Home >  Plan a trip >  Outdoors Recreation >  Hiking >  10 great fall hikes

Other stories in "Hiking"

• How to prevent Lyme disease
  The bite of a deer tick can cause major headaches, and more.
• Quiet time on the North Shore
  Late fall is marked by stark beauty, cheaper stays and the gales of November.
• Hiking in Duluth
  The city sections of the Superior Hiking Trail are spectacular.
• Duluth's hiking heaven
  On Superior Hiking Trail, enjoy the wilderness, then return via bus, taxi, shuttle or bike trail.
• Walking in Duluth
  Trails along creeks, ravines and bays provide stellar hiking in the heart of town.
• In the shadow of the Giant
  In a provincial park wrapped by Lake Superior, campers exult in beauty.
• Isle Royale reverie
  Whichever face it shows, the Lake Superior wilderness is beguiling.
• Trekking the Superior Hiking Trail
  You can backpack, day hike, stay in lodges or go with a group on Minnesota's premier path.
• Tracing the Ice Age Trail
  In north-central Wisconsin, a slow-moving monolith left a playground for weekend wanderers.
• Don't be a dope in the woods
  Even if you feel at home outdoors, a mistake can be fatal.
• Michigan's Pictured Rocks
  There's a lot of scenery crammed into one stretch of Lake Superior.
• Marvels of Starved Rock
  In northern Illinois, a state park draws crowds to its forest canyons and riverside cliffs.
• Walk 'n' roll
  Thanks to a bike trail, backtracking on the Superior Hiking Trail is a thing of the past.
• Hiking the North Shore
  For most, it's the preferred way to soak up the scenery.
• Goin' on a treasure hunt
  We jump on the geocaching bandwagon and get hooked.
• Bird walks
  In spring, a symphony of trills and chirps draws hikers into the woods.
• Trek to Timm's Hill
  The highest point in Wisconsin is the gateway to a forest full of trails.
• Peak hiking
  For Highpointers, nothing but a summit will do.
• King of the hill
  With a huff and a puff, hikers earn a view of fall colors.
• Greatest hits of the Ice Age
  In Wisconsin, the best walking trails are gifts from the glaciers.
• Along for the walk
  In fall, join a group hike through the glowing forest.
• Hikes with benefits
  For exercise as well as edification, tag along with an expert.
• Devil's heaven
  In the Baraboo Hills, a splendid park makes people come running.

10 great fall hikes

For a perfect day, walk one of these lesser-known trails and do some sightseeing, too.

A fall Saturday dawns, sunny and mild. It’s a perfect day for hiking — but where?

One  fall, I looked beyond the usual northwoods favorites: Minnesota's North Shore, the many marquee trails along Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail; Michigan's Escarpment Trail in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

They’re spectacular, but some of the best trails are found in less obvious places — in state forests, wildlife refuges, prairie, even towns. So I got out my map and picked Governor Knowles State Forest, on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River.

That's how I discovered the Sandrock Cliffs Trail. It was across Wisconsin 70 in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and it was a knockout, winding through red and white pines on a narrow river terrace covered with tawny needles.

Since I like a little variety on excursions, I also visited Crex Meadows, a wildlife refuge two miles to the east in Grantsburg, and the North West Co. Fur Post, a fun historical site 20 miles to the west in Pine City.

Now Sandrock Cliffs is one of my favorite trails. Here are 10 great fall hikes in 2011, along with nearby festivities and attractions that add color to a fall day whether the leaves are turning or not.

Sandrock Cliffs Trail in Wisconsin's St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

This scenic five-mile loop is part of St. Croix National Scenic Riverway along the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River. It follows a terrace along the river, with river views from pine and hardwood forest.

When we were there, other hikers had recorded bear sightings in the log book. It’s just off Wisconsin 70, near Grantsburg, Wis.

What to do nearby: Visit the North West Co. Fur Post, a mile west of Pine City; Forts Folle Avoine fur post, northwest of Webster; and Crex Meadows just north of Grantsburg (Fall Wildlife Festival, Oct. 2).

Cut Lake Trail near Pine River, Minn.

In fall, everyone ditches Minnesota's lake country in favor of the North Shore. But the leaf color is beautiful and, because it's varied, lasts longer. In Foot Hills State Forest, west of Pine River (and the Paul Bunyan State Trail), the Cut Lake Trail has 10 miles of hiking loops through a rolling forest of Norway pine, birch and tawny oaks.

