Top fall trails of northwest Wisconsin, Part II

View from top of Timms Hill

There’s no better way

to experience autumn colors around Northwest 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 Northwest Wisconsin to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Price County
An array of autumn colors await day hikers on the trail to Wisconsin’s highest point. The 0.5-mile round trip Timms Hill Trail heads to the summit and a wooden observation tower on Timm’s Hill. The drumlin rises to 1,951.5 feet. Northern hardwoods – mostly maples of yellow and red leaves with a few oaks and other trees mixed it, resulting in a cornucopia of harvest colors – cover and surround the hill at Timms Hill County Park. To reach the trailhead, from Ogema take Wis. Hwy. 87 east. Turn right/south onto County Road C then straight-left/east onto County Road RR. Watch for the signed entrance to the park and turn left/northeast onto that road. Use the parking lot for the Timms Hill Trail. From the parking lot, go north on the Timms Hill Lake Trail. Then take the first left and head west to the hill. A wide dirt path, the trail is shaded until reaching the summit.

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Northern hardwoods and pines await hikers on the Wintergreen Trail in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The 5.6-mile trail consists of four loops that head over rolling terrain. A perfect autumn hike, the forest is diverse, consisting of pine and balsam fir mixed with plenty of yellow-leaved aspen and birch in the bogs and orange-red maple, buttery basswood, and russet-colored oaks on the higher ground. From Fifield, drive five miles east on Wis. Hwy. 70. The parking lot for the trailhead is on the left/north; a national forest pass is required to park your vehicle.

Sawyer County
A beautiful forest walk with an array of autumn leaf colors awaits day hikers of the 4.9-mile Rim Creek Loop in Flambeau River State Forest. Sugar and red maples dominate the state forest but quaking aspen, birch and white ash also can be found here. From the village of Winter, take County Road W east into the state forest. After crossing the Flambeau River, turn at the first left/north into a parking lot.

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Hikers can enjoy a variety of autumn colors on the Namekagon-Laccourt Oreilles Portage Trail in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway near Hayward. The easy, 0.8-mile loop memorializes a famous 18th century route where fur traders and explorers carried their canoes between rivers. Each fall, the second-growth forest here brightens with the amber, oranges and reds of sugar maples, the yellow of birch, and the russet and tans of oaks while red pine and spruce offer green accents. From Hayward, travel south on Wis. Hwy. 27. Turn left/west onto Rainbow Road then right/north onto Rolf Road. The trailhead is at a parking lot at the first left/west.

Taylor County
Day hikers can enjoy a hemlock and aspen grove and a panoramic view of a forest on the East Lake segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The 13-mile round trip makes for a spectacular fall hike. The trail heads east from a wayside into the Taylor County Forest. The hilly forest mainly consists of mixed hardwoods with maples and oaks, resulting in a show of yellow, orange, red and brown leaves throughout autumn. Signs along the trail identify types of trees in the forest. A hemlock grove, aspen regeneration project, and 1780-foot high Moose Mountain are other highlights of the trail. From Medford, take Wis. Hwy. 13 north about 15 miles. After crossing the Black River, look for a wayside on the road’s right/east side. Park there.

Washburn County
A pleasant walk through the woods along a wild river await hikers on the Trego Nature Trail in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Early autumn is a good time for those who enjoy fall colors. The trail parallels the Namekagon River through a woods of pine, yellow-leaved aspen and white birch, and russet-colored oaks, with views of the waterway. Hikers are likely to see a variety of wildlife or at least signs of it. White-tailed deer, turtles, fox, muskrat, bobcats, squirrels, snowshoe hares, and great blue heron abound in the riverway. Watch for otters and their slides, muddy paths cleared in the river’s bank in which they move from land to water. From Trego village, take U.S. Hwy. 63 north. About 1.3 miles from visitor center and after crossing the bridge over the Namekagon River, take the first right. The parking lot is at end of this entrance road. Look for the trailhead on the parking lot’s east side. The trail is fairly well-maintained.

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A pretty autumn hike through a Northwoods forest awaits hikers on the Trego Lake Trail. The 1.9-mile trail loops through the forest next to Trego Lake in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The comely trail presents the yellow of birch trees leaves and orange and browns of various oaks amid the mixed hardwood and pine forest. You stand a good chance of spotting white-tailed deer and ruffed grouse along the way. From Trego, drive north on U.S. Hwy. 53. Go left/west on North River Road. In two miles, turn left/south into a parking lot. Take the stem trail from the lot’s southern side to the main trail, where you’ll go left/east.

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Day hikers can enjoy a pleasant walk along a classic trout stream during autumn at the Beaver Brook Wildlife Area south of Spooner. The East Trail, with its many side trails, goes for a little more than two miles. Most of the trail runs beneath amber- and red-leafed maple, tan- and russet-colored oak, yellow aspen, and tamarack, whose needles turn a bright orange. From Spooner head south on U.S. Hwy. 53. Turn left/south onto Cranberry Drive. After about a mile, just before road curves southeast away from Beaver Brook, turn right into the parking lot.

Ice Age Trail crosses hemlocks, aspens

The Ice Age Trail heads toward East Lake.

Ice Age Trail - East Lake Segment. Click for larger map.

Day hikers can enjoy a hemlock and aspen grove and a panoramic view of a forest on a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is Wisconsin’s Taylor County.

The 13-miles round trip makes for a spectacular autumn hike. It’s also a great trail to arrange a shuttle ride given its length and because there are parking lots at each end.

To reach the trailhead, from Medford take Wis. Hwy. 13 north about 15 miles. After crossing the Black River, look for a wayside on the road’s right/east side. Park there.

The trail heads east from the wayside into the Taylor County Forest. The hilly forest mainly consists of mixed hardwoods with maples and oaks, making for yellow, orange, red and brown leaves throughout autumn. Signs along the trail identify types of trees in the forest.

Hemlocks and aspen
Taylor County sits in a beltway where the agricultural southern part of the state gives way to the pine forests of the northern part. Between those two regions is a transition zone of maple-dominated forests and evergreens.

