Halfway Creek (WI) Urban Forest Amble/Hike

One of my favorite "urban forest" hikes is nearby in Holmen WI. I think of that type of hike as wildland that nestles in the middle of a community/communities. Housing, businesses and roadways surround the parklands or forest but when the trees are leafed out, trail users feel that they are much more remote. 

Wide graveled trails are great for any age

The last one I hiked was in a major metropolitan area. Halfway Creek Park is in the small community of Holmen WI with a population of 10,000. The trailhead is located just behind the village's government offices and a typical community park with picnic tables, play equipment and recently, tents for the annual Kornfest!

From the park, the wide trail of crushed rock heads down into the shaded forest. You get tantalizing peeks of Halfway Creek in between the trees. But it is only as you pass under the first road underpass along the trail (they are three overpasses on the hike) that the creek bursts into full view alongside the trail.  

Halfway Creek is a small, wild meanderer. It winds back and forth over almost the full 3.4 mile trail length. The trail features five sturdy steel bridges that cross the creek as you hike along the woods...sometimes next to the creek and sometimes further away. 

Yarn-bombed tree last winter!

The woods are full of wildflowers and plants. If you hike or snowshoe the trail in the winter it is surprising how many houses and buildings you see along the trail that are completely hidden during seasons when the leaves are lush. A treat along the way is the slim sapling that has been yarn-bombed. It's hard not to take a picture by it.

The trail ends after 3.4 miles at Hwy ZM near the village's waste water treatment plant where it runs into the Great River Road bike trail. On the other end of the trailhead where we began, you can also continue along the park until you meet up with Hollands Bluffs trailhead.

THE HIKE

Halfway Creek is 3.4 mile wide graveled trails that features fairly flat trails with hills only at the beginning and end. Hikers wind along the trail playing hide-and-seek with Halfway Creek as it meanders throughout most of the hike near the trail. Hikes can be tailored for any length (turning around at the third overpass gives you a perfect 2.5 mile Amble). This is a great place for snowshoeing off-trail in the winter. The forest floor is fairly clear in enough places to get you near the creek as you snowshoe. In summer and early fall, dense leaf cover makes you forget you are in the midst of a community. Three roadway overpasses do remind you - although, before you know it you are beyond them. A highlight of the hike are the five bridges crossing the winding creek.

The Location - 300 W. Roberts Street, Holmen, WI

From Hwy 53 heading north from Onalaska, take the first Holmen exit and head north. Turn right at the second set of stoplights. Take the third exit on the roundabout onto Main St. Turn left on Legion St or Roberts St and park in back of the library.

A lovely, tired old tree stump

                  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 75 hike descriptions and lists of hikes to try!

Hiking the Drifted - You CAN Go Back Home Again (WI)

A delightful grade-school reunion celebrating our 70th birthdays recently brought me back to Green Bay WI, my hometown. While I was there, I had a chance to do a solid hike and a nostalgia hike in the drifted area of northeastern WI.

In the woods - Colburn Park

Colburn Park - a woodland gem city park

The nostalgic hike brought me back to Colburn Park. I grew up a block from this 50 acre city park. The park had recreational facilities including a playground, pool, the best sledding hill ever, soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts and a shelter which even to this day is staffed by "parkees" (summer interns who engage kids in activities and games). 

Great forestry work
creating the shady canopy

But to me, best of all, the largest portion of the park was a wild woods perfect for hide-outs, forts and adventures in the woods. It is the place that first got me excited about being outdoors. 

In the 60 years since I ran and played in the park, the wild part of the park that borders the neighborhoods has been much tamed. There is more open area. The old pine, oak and other hardwood trees, though far fewer than in their forested past, are well maintained and create an awesome canopy in the old woods. A few wild patches still  remain and there is a lovely nature walk between the main park and the pool.

A favorite childhood tree

It was fun walking the edge of the woods next the houses of the kids I played with. And many of those beautiful old trees which towered over me as a kid continue to grace the woods. If you need a lunch spot and a short amble in a gorgeously maintained woodland setting, this is a great stop.

Baird Creek Greenway - an urban forest hike

Friends living in the city recommended Baird Creek Greenway as a great hiking destination. The Greenway, established over 20 years ago by a Foundation of concerned citizens, saved a significant area surrounding a portion of Baird Creek that was slated for development. Over the years they have established a number of trails for walkers, hikers and bikers in the 600+ acre area in the midst of a huge development and just off the Hwy 43 freeway.

Baird Creek

I chose to hike the East Loop trail, a 3-mile, wildly fun up and down, rolling trail following the creek wetlands and prairie before heading up in elevation into white cedar swamp, upland forest, meadows and perched wetlands. The variety of habitat made every step an adventure of flora, fauna and fungi.

I picked the trailhead on Superior Rd right under the freeway. The noise from the road was significant and I was skeptical on how this hike would be. But before long I was well inside the greenway and the noise faded.

These hiking/mountain biking trails are narrow, one way trails that have to be a feast for mountain bikers. But they are also a celebration of nature for hikers. And they were great for a bluffhound like me with plenty of fun ups and turns for just over 200 feet in elevation gain in an area famous for its flatlands. There are many trail spurs so having my AllTrails app helped alot to keep me on the main trail. 

The hike starts on a damp wetland trail next the creek and then through prairies and meadows before climbing up into forested areas and cedar swampland on the way up. As the trail loops around you come near to neighborhoods and parks before plunging back down through woods to once more emerge at the trailhead near the freeway.

The park has shorter paved trails and a longer west loop that I plan to explore on another trip. It is truly a testament to how nature can be preserved amidst widespread development and urbanization.

THE HIKES

ColburnPark - 1380 9th St Green Bay WI.

A pleasant Amble through park and well-managed parkland (kudos to the city's Forestry Dept) with wild areas and, paved trail and mown grass. Almost dead flat it is a great example of a well-used and well-maintained large urban park. 

Baird Creek Parkway - multiple entry points, Green Bay WI

Multiple multi-use trails offer challenge as well as respite for hikers of all abilities and types, Longer, more challenging trails take hikers from creekside up hills into forests. The twists, turns, bridges and varying landscape make for great hikes just steps away from larger developed areas. Some road noise from a nearby freeway fades the further you go into the woods. The loop trails allow you to control the length of your hike. Because many of the trails are also mountain biking trails and hilly and winding, caution and awareness is important while hiking. I recommend an app like AllTrails on the rougher biking/hiking trails to keep you on track.

All photos - Marge Loch-Wouters