix River.

The St. Croix begins its long journey to the Mississippi River in southeastern Douglas County, Much of the waterway is in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, but even the unprotected parts, which are exclusively in Douglas County, can be accessed and enjoyed by the public.

Among the great day hiking trails of southeastern Douglas County are:
• Bois-Brule-St. Croix River Historic Portage Trail
• Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail
• North Country National Scenic Trail
• Buckley Creek Barrens Trail
• Schoen/Louise Parks Jeep Trails

Read more about these and nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County.

Great trails crisscross Douglas County, Wis.

Wild Rivers Trail, southeast of Superior, Wis.

Wisconsin’s Douglas County, tucked into the state’s northwest corner, offer a variety of excellent day hiking options.

With the exception of the city of Superior, Douglas County is sparsely populated, dotted by small villages and several four-corner towns.

Though sporting a population of just under 30,000, Superior is an international harbor on the largest of the Great Lakes. The city might have been far larger and even more important if not for a pre-Civil War economic downturn. Though the first log cabin here was erected in 1853, within four years the population had risen to 2500 as excitement rose over a Lake Superior to Pacific Coast railroad, but the Panic of 1857 dashed those plans for a quarter century.

Today, a number of multi-county trails that used to be rail lines start (or terminate, depending on your perspective) at the county’s northwestern limit. In addition, the city’s municipal forest offers a number of wooded hiking trails. Among the Superior area’s top trails are:
•Big Manitou Falls Trail
•Millennium Trail
•Osaugie Trail
•Tri-County Trail
•Wild Rivers Trail
•Wisconsin Point Trail

The hamlets of Brule, Maple and Poplar sit in the county’s northeast corner. Each village sports a population of around 600 people. Brule is the gateway to the Brule River State Forest, a kayaking, fishing and hiking destination. Some popular trails near those communities include:
•Amnicon Falls Island Trails
•Stoney Hill Nature Trail

In the southeast, visitors to Douglas County first come across the villages of Gordon and then Solon Springs. Both towns have a population of about 600 and offer access to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and the St. Croix River’s headwaters. Popular trails include:
•Brule Bog Boardwalk Trail
•Bois Brule-St. Croix River Historic Portage Trail

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.

Wild Rivers State Trail delivers great hiking

Wild Rivers State Trail' northern terminus segment.

Route heads through forests, crosses rivers

Day hikers can enjoy a quiet stroll in the country on a former Wisconsin railbed turned multipurpose trail.

The 104-mile Wild Rivers State Trail stretches across three counties between Superior and Rice Lake. A fairly wooded 1.33-miles round trip section of the former C&NW Rail route runs at the trail’s northern terminus, southeast of Superior.

Woodlands
Start the hike at the trail’s intersection with County Road A, south of County Road Z and just north of County Road C. From the small parking lot at the trailhead, go southeast on the trail.

The route quickly enters a forested area and angles away from the highway for a peaceful walk. Along the way, it crosses Brandt Road, so be sure to look both ways.

A good spot to turn back is at the Valley Brook Road intersection. You can continue onward, but while trees line the trail, you’ll in quick order enter farmland.

Some of this segment can be swampy, so hike it in late summer or autumn when water levels and bug populations are low.

Other Douglas County routes
A couple of other segments of the trail in Douglas County also make for good day hikes.

Farther down the line, start at Swamp Road for a 5.4-mile out-and-back hike across the Amnicon River and two other waterways to Mikrot Road.

In Solon Springs, the path runs through the village on its way between the Amnicon River and Gordon. To avoid highway noise, take the roughly four-mile route heading north from the municipal airport to County Road L.

On weekends, anticipate a variety of other users. Mountain bikers, horseback riders and ATVers also frequent the trail. In winter, you’ll share the route with snowmobilers, cross country skiers and snowshoers.

Most of the trail surface consists of highway-grade compacted gravel and railroad ballast. ATV use has beat up the trail in some sections, but the entire stretch is traversable by foot with some segments at the southern end good for mountain bikes.

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.

Day hike down bluff to scenic St. Croix River

St. Croix River alongside Louise Park.

Louise, Schoen parks offer
remote hike through forest

Day hikers can ramble down a jeep trail heading from the blufftops to the St. Croix River south of its headwaters in Douglas County, Wis.

During the river’s first twenty or so miles downstream from the Saint Croix Flowage, there are few access points, though all of it is located in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Two exceptions are Louise Park and Schoen Park, located roughly east of Cloverton, Minn., and west of Gordon, Wis.

Into the wilds
Schoen and Louise parks both offer a boat landing and spots to camp but not much in the way of hiking trails. However, between the two parks is a jeep trail that largely is in the scenic riverway. It’s a 0.6-mile out-and-back trail (1.2-miles round trip) that heads into the wilds of northern Wisconsin.

To reach the trailhead, from Cloverton head east on County Road 32; upon crossing the Wisconsin border, it becomes County Road T. From Gordon, take U.S. Hwy 53 south and turn right/west onto County Road T. Regardless of the direction you come, turn south onto Rocky Branch Road. After the turn off for Louise Park, take the next left/south onto an unnamed road (If you’ve passed the access road to Schoen Park, you’ve gone too far south.).

Park off of the jeep trail near the intersection. The elevation is about 1045 feet above sea level.