Among those evergreens is hemlock, and at about 0.7 miles the trail enters a pretty grove of them. A medium-size tree that was far more common in the state when Euro-American pioneers came here in the mid-1800s, hemlock usually grows up to three stories tall. Its scaly, deeply furrowed bark usually is gray to brown and usually the forest floor beneath its boughs is barren.

Flowing from the grove during spring is an intermittent stream that feeds the Black River. The trail is near the headwaters of the river, which runs nearly 200 miles to the southwest until joining the Mississippi River.

Next, the trail enters an aspen regeneration project area. The quaking aspen’s bright yellow leaves in autumn are a nice contrast to the hemlock’s green. A popular pulpwood, aspen faces threats from hypoxylon canker and the evolving forest as Wisconsin’s second growth woodlands begins to transition to an old growth forest. Because of these three factors, the amount of aspen in Wisconsin has decreased since the early 1980s.

At about 1.4 miles, the trail crosses Beards Lane and enters private land. That land is closed during the November deer hunting season, so you’ll want to plan a hike here during the other months.

Ice age terrain
The Ice Age Trail marks the edge of the glacial advance when ice sheets were last in these parts, about 8000 BCE. The trial stretches more than 1100 miles long across the state and largely cuts northeast-southwest through Taylor County.

Much of the trail consists of rolling glacial terrain. The small knolls or mounds, known as hummocks, usually are no more than 15 feet high. They often form near kettle lakes. At 2.4 miles, the tail passes one small kettle and then at about 3.2 miles pass another, East Lake.

Hummocks and kettle lakes formed at the end of the last ice age when the top icy layer of the glacier melted, leaving a strata of sediment piled atop a massive chunk of ice. The weight of that chunk depressed the ground, forming a bowl that the ice then melted in. The sediment above the ice sunk to the kettle lake’s bottom while plants colonized and stabilized the surrounding sediment, forming the hummocks.

After East Lake, the forest becomes less hilly as you begin the climb to top of Moose Mountain. Erratics – large boulders that advancing glaciers sheared off and carried here from Canada – are all across the mountain and surrounding area.

Around 5 miles in, the trail reaches Moose Mountain’s top, about 1780 feet above sea level. From there, you’re treated to panoramic views of the surrounding forest – which appears in a rainbow of harvest colors during autumn – and the Ice Age-shaped terrain.

The trail then descends and at about 6.5 miles arrives at County Road D. This part of the trail overlaps with the Rib Lake Nordic Ski Trail network.

Pine Line segment
Another great segment of the Ice Age Trail to hike is nearby. The Pine Line segment runs a short 0.9 miles one-way from the parking area at the Fisher Creek Road/Fawn Avenue intersection to Wis. Hwy. 13.

To reach the trailhead, from Medford take Wis. Hwy. 13 north about 13 miles. Turn left/west onto North Chelsea Avenue then go right/north on Fischer Creek Road. Park off the road at the intersection of Fawn Avenue.

The trail heads east. After crossing the Pine Line multi-use trail, it runs alongside a farm field with a forest on the north/west side.

About halfway from in, the trail enters the forest. At 0.6 miles is a small clearing in the woods that’s a primitive campsite built by local Boy Scouts.

Turn back when the trail reaches Hwy. 13. If looking for a longer walk, head north about 0.7 miles along the road shoulder to the wayside where the East Lake segment begins.

Fall colors await on trail to Lapham Peak

Colorful leaves surround Lapham Peak in autumn.

Plantation Path map.
Click for larger version.

Hikers can head through a colorful oak woods and to the top of an observation tower on the county’s highest point at Kettle Moraine State Forest-Lapham Peak Unit.

The ADA accessible 1.8-mile Plantation Path loops past prairie and through a woods of red and white oak, quaking aspen, and black cherry. A connector trail to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail leads to the observation tower atop Lapham Peak, which rises to an elevation of 1,233 feet.

To reach the trail, from Delafield, take County Road C south. Turn left/east toward the park office. Park in the Homestead lot.

The paved trail leaves from the lot’s eastern side. In short order, the trail splits from the Kame Terrace and Kettle View trails. Go right/south.

Fall leaves along the trail range from the cinnamon of northern red and yellow of white oaks to the reds of black cherry and golds of quaking aspen. But for the white oak, the trees make up a classic southern dry-mesic forest.

At intersection marker E21, the trail divides, beginning a set of three loops. Head right/northwest. The route described here follows the three loops’ eastern sides.

Red and white oak
Found on the trail’s uplands is the northern red oak. The third most common tree in Wisconsin – nearly 1 in 11 of the state’s trees is a red oak – it’s also enormous. Growing quite straight and very tall, the red oak can reach up to 92 feet high with a trunk diameter of 39 inches. In old growth forests, the red oak soars even taller, and some even have been measured at 141 feet high. Red oaks grown in open areas, such as lawns, tend to be stouter, though, but can have a trunk diameter of up to 6.6 feet.

A XXL tree like the red oak also produces big acorns; in fact, the acorns are the largest of all Wisconsin’s oaks, measuring 1-1/8 inches long. With acorns that size, the tree is fairly easy to spot in autumn. The thoroughly fissured bark on mature red oaks is another giveaway.

The trail soon reaches a T-intersection, which marks the beginning of the second loop. Continue straight-left/south.

Also look for the white oak on the trail. White oaks primarily grow in the western and central parts of Wisconsin, so it’s a rare sight in this area of the state. You easily can spot the tree because of its scaly, ash gray bark. They grow up to 80 feet tall with a massive canopy.

The tree is extremely long-lived, lasting for around 200-300 years. One white oak in New Jersey was known to be more than 600 years old before dying.

At the trail’s next T-intersection, you’ve come to the beginning of the third loop. Continue straight-left/southwest.

Black cherry, quaking aspen
Watch for the black cherry tree on the trail’s higher ground. Eleven species of cherries grow in Wisconsin, and all are shrubs or small trees with the exception of the black cherry, which can grow quite tall. It’s easy to identify in a woods, as the bark is smooth and highly colored with small broken lines; it looks somewhat like the old punch cards used to store computer data.

