A good hike can be great exercise, a ritual to calm
spirit, a chance to connect with earth. It is a way to get to know nature by its species, and your soul by its moods. It is an opportunity to build a friendship, acknowledge your heritage or confront your personal limits. Wisconsin has many great hiking trails. Here are five to soothe your psyche and stretch your tendons. As a kid, farm dogs and I would set foot onto a gravel road, which led us to hilly driveway of an abandoned farm. Then we’d follow a tractor-flattened swath of field that eventually linked up with woods.
We’d disappear onto a path that had been cleared of roots and limbs many years earlier, swat at a few deer flies and end up in a small cornfield that was surrounded by towering trees – cedars, tamaracks, maples – their rustling a splendid accompaniment on a breezy day. This was Sheboygan County Marsh, and my father owned 30 acres of it during most of his adult life.
Today this wildlife area is 13,000 acres. Most still is wilderness and low-profile. There’s a push to designate it as an archaeological site on National Register of Historic Places. For more, call 920-876-2535.
Want to climb as high as you can? Then go to Price County and Timm’s Hill, which at 1,952 feet above sea level is highest summit in state. Find it on County Trunk C, off Highway 86, not far from Rib Lake. The hiking trail, which can be picked up on C, is 6 miles, roundtrip.
Climb observation tower and get an overview of area’s topography. People who want to avoid hilly hiking can walk shorter loops on level ground and approach Timm’s and Pearson lakes. For details, call 800-269-4505.
Point Beach State Forest, Manitowoc County, has 10 miles of wooded trails that lead to Lake Michigan, plus 6 miles of sandy beach for walking (easy trekking, and a particularly nice setting for romantic interludes). It is possible to walk on beach to Two Rivers, which would take a couple of hours. You also can walk up to, but not into, Rawley Point Lighthouse, whose beacon can be seen almost 20 miles from shore. The structure has been around since 1894. For more, call 920-794-7480.
Big Manitou Falls, south of Superior, is state’s highest waterfall. It is 165 feet, a part of Black River and highlight of Pattison State Park, which is on Highway 35.
A 1.5-mile hiking trail takes visitors into gorge behind falls; it is a one-way path, not a loop, so prepare to do an about-face after your descent. There also are scenic overlooks, and a cousin – Little Manitou Falls – can be seen by following river about 4.5 miles. Interfalls Lake separates two waterfalls. For more, call 715-399-8073.