From there, the trail gradually descends through a hardwood forest. In autumn, it offers an array of fall leaf colors, including brilliant reds and oranges to bright yellow and pine greens.

Rocky river bed
After 0.3 miles, though, the trail becomes steeper as it crosses an intermittent stream and then nears the river bottoms at about 940 feet elevation. Notice how the trees species change, with more pines and silver maples the lower you go.

As the trail reaches the river bottom, you’ll hear the rush of water over its rocky stream bed. Boulders stick out of the shallow river in several spots along this stretch, especially about 400 feet upstream where they form a series of small rapids.

Return to the trailhead the way you came. There are no facilities on the trail.

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.

Grand lake, beautiful woods await hikers

Saint Croix Flowage
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR

Day hikers can explore the northernmost reaches of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway on the Gordon Flowage Campground Trail.

The roughly 2-mile round trip is a jeep trail running through the woods bordering the river. The trail actually is unnamed, but for convenience’s sake, I’ve christened it here after the campground where it begins in Wisconsin's Gordon Dam County Park.

To reach the trailhead, from U.S. Hwy. 53 in Gordon, go west on County Road Y. Within a half-mile, you'll see a lake on your right/north. That's the Saint Croix Flowage. After about seven miles, the road dead ends. This is the northern end of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Park in the Gordon Flowage Campground lot at the end of the county road.

Begin the hike by walking to the dam that creates the flowage about 300 feet northeast of the lot. The river is left/west of the dam with the 2247-acre flowage to the right/east.

The flowage – a man-made lake to prevent river flooding – reaches 28 feet deep and is popular among fishermen. Largemouth bass, northern pike, and panfish are fairly abundant in the moderately clear water. Sometimes referred to as the Gordon-Saint Croix Flowage, it boasts 29 miles of meandering shoreline.

The flowage isn’t the St. Croix River’s headwaters. The river rushes into the lake’s east end near Gordon after roughly paralleling Hwy. 53 from Upper St. Croix Lake near Solon Springs. Centuries ago, European explorers and fur traders portaged from Upper St. Croix Lake to the Brule River, which flows into Lake Superior, using this route to reach the Mississippi River.

From the dam, head back to the parking lot and pick up the jeep trail at the end of County Road Y. The trail heads west, with a brief jog south, through a mixed hardwood and pine forest. It’s a lovely walk during autumn with the leaves alight in reds, oranges, yellows and the pine needles' dark greens. You won’t see the river from the trail, but you’ll likely hear it flowing over the dam.

In about 0.95 miles, the trail junctions with the asphalt Mail Road (Some maps label it as “West Mail Road” and others as “South Mail Road.”). This marks a good spot to turn around.

Read more about day hiking the scenic riverway in my guidebook Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

Spot rare butterflies in Wisc. pine barrens

Buckley Creek Barrens/ Photo
courtesy Wisconsin DNR.

Four species call state natural area their home

Day hikers can truly get back to nature with a walk through a pine barrens near the northern reach of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

The Buckley Creek Barrens Trail is an undesignated out-and-back footpath that runs 1.2-miles round trip through the Buckley Creek Barrens State Natural Area west of Gordon, Wis. Late summer and early autumn mark the best time to hike the trail, as spring through June will be wet and buggy.

To reach the trail, from U.S. Hwy. 53 in Gordon, head west on County Road Y. At about 4.4 miles, turn left/south onto South Lost Lake Road. After 4.3 miles, turn west onto Sunset Drive then in about a mile right/north onto Carp’s Creek Road. The road runs north/south through the state natural area. In about 1.5 miles, you’ll see a footpath on both sides of the road. Park on the shoulder here so other vehicles can pass.

Returning ecosystem
Go east on the trail, which heads through Buckley Creek Barrens’ higher elevations. The St. Croix River is a few miles to the east curving north.

In this region of Wisconsin, a number of wetlands and small lakes dot the landscape, surrounded by pine barrens – areas of sandy soil that support mainly pine and oak. The barrens once was the bottom of a glacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago.

The trail is a biologist’s dream, especially for those studying the rare pine barrens ecosystem. After years of preventing wildfires – which flora in a barrens depends upon to maintain their life cycle – one broke out in 1997. A barrens much like that which existed before white settlers came to the area more than a century before has returned, providing a living lab.

Beyond jack pine and hill’s oak, among the trees that you can spot on the trail are black and pin cherry. The wetlands host a number of grasses.

Four rare butterflies
Because of this flora, butterflies and birds literally flock to the pine barrens. Among four rare Wisconsin butterfly species you might spot here are the cobweb skipper, the dusted skipper, Henry’s elfin, and the Gorgone checkerspot. For birds, a number of thrashers, warblers and sparrows call the natural area home, and you might even spot an osprey or bald eagle overhead.

After 0.6 miles, the trail reaches a wetland’s southeast tip. This marks a good spot to turn back.

State natural areas in Wisconsin typically don’t have public facilities, and Buckley Creek Barrens is no exception. If you truly want to get into the wilds, this is a great hike. Be sure to use insect repellent and wear pants and long sleeves when walking the trail.

On the drive back to Gordon along County Road Y, you’ll pass the Saint Croix Flowage. This man-made lake often is mistaken for the St. Croix River’s headwaters; it's also not part of the national riverway.

Read more about day hiking the scenic riverway in my guidebook Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.