The black cherry delights hikers during two seasons – autumn when its edible cherries ripen and its leaves turn color, and spring when its sweet-scented white flowers open.

At intersection marker E25, a connector trail leaves the Plantation Path and heads left/west. Take it to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, where you’ll turn right/west.

Another tree you’ll see plenty of on the Plantation and the Ice Age trails is the quaking aspen. It’s the most common of the 35 populus tree species – which includes poplar, aspen, and cottonwood – across North America. A pioneer species, it quickly replaced the continent’s many forests when they were logged off in the 1800s. Prevention of forest fires has allowed the quaking aspen to maintain its hold. It is the most abundant and widespread tree in neighboring Minnesota.

The quaking aspen’s flat, spade-like leaves flap at the slightest breeze. In autumn when the leaves turn amber, that makes for quite a show, especially so on trees that grow at least six stories tall and that under ideal conditions can reach 10 stories.

Observation tower
At the next trail junction, turn right/north for the observation tower. Lapham Peak is the highest point in Waukesha County. The observation tower rises 45 above that. On a clear day, from the tower’s top you can see all the way to the Illinois border.

Upon coming down from the tower, head north. Walk along the edge of the Tower Parking Lot and the road. Enter the parking lot for the Hausmann Nature Center. Spend some time taking in the exhibits and if with the kids the children’s interactive area at the center. Then take the connector at the building’s back to the Plantation Trail. Go left/north.

Other trees in the woods include black oak, shagbark hickory, red maple, basswood, paper birch, and white pine.

At intersection marker E21, turn left/southwest. This is the stem trail that heads back to your parking lot.

Wis. hike heads through sugar maple forest

The Holy Hill segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail heads through a
sugar maple forest below the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary.

Ice Age National Scenic Trail-Holy Hill segment topo map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy the rich and varied autumn colors of sugar maple leaves on the Holy Hill segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

The out-and-back trail runs 2.6-miles round trip in southeastern Wisconsin. It sits beneath the majestic Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary.

To reach the trailhead, from Hartford take Wis. Hwy. 83 south. Turn left/east onto Wis. Hwy. 167 (aka Holy Hill Road). In about 2.5 miles, go right/south on Stationway Road. After about 0.1 miles, look for the parking lot along the road’s left/east side. There’s a small clearing with picnic tables there, and the trail runs southeast from the lot.

Kettle moraine
The first stretch of the trail is fairly level as heading through a woods dominated by sugar maples. Aspen with its golden leaves and the evergreen white pine and white spruce dot the forest, making a perfect accent to the sugar maples’ yellow, orange and red crowns.

The woods sits in the middle of the kettle moraine region, a series of deep glacial depressions stretching across this part of Wisconsin. During the last ice age, two glacial lobes met here, leaving a large amount of debris between them. As the glaciers retreated, an outwash plain of meltwater formed atop the debris with the ice trapped beneath it. As the buried ice melted, the outwash plain collapsed, leaving a bumpy terrain of small knolls and mounds. Sometimes a conical hill of glacial sediment and debris – called a kame – was left behind.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill is built on one such kame that rises in the east above the forest. Constructed in the late 1920s using a neo-Romanesque design, the basilica’s 192-foot high twin towers can be seen from several surrounding counties.

During autumn, the sugar maples’ colorful leaves often block any view of the basilica from the trail. The sugar maple usually grows between 80-115 feet high, though some have been known to reach 148 feet.

Sugar maple leaves
Despite the trees, your certain to hear the basilica’s bells tolling. Between their ringing, songbirds provide a melodic soundtrack punctuated with the staccato of scampering squirrels.

It’s a wonderful accompaniment to the crescendo of colors. The sugar maple is among the few plants whose leaves turn different colors from tree to tree.

Sugar maples contain three different pigments in their leaves. Each autumn when trees stop making food from chlorophyll, the leaves’ greenness disappears and those pigments stand out. Which pigment appears depends on how much sunlight they receive and genetics.

If a sugar maple is in the shade, it’ll turn yellow. If it’s in the full sun, expect red. The proportion of sun of shade, as well as the leaves’ DNA, affects how they change throughout the day from yellow to red to orange. Usually the top of the tree and its sides turn red first with the inlaid portion of the tree yellow.

Visiting the basilica
About 0.8 miles in, the trail begins climbing a knoll until reaching about 1220 feet elevation. It then descends quickly.

Sugar maples aren’t just loved for their fantastic leaf display. In spring, their sap is used to make a sweet syrup that most of us enjoy on pancakes, waffles and French toast. This is done by placing a tap into a hole drilled just past the tree’s bark. The sap is collected in buckets or through tubes sent to a large tank. It’s then boiled so the water evaporates, leaving syrup behind. About 40 gallons of sap must be boiled to produce a mere gallon of pure maple syrup.

At 1.3 miles, the trail reaches Donegal Road. This marks a good turnback point. If looking to extend your walk, the Ice Age Trail does continue onward by heading east along the roadside before darting south along Emerald Drive and into the Kettle Moraine State Forest’s Loew Lake Unit.

After the hike, drive up to the basilica, where from its spires at more than 1350 feet elevation, you can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding woods (It’s 178 steps to the top!) and on a clear day the downtown Milwaukee skyline about 30 miles away. To reach it, from the trail’s parking lot take Stationway Drive right/north then at Hwy. 167 go left/west. Turn left/south onto Carmel Road. More than 500,000 people from all over the world annually visit the basilica.

Ice Age Trail segment passes Muir’s home

Naturalist John Muir played in the area preserved by Wisconsin's
John Muir County Park.

John Muir County Park Segment map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can walk through the boyhood playground of John Muir – the father of our national parks and founder of the Sierra Club – at Wisconsin’s John Muir County Park.

The John Muir Park Segment makes up a 1.4-mile loop in the the Ice Age National Scenic Trail’s eastern bifurcation. As circling Ennis Lake, it rambles through a number of ecosystems shaped by the glacier that covered this region a mere 12,000 years ago.

