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| Rock formations along Mr. Hyde trail |
Continuing my
recent exploration of fun hiking loops in Hixon Forest introduced by friend Kris Lawson, a group of friends and I recently accompanied her on another great circuit at the Upper Hixon Forest trailhead.
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| The morning sun lights up Mr. Hyde trail |
This 2.7 mile shared hiking/biking trail loop started from the map kiosk at the east end of the parking lot next to NOAA La Crosse weather station off La Crosse County FA. The trailhead leads you to a series of trails on the southeast side of Hixon Forest's bluffs. This is a rockier loop trail with plenty of switchbacks, dramatic bluffside hills, a vista or three and and total elevation gain of 328 feet. I would say this is a moderate hike with sharp declines and more gentle inclines. Along the way there are beautiful rocks and lush deciduous forest with a sprinkling of pines.
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| Access the city map here |
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Early morning fog in the river valley
Thompson Prairie on the Prairie Loop trail |
We started from the map kiosk heading east on the Prairie Loop (1) past Thompson Prairie. The glory of the summer prairie is definitely past in late September. From this blufftop trail, we were able to snatch some vista views of the early morning fog boiling up from the river valley to the west. We dropped down a short spur (21) to the right onto Twister trail (22) where we made a left hand turn. We followed this trail until we came to the trail junction for Mr. Hyde (43) and turned right.
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| Eastern vistas from Obi trail |
Mr. Hyde is a wonderful rocky trail that winds you around below the bluff top through a lovely woods on a fairly flat trail. As you hike, you pass a fun rock formation or two amidst the forested trail. It also takes you to the easternmost point of the trail complex and some great views towards the northeast.
At the trail junction (42), we emerged right onto Obi, a screaming fun trail that descends sharply around numerous switchbacks as you continue to descend and then re-ascend along the forest's eastern border. The trails were rock-filled and the hillsides still lush with ferns and understory greenery. I can't say whether Obi or Mr. Hyde were my favorite - both were pretty sweet!
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| Heading down Obi trail |
At trail junction (27) we made a right and came back on Twister and followed that to a small spur near the weatherball and popped back up to the map kiosk trailhead where we began.
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| AllTrails map of the hike |
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| Rough road |
In this complex of short trails there are other trails to put together into loops. Now that the weather is cooler, I hope to get back and see what else is in there (surprises in the "Star Wars"-named trails I'm told.)
While these were shared trails, we hiked during the week and only encountered one group of mountain bikers who had continuously ringing bells which we appreciated. It made our meeting pleasant because we knew they were coming on the narrow, twisty trails. Thanks bikers!
THE HIKE
Enjoy more of the lush, forested bluffsides of Hixon Forest in this series of rocky, narrow trails, rolling switchbacks and paths that wind around and up and down along the southeast sides of the forest's bluffs. There are multiple short trails that weave in and out throughout this complex of over 20 miles of trails for shared use and hiking. Some of the loop is challenging as you head up and down the bluffsides, but if one takes their time, these 2.5-2.7 trails that make up the loop will delight you. Stop here to see ORA/City of La Crosse maps of the multiple trail systems available for outdoorspeople.
The Location - N2788 County Road FA - La Crosse, WI 54601
From La Crosse, head up Bliss Road east towards Grandad's Bluff. Keep left at the Alpine Inn at the top and drive about 1/2 mile to Cty FA on your left. Turn right at the NOAA weather station by the radar "weatherball." There are three trailheads from this parking lot.(and one across the road that leads to the Prairie hikes.)
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| Fern heaven on the bluffside trails |
All images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters
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