A Special Bird Paradise - Lytle's Landing Amble (WI)

Ambles are what we in the Driftless Drifters* call hikes that are up to 2.5 miles long on flatter trails. They are perfect for people who like a slower pace, are recovering from illness or injury or just like to spend time enjoying nature. 

We moved back to the Driftless area 14 year ago after after a 22-year absence living in the Fox Valley area in eastern WI. It's a fairly flat, heavily populated region where the wild often seems like it has been tamed except in a few precious nature centers and parks.

During those two decades away, we shared a cabin with friends in northern WI. We used that cabin to launch fishing, hiking, canoeing, cross-country-skiing, waterfall-peeping, snowshoeing expeditions all over northern WI and MI. That 2.5 hour drive each way to the cabin brought to us to our wildest dreams of outdoor fun up north.

Once we returned to the Driftless, we saw that all the things we loved to do were no longer 2.5 hours away. They were at our doorstep. We sold our share in the cabin and embraced the Driftless outdoors.

I tell you this because I want to say that there is wonder in every bluff, every bike trail, ever hill and every flatland here. We have rich river sources and backwaters; a 260 mile long US Wildlife Refuge of protected waters and lands along the Mississippi and we are right on the migratory flyway for numerous birds.

One place that I just discovered through one of my friends is on the Great River Bike Trail in WI, managed by the DNR. There is a trailhead onto this bike/hike-friendly converted railroad bed at Lytle's Landing in Holmen. At the trailhead, you can head south or north over the Black River. We picked north. 

On a recent series of hikes, I followed the trail north across a number of old railroad bridges through a magical high water floodplain forest. While the Mississippi and Black Rivers crested a few days ago it will take a few weeks for the receding water to settle back in to the old riverbank heights. The area was alive with birds and waterfowl during early May in the three times we walked it. We spotted Northern Shoveler ducks; pie-billed grebes; blue-winged, teals, yellow-belly sapsuckers; palm warblers; yellow-rumped warblers; chipping sparrow, eagles; sandhill cranes; song sparrow; bufflehead and wood ducks. Wow!!

One can hike as far as one would like on this flat, graveled and dirt trail. You will meet birders, bikers, hikers, dog-walkers and people out to enjoy the abundant wildlife. It's always worth the conversation to stop for a visit and discover what has brought each person to this little gem.

THE HIKE:

Enjoy a leisurely hike along this bike/hike trail perfect for any ability and families. Cross  over the Black River on a 287-foot former railroad trestle and head through the bottom lands of the Black River across 4 shorter wooden bridges along the way. If the water has receded from spring flooding, one can see turtles, fish, ducks and Great Blue Herons. 

Location:  W8582 Lytle Rd, Holmen Take Exit 4 Hwy 53 North to Onalaska. Take exit 9 Cty Rd OT towards Midway. At the Midway stop sign turn left onto Cty Rd ZN.  Go 1.1 miles. At the next stop sign turn right on to Cty Rd Z.  Go 3.6 miles and then turn right on Lytle Road. Go across the railroad tracks, turn left and follow the road to the canoe access parking lot.

* The Driftless Drifters is a member-led hiking club program sponsored through the La Crescent-Hokah Community Education Department of MN ISD 300. Begun in 2021, the group goes on weekly "under 5 mile" hikes around the Driftless area and weekly "Ambles - shorter hikes on flat surfaces for hikers looking for a slower pace. All hikes feature learning opportunities as they identify flora, fauna and fungi around the area. New members are welcome - the fee for the club is $14 /yr (July through June). Members have access to a weekly newsletter with hike locations and tips as well as additional pop-up hikes. Contact Community Ed at 507 895-5150 to join.