Muir immigrated from Scotland to Wisconsin’s Marquette County when he was 11, and there he developed his love for the region’s fens and oak savannas. His efforts directly led to the creation of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in California and inspired millions of others to work toward preservation of other natural wonders throughout the United States and across the world.

To reach the park, from Adams-Friendship take Wis. Hwy. 13 south. Go left/east on Wis. Hwy. 82. Once in Montello, turn right/south on Wis. Hwy. 22 then right/southwest onto County Hwy. F (also known as Fox River Road). After driving a few miles, an entry road to the park is on the left/east side. Park in the first lot on the left/north side of the park entrance road. From the parking lot, head north onto the Ice Age Trail.

Wisconsin fen
The first stretch offers an excellent view of the prairie landscape created when a massive glacier leveled and covered this region during the last ice age. Ennis Lake also is a remnant of that time. When the Green Bay Lobe retreated, it left behind a massive pile of gravel and sand insulating an ice block buried beneath it; as the ice depressed the ground and melted, the sediment floated to the lake bottom.

As rounding Ennis Lake’s north side, the trail passes a wet-mesic prairie on its right/south side. The soil of a mesic prairie generally is more moist than that of a traditional flat grasslands. This mesic prairie is a remnant of the landscape that existed before settlers plowed under the surrounding region into fields.

When the trail curves to the lake’s east side, a fen appears alongside the waterbody. Fens, which often occur on glacial terrain, feature saturated soils fed by mineralized groundwater. Such conditions allow plants, not usually seen elsewhere, to grow. At the county park, that includes unique sedges and Kalm’s lobelia.

Muir's childhood stream
On the lake’s east side, the trail crosses a small stream via the Muir View Bridge. The Muir family homestead was located upstream, to the northeast, past the sedge meadow. Biographers believe this stream is the one Muir wrote about in his “Stories of My Boyhood and Youth.” Time he spent on this stream sparked his desire to preserve land simply so its beauty could be enjoyed.

A sedge meadow rather than a fen surrounds the lake’s southeast side. Tussock and hummock sedges grow here, as do red-osier dogwood, a favorite food of white-tailed deer. The soil in a sedge meadows is peaty and mucky, almost always saturated but usually not covered by water.

While the sedge meadow hugs the lake, to the trail’s left stands an oak barrens, common in central Wisconsin. Along the side south of the lake is a hill; the trail follows an ancient shoreline when the lake was higher.

The oak thickens into a woodlands on the lake’s southwest side then curls away from it and around another fen. It then heads across a playing field before reaching to park entrance road and the parking lot.

Ice Age Trail segment passes ancient mound

Top of Rattlesnake Mound in winter.

Topo map of Ice Age National Scenic Trail - Rattlesnake
Mound segment. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can head through the remnants of several ice age features on a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail near Wisconsin’s Rattlesnake Mound.

The 2.6-miles round trip hike crosses along the bottom of what used to be a glacial lake and between two sandstone buttes that were islands in the vast waterbody. This segment sits on the western bifurcation of the roughly 1200-mile Ice Age Trail.

To reach the trailhead, from Adams-Friendship drive south on Wis. Hwy. 13. Turn right/west onto Edgewood Drive. At 14th Court, turn left/south. In about 0.15 miles is a parking lot on the road’s right/west side. Once parked, head east on the lot’s entrance lane back to the road.

This section of the Ice Age Trail is 14th Court. While a road may not seem like an ideal trail, there’s plenty of shoulder to walk on, and this stretch of the county is fairly peaceful and quiet, so traffic won’t be a concern. Head left/north on the road.

Upon passing Edgewood Drive, Rattlesnake Mound will loom to the northeast. The mound actually is two hills with a saddle. The southern hill – the one closest to Edgewood Drive – tops out at 1191 feet, a full 270 feet above the road. The northern hill on the other side of the saddle is slightly higher at 1198 feet.

While some of Rattlesnake Mound sits in the Quincy Bluff and Wetlands State Natural Area, most of it is on private land. The top of the southern hill sits in the state natural area, but there are no formally marked paths leading to it.

During the last ice age, the advancing Green Bay lobe glacier cut off the Wisconsin River’s outlet to the sea, and water backed up to form Glacial Lake Wisconsin. For 4000 years, sediment deposited at the lake’s bottom until a weak moraine broke, allowing the lake to drain in a torrent of floodwater.

Rattlesnake Mound and Quincy Bluff, to the west, stood out as islands in this cold lake. Both are made of sandstone set down a half-billion years ago when meandering rivers created a braided pattern here as flowing to the sea.

At about 0.6 miles, the trail curves northeast as it parallels the southern hill. Then at 1 mile, an intersecting road heads east over the saddle. While the road is public, the adjacent land on the mound isn’t, so continue straight north on 14th Court.

About 1.3 miles in, the trail crosses the base of the northern mound and gains some minor elevation.

The intersection with Dyke Drive marks a good place to turn back.

Trail crosses ancient Lake Michigan beaches

Point Beach with Rawley Point Lighthouse. Wisconsin DNR photo.

Point Beach Ridges Trail map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can walk along the ridges and swales of a secluded Lake Michigan beach on Wisconsin’s Rawley Point Ridges Trail.

The 5-mile round trip trail runs through beautiful Point Beach State Forest. Part of the route is a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Nearly 1200 miles long, the Ice Age Trail traces the edge of where glaciers stood at the end of the last ice age in Wisconsin.

To reach the trailhead, from Two Rivers take County Road O north. In about five miles, you’ll reach the state forest entrance; turn right/east into the forest. Park at the entrance station. From the parking lot, walk the entrance road west for about 140 yards then go left/south onto the Ice Age Trail.

The narrow, almost primitive footpath heads atop a forested sand ridge through a cedar grove. On the trail’s right is a swale.

