Exploring Wisconsin's Hidden Gems

Aldo Leopold.  A 40 foot deep gorge.  Prickly Pear cactus and desert.  Just a few of the hidden gems I recently explored in Wisconsin.

Finding places I haven't explored before in Wisconsin is always an exciting adventure.  When my brother decided to pay a visit for the first weekend of Autumn, we decided (as we always do) to go out for a hike and explore.  This time we picked the Baraboo and Spring Green areas of Wisconsin which lie in the Dirftless Area of Wisconsin.

Aldo Leopold Foundation

We started our quick two day journey of exploration at the Aldo Leopold Foundation.  If you don't know who Aldo Leopold is, he's known as the father of wildlife conservation and was an early leader in the American wilderness movement.  (Read more about him on the Wilderness.net.)

While visiting we decided to take the self guided tour through the land along the Wisconsin River that his family owned and worked to restore.  The Shack the family lived in is still there to this day and so are some landmarks of the work he did.  Overall it was a humbling experience to be able to view and feel the work he did here which has resonated far beyond the boundaries of his property.

Aldo Leopold Shack

The Aldo Leopold Foundation is definitely worth the visit.

Pewits Nest State Natural Area

Definitely a hidden gem in Wisconsin.  Pewits Nest State Natural Area in Baraboo, WI is pretty well hidden with no signs leading to it.  It's one of those places you need to know exists to find it.  Which makes it a perfect place to explore.   Upon arriving we hit the trail and starting walking toward the gorge.  One of the first things I noticed when we hit the forest was the wall of rock that was growing as we walked the trail.

Within a short distance we took the trail that lead us down to Skillet Creek where we could peer into the gorge and see a small waterfall.

Skillet Creek and Pewits Nest Gorge

Next we wandered around and to the trail above the gorge and followed the creek to the end of the gorge and park.  We noticed many small waterfalls and different views of the gorge.  

Skillet Creek and Pewits Nest Gorge

View down into the gorge

After hiking the trail and returning to the car, I felt lucky to have found this place.  From the road I would have never guessed what was just beyond the edge of the forest and in the middle of the farmer's fields that lie around it.  Definitely worth a visit to see the splendor that the retreating glaciers left for us to explore.

Spring Green Preserve

Did you know Wisconsin has a desert where prickly pear cactus grow naturally?  No?  Neither did I.  Upon arriving at the Spring Green Preserve I  immediately noticed a difference in this area versus the adjoining landscapes.  Upon hitting the trail which was dry, sandy soil I saw prickly pear cactus.  Even the ridge line in the distance was different than the others.  All the ones around it held forests, but not this one.

Prickly Pear Cactus at Spring Green Preserve

Spring Green Preserve - "Wisconsin's Desert"

We hiked the 1.6 mile trail (one way) through the prairie taking in the beauty of the fall colors of the prairie grasses.  The trail itself winds its way behind and up the bluff and provides a great overview of the surrounding area.  

Spring Green Preserve Trail end - overview of surrounding area from atop the bluff

My brother and I continued to explore additional areas over the two days we had and found some amazing places to explore that we had never been to and places we've explored before, but were worth another visit.  In addition to the above we explored:

• Bakken's Pond State Natural Area - definitely another worth visiting.  It's a wetlands area that is home to many species of animals including the Sandhill Cranes we heard and then finally saw as they took off over the pond.
• Devil's Lake - no visit to this area is complete without a quick trip to Devil's Lake State Park.  Today we hiked the East Bluff and saw plenty of turkey vultures floating on the thermals.  
• Tower Hill State Park - A smaller state park, but another not to miss.  We camped here and visited the Shot Tunnel and watched the reflections of the seasonal changes of the trees in the river.
• Ferry Bluff State Natural Area - we hiked the short trail that brings you up to the top of Ferry Bluff and provides great views of the Wisconsin River and the surrounding area.  

Fall is a great time to get outdoors and explore.  And the Driftless Area provides plenty of opportunities to view fall colors in their glory.  

And today I'll switch it up a little bit, instead of a John Muir quote to end this post, we'll reflect on Aldo Leopold.

"Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty.  It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language" Aldo Leopold

Spring Training at Devil's Lake State Park

Spring Training at Devil's Lake State Park

With another trip just around the corner to go backpacking in the Pacific Northwest I figured Devil's Lake State Park would be the perfect spot to get in one last good training day.  Devil's Lake State Park, located in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin has some great bluffs bordering each side of Devils Lake.  Great for training when you need to get some quick elevation gain.

