Ellen Morgan - 50 Hikes in Wisconsin

OTHER BOOKS IN THE 50 HIKES SERIES

50 Hikes Around Anchorage

50 Hikes in Washington

50 Hikes in Oregon

50 Hikes in the Sierra Nevada

50 Hikes in Northern New Mexico

50 Hikes in Utah

50 Hikes in Orange County

50 Hikes in the Ozarks

50 Hikes in Michigan

50 Hikes in Michigans Upper Peninsula

50 Hikes on Michigan & Wisconsins North Country Trail

50 Hikes in Ohio

50 Hikes in West Virginia

50 Hikes in the North Georgia Mountains

50 Hikes in South Carolina

50 Hikes in Northern Virginia

50 Hikes in Eastern Pennsylvania

50 Hikes in New Jersey

50 Hikes in the Lower Hudson Valley

50 Hikes in the Berkshire Hills

50 Hikes in the White Mountains

50 Hikes in Vermont

50 Hikes in Coastal & Inland Maine

An Invitation To The Reader

Over time, trails can be rerouted and signs and landmarks can be altered. If you find that changes have occurred on the routes described in this book, please let us know, so that corrections may be made in future editions. The author and publisher also welcome other comments and suggestions.
Address all correspondence to:

50 Hikes Editor

The Countryman Press

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New York, NY 10110

Copyright 2017 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Copyright 2012, 2004, John and Ellen Morgan

All rights reserved

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Series cover design by Steve Attardo
Cover photograph John Brueske/Shutterstock

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978-1-68268-090-2 (pbk.)

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Because this is a guide to hiking trails, we have to recognize those who build them. These are the volunteers, friends groups, park and forest employees, and other dedicated folks who literally move boulders, build stone stairwells, haul timbers, construct boardwalks and bridges, cut back invasive buckthorn, pull garlic mustard, clear fallen trees, install benches, plow park roads in the winter, and otherwise devote countless hours so that hikers can drive up, amble onto a trail, and enjoy a great hike. We must also recognize the citizens of Wisconsin and our elected officials and governments for continuing to value and trumpet the public health, conservation, and economic benefits of having parks, forests, and trails.
To Wisconsins trailblazers and advocates, thank you!

Contents

QUIET BOARDWALKS TAKE HIKERS TO LAKE SUPERIOR SEA CAVES ON THE LAKESHORE TRAIL

W hen it comes to hiking, Wisconsin rocks, and our goal for this guide over the past 12 years has been to celebrate and highlight the best trails and natural areas the Badger State has to offer.

Luckily for hikers, its not hard to find great trails. The place is home to an immense 1.5-million-acre National Forest, it is bordered by two Great Lakes with more than 800 miles of shoreline, it has 66 state park units covering 60,000 acres, and theres another half-million acres of state forest. Add to this our county parks and forests, nature preserves, city parks, and more, and things are pretty kid-in-a-candy-store bountiful for hikers looking for trails.

And then theres our beloved Ice Age Trail. Thats right, our states own National Scenic Trail traces the 1,200-mile-long glacial moraineessentially a serpentine hillmarking the farthest extent of the last glaciers path when it plowed down from the north, dumped its geological contents, and then receded 10,000 years ago. Many people dont know this, but the Ice Age Trail is one of four units of the National Park Service in Wisconsin. All four are featured in this book, the other three being the North Country Trail (which passes through on its path from North Dakota to New York), the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

So revising this book and putting out a third edition is pretty easy stuff in a state like Wisconsin, where there are trails seemingly everywhere. We keep a list of possible hikes, and each time around we loop around the state, checking out new trails to add to each new edition of this guide, and the list feels endless. In terms of whats new this time around, there are five new hikes at new locations, including The Lakeshore Trail at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, The Lost Creek Falls Trail in the Bayfield County Forest, The Bicentennial Trail at Hixon Forest in La Crosse, The Nordic Trails in Kettle Moraine South, and the Natural Bridge State Park loop trail in the bucolic Baraboo Hills.

But wait, theres more! There are also 10 hikes from the last edition that either have completely new routes, were extended, or just plain needed fixing in some way. These include Devil's Lake (new route), Lapham Peak (new route), Pattison State Park (new route), Mirror Lake (extended), Point Beach (extended), Magnolia Bluff (rerouted), High Cliff State Park (extended), Picnic Point (rerouted and extended), New Glarus Woods (extended), and Indian Lake County Park (extended).

In the end, its our hope that you, too, will enjoy exploring these great trails and have a great time hiking in the Badger State.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The beginning of the book includes an At a Glance section that lists the hike name, the quadrant region its in (along with the nearest town or city), the hike distance, the difficulty rating, and a listing of notable extras (good for kids, camping, waterfalls, etc.). In terms of kids, were basing the suitability for kids on whether a child up to around 10 years old would be able to handle a given hike.