Swales are marshy depressions between ridges that parallel the shoreline. There are several of them at Point Beach. They formed at the end of the last ice age when lake levels were higher. As creeks deposited sediment into the lake, wave action created a series of beaches matching the current shoreline. As the lake level gradually fell, the beaches were left behind as ridges with low-lying marshes in between. Grasses, shrubs and trees then stabilized the ridges while water pooled in the swales.

Headin’ to the beach
At 0.7 miles, the trail reaches the start of the Red Loop. Go left/southeast onto it. The Red Loop – as well as the next two, the Blue and the Yellow – are three ski trails rambling through the hardwood and cedar forest here.

When the trail curves south at 0.8 miles, a spur leads to the beach and a camping site for kayakers. If you wish to only walk the beach, take the spur. Within a few feet, about six miles of undeveloped beach stretch before you. The secluded beach makes for a beautiful moonlight walk as Lake Michigan’s waves crash against the shore.

Alternately, you can keep sand out of your shoes and stay on the recreation trail. If you do, the trail next junctions with the Blue Loop. Go left/southeast onto the Blue Loop’s eastern or beach side.

At 1.9 miles, the trail crosses the road to the Group Camp. This places you on the Yellow Loop’s eastern leg.

Molash Creek
As the Yellow Loop curves west at 2.5 miles from the trailhead, you’ll be able to spot Molash Creek between the trees. This marks a good spot to pause, as there’s a bench to take in the small waterway. Continuing on, the loop briefly parallels the broad and marshy creek.

When the Ice Age Trail and Yellow Loop split at 2.8 miles, go right/northeast on the loop. Once you cross the road leading to the Group Camp; you’re on the Blue Loop’s western leg.

Upon reaching the Red Loop, continue left-straight/northeast on the loop. The way back is on a slightly higher ridge than the one you walked in on.

In addition to cedars, red pines and spruce can be found in the forested area. Cattails and marsh reeds often line the swales. Raspberry bushes and ferns can be found along the route as well.

Rawley Point Lighthouse
When the Red Loop meets the Ice Age Trail at 4.6 miles, go left/northwest into it. Once a bike trail joins the path from the left, the hiking surface turns to crushed limestone.

Upon reaching the entrance road, take the road right/east. In about 100 feet, you’ll pass the trailhead. Continue on the road back to your vehicle.

Once back at the parking lot, drive east on the park road and check out the Rawley Point Lighthouse. The 113-foot steel tower still operates and can be seen up to 19 miles away. Constructed in 1894, it replaced the 1853 brick lighthouse that was refurbished as the lightkeeper’s house. The lighthouse generally is no open to the public but still makes for a pretty sight. A dog trail runs from the lighthouse to the beach.

Definitely bring insect repellent for the trip, as the swales supports a vibrant mosquito and mayfly population. Dogs are allowed on the trail and beach if leashed, except during ski season. Always stay on the trail or the beach to avoid harming rare plants and the fragile dunes.

Day trail offers great vista of Sturgeon Bay

View of Sawyer Harbor, Cabot Point and Sturgeon Bay from near the lookout
tower at Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin.

Tower Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy great autumn colors on the Tower Trail at Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin’s 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 copper of American basswood all light the trail with the brilliant blue waters of Sturgeon Bays in the background at vistas.

To reach the trailhead, 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.

Go left/west onto the trail. The trail bisects the North Camp Area then soon heads up a steep hill.

American basswood
Among the native Wisconsin trees that is common along the trail is the American basswood, also known as the American linden. The tree grows across the upper Midwest through New England as well as southern Ontario and Quebec. It’s easy to spot; the domed crown consists of spreading branches, the bark ranges from gray to light brown with narrow fissures, and the 4-6 inch long leaves alternate with the larger ones on the side nearest the branch.

About a half-mile in, the trail levels and passes through forest with an understory of ferns. A connector trail runs right/northeast to the the other side of the loop, then at 0.9 miles a north-south bike intersects the route. As the trail curves southwest, it parallels the road you drove in on.

The American basswood lives for about 200 years and reaches maturity quite quickly. It grows at twice the rate of the American beech and most birch species, topping out between 60 to 120 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 3-5 feet.

At 1.2 miles, the trail crosses another point on the bike trail. Continue straight. Next the trail curls away from the park road and heads northeast, twice intersecting other spots on the bike trail you just crossed.

The American basswood often is used as an ornamental tree because it offers excellent shade. Horticulturalists also plant it as a windbreak to protect to young trees in orchards.

After several curves, the trail at 1.4 miles heads alongside a field. During summer, it’s alit with wildflowers. Turkeys can be seen here and sometimes whitetail deer. Unfortunately, the trail also heads beneath a powerline along the way, but it’s a brief run.

Lookout tower
In autumn, the basswood brightens the forest with chartreuse to yellow-green leaves. Depending on the the temperature and sunlight received, sometimes the leaves will turn a deep yellow with hints of orange. The edges usually brown before the leaves drop.

The footpath again intersects the bike trail then crosses North Norway Road at 2 miles from the trailhead. There it reaches the Old Ski Hill Overlook, which offers a nice view of the valley below, especially when it’s painted in autumn’s harvest colors.

Next the trail parallels North Norway Road before reaching the observation tower at 2.4 miles. You can’t go into the tower, though; it was found unsafe and closed in late 2017. The 75-foot tall tower was completed in 1932 and over the decades has suffered severe wood decay. The tower gave great views of Sawyer Harbor at the base of the cliff below with Cabot Point in the distance. Plans call for tearing down the tower and eventually replacing it.

The tower marks the Ice Age Trail’s eastern terminus. Running across 30 counties, the trail roughly marks the farthest advance of ice during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago.

Sturgeon Bay
From the tower, the trail crosses the park road and runs southeast. A bike trail goes southwest from it. The Tower Trail here heads along a rolling ridgeline, passing through stands of maple and beech.

At 2.6 miles, it crosses Shore Road. The hill there overlooks the waters of Sturgeon Bay, an arm of Green Bay that cuts into the Door Peninsula. A canal connects the inner bay to Lake Michigan. Just 0.2 miles from the road is a steel tower that boats use as a navigation marker on the way to the city of Sturgeon Bay’s docks.