Devil's Lake: East Bluff and West Bluff trails

Spring At Devil's Lake State Park

Having trained in Spring 2013 at Devil's Lake State Park for my Mt Whitney trip with Backpacker Magazine for Big City Mountaineers, I knew to expect the East Bluff Trail to be in a little worse condition that the West Bluff Trail due to the lack of sunlight in some areas.  Well, I'm not sure that was the case today.  With our crazy winter this year of freezing temps and snow on the ground for 90+ days, spring is coming slow.  

The trails were clear in some spots, snow covered in locations and ice covered in many locations.  Carrying a full pack of gear, maneuvering off trail to get around the ice on the slopes of the bluffs was a challenge.  But one that I was willing to take and enjoying.  

Snow on the East Bluff Trail at Devil's Lake State Park

Still Winter at Devil's Lake State Park?

The best part of training today at Devil's Lake State Park was that I found a little bit of winter.  With my love for cold weather, snow and winter, I felt like not only did I get a good day of training, I got to experience winter one more time.  Arriving at the park it was 28 degrees (20 degrees with the wind), small random flakes of snow falling were present and the lake was still frozen over.  I'll take it.  And I needed it - a little bit of winter is a great way to refresh the soul while training.

Devil's Lake frozen over (March 2014)

“I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature’s loveliness.”    John Muir.

And I hope I inspire some of you to look at, feel and be with nature - it gives far more than it receives.

Related Reading:

• Continuing to Explore the Driftless Area
• Unglaciated Wisconsin - The Driftless Area

Continuing to Explore the Driftless Area

This year I continue to explore the Driftless Area's of Wisconsin and Iowa.  The more I explore this area of southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa, the more I like it.  Being someone who loves being outdoors and in the mountains, but is stuck living in the midwest, this is the closest I can get to feeling like I'm in the mountains.

So far every weekend since May 12th and one weekend in April has been spent in this area exploring different state parks and state forests.  This includes backpacking as well as car camping.  The Yellow River State Forest in Iowa was definitely a surprise.  I had no idea this was here and was quite surprised at how hilly this region of Iowa was.  Backpacking into and up the hills to find a perfect campsite was a great opportunity to explore the area.  In a full day of backpacking I saw 2 guys who were back camping in the designated backpack camping area I selected and a group of boy scouts.

Trail up to Schulz Camp - Yellow River State Forest, IA

Another surprise so far this year was the Black River State Forest in Wisconsin.  Day 1 of hiking here revealed a couple of things:  this state forest is also allows 4 wheelers (thankfully they have their own trails far away from the hiking trails) and has trails for them and the bad management of how to clear a forest (the eastern edge of the Wildcat Trail left plenty to be desired).  But Day 2 also showed an absolutely beautiful ridge line that runs on the east side of the forest hiking trail area.  And I learned that you can backpack in to this state forest as well.  This area is on my radar to visit again this fall for a backpacking trip with the dogs.

View from the Ridge Trail west - Black River State Forest,  WI

As I've been exploring I've been visiting new state parks in the southwest region of Wisconsin.  So far I have learned

• Mirror Lake State Park is a little too close to I-90/I-94.  When the park quiets down at night, all you can hear is cars / trucks traveling on the freeway.  And one of the trails there basically has you following the edge of the freeway.  Will not visit this park again.
• Wildcat Mountain - if reserving a campsite here, be leary when ReserveAmerica.com states it as a "fully" shaded site.  I learned this is not the case as I woke up with the sun turning my tent into a sauna and had to get out of it by 5 am.  

          But I did learn that you can backpack into the Kickapoo Valley Reserve just down a few miles from Wildcat Mountain State Park.  I also have this on my list of things to do this fall once the trees turn colors.  This area is beautiful and full of big hills and valleys that are all green.  

View out over the Kickapoo River Valley 

Beyond that I've also explored Roche-A-Cri State Park which is a nice, smaller park in the Driftless Area.  The center of this park has the Roche-A-Cri mound which has a stairway to get to the top (300 stairs).  The view from the top is pretty amazing as you can see for miles in every direction.  The morning I climbed the stairs I got to watch a storm in the distance with the sun trying to break through the clouds.  What a beautiful way to start the day.

View from atop Roche-A-Cri Mound - Roche-A-Cri State Park, WI

And lastly I've been to Governor Dodge State Park two times already this year camping and Devil's Lake for camping and hiking.

Governor Dodge twice because in April it's one of the few parks in that area that has the campground open year round.  And then again a couple of weeks ago to try out one of their backpacking sites.  The backpacking sites are actually quite nice, but are only a short 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot.  

So that's just the start of the year of exploring the Driftless Area's of Wisconsin and Iowa.  More to come and a lot more to explore yet.