All hiking trails lead to beauty
Local tour guides aren’t trying to offend you when they tell you to take a hike. They’re helping you find the most breathtaking views of the state, from when fall colors set the tree canopy ablaze to when Mother Nature glazes the landscape with ice in winter.
Spectacular scenery and cool autumn and winter temperatures make the Baraboo Area a hiker’s paradise. Let’s take a look at the hot spots for hikers as the climate chills:
Devil’s Lake
Just outside Baraboo, 500-foot quartzite bluffs tower over tranquil Devil’s Lake. The jaw-dropping views afforded those who make the 1- to 2-mile trek atop the bluffs help make Devil’s Lake State Park the most-visited state park in Wisconsin.
Scale the bluffs to see Balanced Rock or Devil’s Doorway and enjoy a panorama of fall foliage each October. (Peak color typically hits Baraboo in the second or third week of that month.) The hiking website alltrails.com lists four Devil’s Lake trails – West Bluff, East Bluff, Balanced Rock and Devil’s Doorway – among the top six in Wisconsin.
But there’s more to see off those beaten paths, especially in winter. Hikers and snowshoers can burn calories on cold winter days by traversing Roznos Meadow, which is part of Devil’s Lake State Park and the Ice Age Trail. (More on that in a moment.)
Just down that trail and Sauk County Highway DL, you’ll find Parfrey’s Glen Natural Area. It’s home to a mossy sandstone gorge with a creek that leads to a waterfall.
Ice Age Trail
As long as we’re on the Ice Age Trail, why not keep exploring it? This 1,200-mile foot path traces the edge of the last glaciers that retreated from Wisconsin. It links several communities and affords a vantage point for the spots where our present meets our ancient past. In some spots, it offers off-road hiking, but in others it leads walkers right down main streets. That’s the whole idea: Connecting people and communities.
The Ice Age Trail is open for hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing and (in some areas) cross-country skiing. It runs from St. Croix Falls, near the Minnesota border to Door County on Lake Michigan. It includes not only the aforementioned Devil’s Lake, but Gibraltar Rock (read more below). Learn more about this trail at iceagetrail.org
From the soaring Baraboo Bluffs to the lowland prairies of the Driftless Region, hikers don’t leave the Baraboo Area disappointed. And they learn firsthand why they should never take offense when the locals invite them to take a hike.