Cedar dominates for the next half-mile or so. The sweet scent of their fallen needles permeates the air.

At 3.2 miles is the connector trail leading to the loop’s other side. Continue left-straight/southeast. When the trail crosses Shore Road, follow the park street left/south to your parking lot.

Hiking boots are a must on the trail, which heads over exposed roots, mud, and flagstone at various points. Autumn leaves often cover those hazards.

Wisc. trail heads to summit of 200-foot butte

Gibraltar Rock rises 200 feet above the surrounding countryside.

Ice Age National Scenic Trail-Gibraltar Rock segment map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can head to the top of a 200-foot butte and enjoy incredible views of the Wisconsin River Valley and Lake Wisconsin at Gibraltar Rock State Natural Area.

The 2.2-miles round trip Gibraltar Rock segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail climbs the butte’s northeast side. It’s a spectacular hike to take in autumn, when harvest colors abound along the trail and the surrounding countryside.

To reach the trailhead, from Portage, Wis., take Interstate 39 south then Interstate 90 south/east. Exit onto Wis. Hwy. 60 and go right/west. In Lodi, turn right/north onto Wis. Hwy. 113 then left/west onto County Road V and lastly left/south onto Gibraltar Rock Road. Park off the road at the curve in about 250 feet. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail enters the woods 125 feet to the east on the road’s left side.

Red oak, basswood forest
The trail starts at a little more than 1020 feet above sea level and makes a gradual uphill climb through a forest dominated by red oak and basswood.

Red oak leaves fully change color after the sugar maples already have passed their prime, so this is a great hike for later in the autumn. The red oak’s leaves vary from scarlet to orange and light brown.

Basswood nicely accents the red oak’s colors with chartreuse to yellow-green leaves. Depending on the amount of sunlight received, sometimes the leaves turn a deep yellow with hints of orange.

At 0.7 miles, the trail turns steep. That’s short-lived, though, for in 0.1 miles, you reach the flat butte’s summit, which tops out at 1,246 feet and is Columbia County’s highest point.

The butte formed around 480 million years ago when this part of the continent was at the edge of a great sea. Wind and rivers brought quartz sand from the continent’s interior to here. With each new layer, the sand hardened into stone. Erosion over the eons has removed the surrounding quartz sand that once blanketed this part of Wisconsin.

Later, the sea reclaimed the land and covered the sandstone. As ancient sea creatures died, their shells fell to the sea floor, forming limestone. Wind from tropical storms stirred and concentrated the limestone into what is known as the Platteville-Galena dolomite cap. This cap, which is more erosion-resistant than the underlying sandstone, keeps the butte in place.

Butte-top views
While tall, fragrant red cedars dominate the butte top, there are plenty of breaks in the woodline to see the surrounding countryside, a quilt of farmland with woodland patches, a pretty scene in autumn.

Directly to the butte’s north is Lake Wisconsin, a widening in the mighty Wisconsin river. Devil’s Lake State Park with its forested bluffs is to the northwest. A leatherleaf bog is to the southwest directly below the butte.

Be sure to look to the south of hiking in autumn or spring. That side of the butte is a sheer 100-foot rock face, and migrating raptors ride the thermals formed by the warm cliff face.

Take a few minutes as well to look at what’s beneath your feet on the butte. A thin layer of soil blankets the dolomite cap, allowing a dry prairie to take root. You can spot asters, bergamot, big and little blue-stem, bird’s foot violet, blue eyed grass, goldenrods, lead-plant, pasque flower, prairie drop-seed, prairie smoke, side oats grama, and whorled milkweed.

At 1.1 miles, the trail descends along the butte’s north and western sides. This marks a good spot to turn back. If you have a little extra energy, though, the Ice Age Trail continues for 0.7 miles to County Road V, making this is a great hike for arranging a pickup.

Ice Age Trail segment heads past hemlocks

The Ice Age Trail passes Jerry Lake near Medford, Wis.

Ice Age Trail - Jerry Lake segment topo map.
Click map for larger version.

Day hikers walk through hemlock groves on the Jerry Lake segment of Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

The 6-miles round trip segment from Jerry Lake to the South Fork of the Yellow River sits in the Chequamegon National Forest. The Ice Age Trail marks the edge of the glacial advance when ice sheets were last in these parts, about 8000 BCE. The trail stretches more than 1100 miles long across the state and largely cuts northeast-southwest through Taylor County.

To reach the trailhead, from Medford take Wis. Hwy. 13 north. Turn left/west onto County Road M then right/north onto Sailor Creek Road/Forest Road 571. A small parking lot is in 0.7 miles.

Take the Ice Age Trail north. Going south takes you to Lake Eleven, which is about five miles away.

In short order, you’ll arrive at picturesque Jerry Lake. The 26-acre lake reaches a depth of 30 feet. Largemouth bass, northern pike, and panfish all thrive there.

At 0.1 miles, the trail junctions a connector that goes southeast to FR 571. Continue straight/north along Jerry Lake’s eastern shore.

Hemlocks
The trail passes a campsite with pit toilet and a steel fire grate on the northeastern shore of Jerry Lake at 0.2 miles. Two other primitive/rustic campsites are ahead at the South Fork of the Yellow River and at Sailor Creek, though the latter is a bit buggy, as it’s near a bog.

A marsh next appears. This used to be part of the lake, which is receding.

The trail continues into a hardwood forest and a young hemlock grove. preferring moist but well-drained soil, the hemlock looks a lot like a child’s drawing of a Christmas tree. It can grow up to 7 stories high and reach 35 feet in width.

At 1.6 miles, the trail crosses Hay Meadow Road/Forest Road 572, which heads west to Forest Road 112 and east to Forest Road 571. Continue straight/north.

Overlook
Next the trails descend a low ridge with a hemlock grove. The trail then passes through a good mix of tall pines and deciduous trees with a fair amount of birch. Be sure to look up - sometimes porcupines climb trees and are hiding in plain sight right above you on a birch trunk.

As the trail picks up elevation, you’ll reach an overlook that provides a great panorama of the forest.

