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| On the Chickadee Trail |
Bluffside Park in Winona MN has an amazing array of shared hiking/biking trails. I recently explored some of their newest trails that begin from the west Wincrest Dr. trailhead.
The Chickadee Trail Loop (blue in the map below) is a wonderful, easy under-2 mile hike with under 100 feet elevation gain along the bluff rim. It great for hiking or snowshoeing and is gentle enough to be an easy hike for those who need to take it slow.
The trailhead boasts an asphalt parking lot and a pit toilet. You enter the gate from the parking lot onto an utility access road. While you can hike that to the fenced in communication towers at its end, that isn't where the fun and views are!
You can start the Chickadee loop on either the right or the left of the access road. This 1.75 mile loop takes you along the blufftop and its rim through forested areas. Along the way, you catch great views to the east of the bluff face and prairies across the way as well as expansive views of the west side of Winona and Wisconsin bluffs.
Just near the top of the loop, there is a short spur that takes you down to a rocky overlook for more great views amidst a wide prairie (purple line on the map). I look forward to exploring that this spring and summer!
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Blue- Chickadee Loop; Purple - Prairie Spur trail; Orange - Troll Stroll (connector trail)
Winona Park and Rec map (with my purple and orange additions) |
If you want to add some fun to your hike when you come off the loop, the
Troll Stroll trail is just off to the right of the access road. I drew it in as the orange connector line on the above map. Just opened and dedicated in August 2024, it winds around the bluffside and takes you down about 100 feet below the neighborhood houses.
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| Troll bridge |
What makes this trail so delightful is that there are four bridges over ravines that add to the trail fun. The largest bridge is also the fanciest with metalwork sides depicting trolls, mushrooms and forest flora. The bridges end after .3 miles (at the yellow star on the map) but the trail continues upwards to link to the Ope trail, part of the east side trail system in the park.
You can turn around at the star or at the trail junction at Ope or you can keep exploring and adding miles in the westside trail system (see post links below for some possible hikes). I think it would be great to do a through-hike from the west Wincrest Dr trailhead over to the eastside trails and end the hike at the east Wincrest trailhead. So much exploration and mileages possible.
THE HIKE
The Chickadee Trail loop is about 1.75 miles on fairly flat trails that wind around near the rim at the top of the bluff. This loop is gentle enough for those who want an easy pace or are recovering from illness or injury. There is a short .15 mile spur to a prairie with expansive outlooks about halfway around the loop. It is a great snowshoe trail if weather and snow cover permits. On the Troll Stroll, it is .3 miles downward on a bluffside trail to enjoy the bridges and an additional .3 miles to finish the trail at the Ope trail junction. You can turn around at either spot or continue exploring the east side bluff trails to add miles to your hike. Bike/hike traffic is light on weekdays.
The Location
From Hwy 14/61, turn south on Huff Rd (toward the bluff). Take an immediate left onto W. Lake Blvd, then an immediate right onto Garvin Heights Rd. Follow that road to the top of the bluff; turn right on Conrad Dr. Stay on Conrad (it goes left at the T) to Wincrest Dr - take a left at the T and park in the parking lot at the end of the road.
Additional posts describing Bluffside Park trails:
All images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters
Looking for more area hikes? Please stop by the web version of the blog and under the "Labels" tab on the right hand side of the blog, click on "find-a-hike". There are over 60 hike descriptions and lists of hikes to try!
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