Natural Bridge State Park and Rocky Arbor State Park #39 and #40

We visited Natural Bridge State Park and Rocky Arbor State Park in the same beautiful fall day. We were lucky enough to have my Mom along to enjoy the parks with us, and help make things interesting (and coach G along when his feet started dragging).


Natural Bridge State Park is a nice, little day use park. It is 530 acres with the largest natural bridge found in Wisconsin. Directly beneath the arch is the Raddatz Rockshelter once used by Paleo Indians, almost 11,000 years ago, and now listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places. We had visited this park before and were looking forward to enjoying it again. There is really only one trail to take at this park, and it winds right by the arch, so you can get a good view of it from almost all sides. This is a great side trip to take if you are looking for a nice walk through the woods to an interesting landmark. It should be noted at this park that we saw a caterpillar in the parking lot which Grandma picked up for G to look at up close, which isn't typically in her Grandma repertoire (nevermind she had gloves on). Thanks Grandma!

After Natural Bridge we headed to Rocky Arbor State Park. This park does have camping available, almost 90 sites, and is well utilized during the summer, due to its close proximity to Wisconsin Dells. The park actually isn't open during the off season, September through May, so we parked at the gated entrance and hiked into the park. The park itself is 244 acres and has just a one mile guided nature trail, which we hiked. There is also a nice playground area and picnic tables with grills nearby. It was a beautiful time of year to visit, cool with the colors just starting to change. Next stop, Straight Lake State Park!

Wildcat Mountain State Park #38

We stopped at Wildcat State Park on the way back from visiting Perrot and Merrick State Parks. It was just a few days after the area experienced some very heavy rains, which made our hike extra challenging. At this park, you can drive to the top of the "mountain" (really, there aren't mountains in Wisconsin, doesn't mean there aren't great views and steep climbs though!), and see the view from there. We did take advantage of this option, and noticed a lot of great camping spots with spectacular views. We then drove back down to start the hike up.


So....the hike up was one of the toughest hikes, if not the toughest hike we have had this summer and fall. The compounding factor was the rain I mentioned previously (that's my attempt at foreshadowing), which must have also created the ideal environment for the mosquitos to really get in one more party before the cold weather arrived.


We took the Hemlock Nature Trail, which starts next to the Kickapoo River, and winds its way up Mount Pisgah, an elevation of 1,220 feet above sea level. The first part of the trail was fairly muddy, enough that we were sliding around on the way, not a big deal, unless you actually want to keep a brisk pace, which we did.


This trail was pretty much straight up, with a lot of switchbacks. If you were so audacious as to stop your backbreaking pace to catch your breath (me), or pick up bows and arrows aka sticks (G), the mosquitos descended with a cacophony unlike anything I've ever heard, and I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life. However, it was so worth it! The view was spectacular and most likely due to the less than ideal trail conditions, we saw only a few other people during our hike.


Wildcat Mountain State Park has several horse trail loops totaling 15 miles and offers 24 campsites for equestrians available. Canoeing and fishing are popular on the Kickapoo River, and snow shoeing and cross country skiing are available in the winter. Wildcat Mountain received its name when in the 1800s a group of farmers were upset because their sheep were being killed by a bobcat, or wildcat. They formed a hunting party and the wildcat was shot near the top of the mountain, and the hill was from that point on, known as Wildcat Mountain. It is a nice park, with a lot of option for activities in any season. Next stop, Natural Bridge State Park!

Perrot State Park #37

Perrot State Park is located in Western Wisconsin where the Trempealeau River meets the Mississippi River, and has awe inspiring views from 500 foot cliffs that rise above the surrounding landscape. The hike here was tough, basically straight uphill, but the view was well worth it. Luckily G had started to wear out just a bit at this park, so he consented to ride for at least half of the hike.

This park has 12.5 miles of hiking trails, and the nice thing is there is a wide variety of trails, so one can undertake any diffiulty hike they desire. I guess we were really looking for a challenge, as we found ourself on Brady's Bluff Trail, which not coincidentally took us to the top of a bluff. The park is 1,270 acres, and the land was donated by John Latsch, a wealthy grocer who became a conservationist after escaping a storm while canoeing in the Mississippi, just to be forced off the land on which he had taken refuge by a local farmer.

Latsch requested the park be named after Nicholas Perrot, a French explorer, who was one of the first Europeans in the Upper Mississippi river area. The area donated was the site of a camp used by Perrot and his men during thewWinter of 1685-1686. It was ideal because of the nearby river, the bluffs to protect the group from the winter weather, and prairies with abundance wildlife. The area was again used for a French fort from 1732-1737.Although these were the first Europeans to explore the area, Native Americans habitated the area long before that. Research shows that tribes were in the area known as Perrot State Park as long as 7,000 years ago.

If you have traveled to any state parks (or read any part of this blog:), there's a good chance you have heard about the Civilian Conservation Corp or the CCC. The CCC was a project created by the government during the Great Depression to create work projects for young men. The men lived on site at the state parks, and their wages were mostly sent home to their families with just $6 given to them personally a month.

The CCC created shelters, buildings, beaches, and trails that are still used to this day. They built the trails to the top of Brady's Bluff as well as the shelter at the top. G kept remarking that it "smelled" in the shelter at the top. Although we, (and some nice strangers), kept telling him that it was the smell of old wood and damp and wasn't that offensive, he maintained it smelled and didn't spend more than a few minutes in there at a time.

This park was outstanding, definitely one of the favorites on our list. I wish we had more time here. As it was, we were able to get in a good hike, have a picnic and enjoy some scenic overlooks. This is definitely one that we will return to as soon as possible! Next stop (same day), Wildcat Mountain State Park!

 

Merrick State Park #36

Merrick State Park, Perrot State Park, and Wildcat Mountain State Park were undertaken on one weekend, when we also took G to his first overnight at a hotel (obviously he loved it, pool and pizza, what could be better?)

Merrick was our first stop, followed by Perrot and Wildcat. Merrick was very quiet, we didn't see anyone else when we were visiting, which we have noticed is not unusual for many state parks we have visited during the "off-seasons". Merrick is 322 acres and is situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, surrounded by the Coulee region. It is a park that is most popular for fishing, canoeing and hunting, and has two boat landings with an adjacent canoe landing to support these activities.

Unfortunately, since I have yet to trust I can keep a 2 year old in a boat, we weren't able to partake of these options. We did enjoy a very nice and peaceful hike along the Mississippi River, the park has two miles of easy trails to enjoy. There is a conservation and nature center that is open during the summer months and weekends in the Spring and Fall. G's favorite part of this hike was definitely the brightly colored mushrooms we came across as we walked. He wanted to touch all of them, which is understandable, (they were really pretty!), but luckily, we can still pick him up an bodily move him, so we did just that. :) 

Merrick State Park was established in 1932, with land donated by John Latsch. Latsch was a wealthy grocer who was canoeing on the river, when he was caught in a storm. He took shelter on the banks under his overturned canoe, but was forced off by a local farmer. It is said that Latsch was so shaken by the event, the next day he requested his agent purchase all of the land the incident had taken place on that day.

By the time Latsch died in 1934 at the age of 73, he had acquired more than 18,000 acres. The 229 acres he donated to the State of Wisconsin became the core of Merrick State Park. Latsch requested the park be named after George Byron Merrick, famed steamboat captain and historian of the bygone days of heavy steamboat traffic on the Mississippi River. All in all a nice park, and they have winter activities like cross country skiing and show shoeing! Next stop (as you know from above) Perrot State Park!