The trail then descends toward the South Fork of the Yellow River, which appears at 3 miles in. A 67-foot heavy timber bridge spans the wide waterway. Bald eagles fly overhead, and otters swim about in the shallow waters. The river is a good spot to refill your canteen, but always be sure to filter it first.

It also marks a good spot to turn back for a 6-mile round trip hike.

Continuing on
If have some more energy, you can continue north. You’ll first pass the aforementioned primitive campsite, which sits on the ridge overlooking the river.

Next the route crosses Forest Road 576 twice, as both the trail and the road curve away and then toward one another.

At 5.6 miles, a small bridge crosses Sailor Creek, a clear, running stream. You can turn back here for a 11.2-miles round trip hike or you can camp here for the night. The camp is situated in a hemlock grove with a stone fire ring.

The trail can get quite muddy in spots after a thunderstorm, so be sure to wait a couple of days for the ground to dry out before attempting a hike.

Trails explore Washburn County geography

Trego Nature Trail in Wisconsin's Northwoods.

Local tourism officials long have touted Wisconsin's Washburn County as the Gateway to the Northwoods and for good reason. Geographically, two distinct landscapes are found in the county – one that matches well with the ecological area known as the Northwoods and the other that is the transitional, border zone for the northern forests.

The county consists of two distinct geographical regions. The southern portion – including Shell Lake and Birchwood – as well as much of the county’s northeast quarter, largely consists of highlands, sitting at an elevation of 1200-1400 feet. While not significant compared to the Appalachians or the Rockies, for Wisconsin, this is a good 200-400 feet higher than much of the southern part of the state. This forested region sports a great diversity of trees that typically can be found across the state. Some great trails found in this region include:
• Ice Age National Scenic Trail
• Bear Trail
• Wild Rivers State Trail (Spooner segment)

The county’s center, including Spooner, Trego and Minong, sits at a lower 1000-1200 feet elevation. This is the dried, sandy bed of Glacial Lake Grantsburg, which existed near the end of the last Ice Age when a glacier in Minnesota dammed the flow of meltwater. Some of the county’s northwest quadrant, which is closer to the center of the extinct lake, is at an even lower elevation of 800-1200 feet. The sandier soil tends to nurture forests of pine, aspen-birch and oak. Today, the Namekagon River flows through this county’s center. A few good trails found in this region include:
• Trego Nature Trail
• Trego Lake Trail
• Totagatic Ski Trails

Learn more about these and other nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Washburn County.

Logging-era remains visible on Ice Age Trail

Map of Deer Fly Trail Area segment, courtesy
Chippewa County, Wis.

Day hikers can enjoy a walk along the famous Ice Age National Scenic Trail in northern Chippewa County.

More than 20 of the trail’s proposed 1200 miles rambles through the county. A particularly good county section to hike is the 2-miles round-trip Deer Fly Trail area segment in the Chippewa County Forest’s Deer Fly Trail area.

To reach this segment, from Bloomer, drive east on Wis. Hwy. 64. Turn left/north onto County Road E then left/north on 180th Street. This road curves west to become 205th Avenue and then north to become 175th Street. When the road turns west and becomes 225th Avenue, head right/north on Hay Meadow Flowage Trail. Then go right/northeast onto the gravel Deer Fly Trail. When the narrow Ice Age Trail crosses the road, park on the shoulder (If you pass the junction with High Ridge Trail road, you've gone too far).

The trail meanders through a mixed hardwood forest. Be careful not to turn off onto crossing logging trails, which will be much wider than the Ice Age Trail. Yellow blazes mark the main trail.

Statewide, the trail roughly marks the advance of glaciers during the last ice age. Those glaciers entirely shaped the terrain throughout the area.

While 11,000 years ago ice towered high above the ground, today the area consists mainly of tag alder swamps, swamp conifers, swamp hardwoods or a mixture of these. The upland areas, however, consist of aspen, oak or northern hardwoods.

When the trail passes wetlands in about a half-mile, you're close to Birch Creek. The trail largely parallels the stream until veering southwest to the Harwood Lakes.

Along the trail, you’ll likely spot deep ruts. They are a testament to man’s impact on Mother Nature, for they date to the late 1800s when sled runners pulled by horse teams hauled large loads of white pine logs out of this forest.

The Deer Fly Trail area is fairly secluded, so you won’t likely see other hikers out here except maybe on weekends. The Chippewa County Forest covers 33,653-acres, and the Deer Fly area makes up about a quarter of that at 8,589 acres.

About a mile from the trailhead, the trail crosses a narrow spot in the widening creek via a log corduroy. These are logs sand-covered logs that were placed perpendicular to roads that crossed swampy areas. While an improvement over muddy roads, they still made for a bumpy ride and when loose logs shifted could injure horses.

The crossing marks a good point to turn back.

Hike edge of ancient glacier in Wisconsin

North of Cumberland, Wis, a fairly flat segment of the expansive Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs at the edge of where the glacier last seen in these parts towered some 11,000 years ago. The hike to Grassy Lake and back makes for just under 4 miles round trip.

To reach the trail, from Cumberland drive north on U.S. Hwy. 63 into Washburn County. At Brick Yard Road, go right/east. At the next intersection, turn right/south onto Old Hwy. 63; park off this road across from the Pershing Road intersection.

The trail unofficially heads east alongside Pershing Road. You’ll pass bucolic farm fields at first, but the trail grows increasingly forested as heading east. Typical Northern hardwoods – maples and oaks – with scattered pines line the route.

At about 0.75 miles, the trail turns left/north. This now official segment of the Ice Age Trail runs on public land. If you feel uncomfortable leaving your car along the highway or want to shorten your walk, this is a good alternative for parking (though it’ll still have to be off the road).

A mere 11 millennia, this area was beneath a towering glacier, only miles away from its leading edge to the south. The glacier crushed and flattened the landscape, and remnants of it formed many of the lakes seen across northern Wisconsin by depressing the land and melting.

