Starting to head back towards home but had enough time to visit New Glarus Woods State Park in New Glarus, Wisconsin for a quick hike.
The park is on the smaller side with only one main parking lot (camping is available here too but is small & crowded for my likings). I started on the Basswood Nature Trail ner the playground.
Most of the trails here are of the “nature trail” variety containing small placards along the way explaining different natural features & wildlife.
Trails are very typical of springtime in Wisconsin – green, lush, overgrown. For me these are difficult to photograph because it usually turns into a large green blob on the camera. Still beautiful though.
I made a big loop around via Basswood > Chattermark > Havenridge > Vista. At the spot where the Vista trail outlets it abuts to private property. Appears the owners have a sense of humor as shown by a skeleton in a tree stand with the sign “Last Illegal Hunter”.
Vista Trail turns into the Bison Nature Trail and quickly shifts from dense oak forest to open prairie grasslands.
June is a good time to spot butterflies such as this Red Admiral (though this little guy has somewhat damaged wings).
A large swinging bench sits at the bottom point of the Bison Nature Trail giving hikers a place to sit & enjoy the views.
The main obstacle today was muddy & flooded trails as the grasslands sit much lower close to the creek at the north end.
The end of my loop concluded along the Sugar River State Trail, a 24 mile long bike trail that connects to the much longer Badger State Trail.
Trails continue to the south side of the park but things were too wet for me today – I would rather visit again later when it dries out so as not to damage the trails this time.
Hiking Data
Didn’t hike everything on this trip, just a nice short walk. Overall it’s very easy going here with only a few sections that have elevation gain. Autumn here would be spectacular.
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