For the next 1.25 miles, the trail roughly parallels the shoreline of Grassy Lake, though you’re never closer than 200 feet to it. The lake covers 38 acres.

The trail soon curves east, briefly paralleling the Grassy Lake’s north shore. When the trail swerves north again, you’ve reached the turn-back point.

Upon reaching 65th Avenue, you’ve gone 1.5 miles. This marks a good spot to head back.

Learn about nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Washburn County.

Great trails await hikers in Washburn County

Wild River Trail north of Minong, Wis.

Located in Wisconsin’s northwest corner, Washburn County is an outdoor recreational paradise. During summers, bicyclists and off-road vehicle enthusiasts ply a number of wooded trails while fishermen and canoeists try their hand at their sport on freshwater lakes and a nationally protected riverway. Come autumn, the roads turn busy with drivers out to enjoy the colorful blaze of autumn leaves. Throughout winter, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers sail across white paths while ice fishing shacks pop up on frozen lakes. And, of course, day and backcountry hikers alike enjoy the county’s hundreds of miles of trails, some routes well-groomed and others primitive, but all rambling through fabulous scenery.

Three major attractions stand out for day and backcountry hikers in Washburn County. Across much of the county’s southern section, the 1200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail winds its way toward its western and northern terminus, loosely marking the edge of where glaciers once stood more than 10,000 years ago during the last ice age. Cutting north to south through the county is the Wild River Trail, which follows an abandoned rail line between the city of Rice Lake to the south and the port city of Superior to the north. Finally, splitting the county almost in half, the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway curves from the Namekagon’s headwaters to the northeast toward a meeting with the great St. Croix River to the west.

Among the best day hiking trails in Washburn County to hit include:
St. Croix National Scenic Riverway
• Trego Lake Trail
• Trego Nature Trail
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
• Cumberland segment
Wild River Trail
• Spooner segment
Others
• Tuscobia State Trail
• Bear Trail (Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary)

Learn more about these and other nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Washburn County.

Blue Hills, great trout streams await day hikers in Rusk County, Wis.

Several trails cross the ancient Blue Hills.

A variety of day hiking options await visitors to eastern Rusk County, Wis., home of the 1.7-billion-year-old Blue Hills.

Among the many trails:
g Blue Hills East Trail – Fourteen stacked loops over a variety of terrain are used by cross-country skiers in winter but can be day hiked other seasons on a system maintained by the Blue Hills Trail Association. A trailhead is off of Fire Lane Road, just north of the Excelsior Road intersection.
g Blue Hills West Trail – This sister set of cross country ski trails includes two stacked loops and a lollipop trail. The trail is on Excelsior Road, a left/west from Fire Lane Road.
g Devils Creek State Wildlife Management Area trails – Bring a fishing pole and follow a Class I trout stream on this unmarked trail. From Weyerhaeuser, take County Road F north for a little more than six miles; at the Y intersection with County Road O, turn right. Where the road crosses Devils Creek, park off the shoulder and head south along the creek.
g Ice Age National Scenic Trail – Trailheads to various segments are located on Old 14/Bass Lake Road, Bolgers Road and Bucks Lake Road. The trail runs 1200 miles, generally marking the southern edge of an ice age glacier that covered much of Wisconsin about 10,000 years ago.
g Potato Creek State Wildlife Management Area trails – If you’re in the mood for a little trail blazing, visit this public area, which boasts meadows and an array of hardwood trees that make for splendid autumn displays. Access the area from Roses Resort Road, east of Wis. Hwy. 40.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Barron County, Wisconsin, hiking guidebook now out in paperback

My recent ebook Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Barron County, Wisconsin is now out in paperback. The book describes more than 40 trails that can be found near Rice Lake, Cumberland, Turtle Lake, Chetek and Cameron, as well as in the surrounding counties of Polk, Washburn, Rusk, Chippewa and Dunn. Among those trail featured are the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Wild Rivers Trail, Cattail State Trail, the Tuscobia Trail, and those running through the Blue Hills. The book is available online.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Trail crosses peaceful Wis. woodlands, river

Wild Rivers Trail bridge over Namekago River.

Wild Rivers Trail segment
runs along former rail line

A tranquil stroll through the woods with a bridge view of the Namekagon River awaits day hikers on a segment of the Wild Rivers Trail in Trego, Wis.

At a little under 2.2-miles round trip, the segment is just a small portion of a trail that runs for 104 miles across three counties on an old Omaha and Soo Line Railroads rail line. The trail connects Rice Lake, Wis., in the south with Superior, Wis., to the northwest.

To pick up the trail in Trego, when U.S. Hwy. 53 enters the village from the south, turn right/east onto Oak Hill Road. Turn left/north onto Park Street. When Park Street curves west, you’ll notice a large open gravel parking lot. Leave your vehicle there. The trail runs alongside the lot’s eastern side.

Take the trail northeast. Nicely forested with typical northern hardwoods, the trail is fairly isolated from built-up areas.

This section of the trail also is part of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The 1200-mile Ice Age Trail essentially follows the edge of where the glacier last seen in these parts towered some 10,000 years ago.

In about a quarter mile, the trail begins to skirt the backside of the Namekagon Visitor Center grounds, which offers displays about the riverway. Unfortunately, there’s no path leading from the Wild Rivers Trail to the center; when finished with the hike, consider a drive to it (take Hwy. 53 north and turn right onto U.S. Hwy. 63), especially if children are with you.

The trail then crosses busy Hwy. 63 and in another 100 feet spans the Namekagon. From the river bridge looking west, the Namekagon breaks into a couple of back channels.

After the river, the trail re-enters the peaceful woods. You’re likely to spot white-tailed deer, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks along the way. Songbirds are plentiful, providing a sweet soundtrack to the hike. In 0.75 miles, the trail reaches Ross Road, which is a good spot to turn back; by this point, you’ve actually left the scenic riverway.

During spring and early summer, be sure to carry insect repellent when near the river. And while the trail cuts through woodlands, it is wide and mostly open, so also be sure to don sunscreen.

Learn about nearby trails in Day Hiking Trails of Washburn County.