Getting there: From Minnesota 371 in Pine River, head 10 miles west on County Road 2.

What to do nearby: Go horseback-riding at the nearby Pine River Riding Stable. Ride the Paul Bunyan State Trail. Drive the 54-mile Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway.

For more, see Autumn at the lake.

Phelps Park and Oneota trails in Decorah, Iowa

This college town in northeast Iowa bluff has a picturesque setting, framed by bluffs. From Phelps Park, a one-mile trail follows the blufftop above the Upper Iowa River, with limestone steps and terraces built by the CCC.

Below, the 2½-mile Oneota Recreation Trail follows the river; it's becoming part of the 12-mile Trout Run Trail, which will circle the town.

Getting there: From Water Street downtown, take Mechanic Street to Phelps Park and Main Street to the Oneota parking lot.

What to do nearby: Visit Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah and surrounding studios during the big Northeast Iowa Artists Studio Tour, Oct. 7-9. In nearby Spillville, visit the Bily Clocks Museum.

For more, see A pocket of Norway and Road trip: Northeast Iowa.

Congdon Park, Park Point and Western Waterfront trails, Duluth

Duluth is an excellent walking town, even without the new segments of the Superior Hiking Trail. On the three-mile Congdon Park Trail, up and down a creek ravine in East Duluth, you'd never know you're in a city.

The four-mile Park Point Trail goes over sand dunes and through pine forest to the Superior entry to the harbor. The five-mile Western Waterfront Trail follows the St. Louis River estuary in West Duluth. (For more, see Walking in Duluth.)

Getting there: The Congdon Park Trail starts off Superior Street at 32nd Avenue East.

Park Point Trail starts from the airport at the end of the road on Park Point, across from the Aerial Lift Bridge.

Western Waterfront starts across from the Lake Superior Zoo at Grand Avenue and 72nd Avenue West and off Grand on Fremont Avenue (the first stretch is paved).

What to do nearby: In Duluth, watch the arrivals and departures of boats, drive along Skyline Parkway, watch raptors from Hawk Ridge, tour the haunted William Irvin ore boat.

Forest Lodge Nature Trail near Cable, Wis.

The Forest Lodge Nature Trail packs a lot into two miles, leading hikers from a dark hemlock grove to a little bog circled by spruce and, in fall, covered with the tufted white heads of cotton grass. Be sure to use the trail booklet left in a box by the Cable Natural History Museum.

Getting there: Take County Road M nine miles east of Cable and turn onto Garmisch Road.

What to do nearby: Visit Cable (Fall Festival, Sept. 23-24) and its Natural History Museum. 

For more, see High color in Cable.

Carleton Arboretum in Northfield, Minn.

On the edge of this southern Minnesota college town, the lower part of Carleton College's Cowling Arboretum, or "Arb,'' lies on the floodplain of the Cannon River. Three loops, with 7½ miles of trails, take hikers past oak savanna and prairie being restored by the college.

Getting there: It’s just northeast of town, even walking distance; keep going on Division Street past Carleton’s stadium.

What to do nearby: Shop in Northfield along Division Street.

For more, see Scrappy Northfield.

Geneva Lake in southeast Wisconsin

This definitely isn't wilderness, or even forest, but there will be fall colors. Lake Geneva is a vacation community on Geneva Lake, which is circled by a public 21½-mile walking path through the lawns of old-money mansions.

It's a treat at any time of year. For more, see Gawking in Lake Geneva.

At least two hiking clubs plan hikes of the whole thing, the Forest Trails Hiking Club of Chicago and the Wisconsin Go Hiking Club of Milwaukee.

What to do nearby: Visit the town of Lake Geneva (Oktoberfest, Oct. 8-9).

Flandrau State Park in New Ulm, Minn.

The Cottonwood River flows through this prairie park in southwest Minnesota, whose terrain varies from marshes to goat prairies. The 8½ miles of trails take hikers from river bottoms to bluffs lined by oaks.

Getting there: Flandrau State Park is on the southwest edge of town, adjoining Schell Brewery. Take Broadway to 10th Street South up the hill to Summit Avenue and turn south.

What to do nearby: In New Ulm, tour Schell Brewery and partake in Oktoberfest Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and 7-8. Eight miles east of New Ulm, visit Morgan Creek Vineyards, which holds its Cambria Crush Grape Stomp Oct. 1.

For more, see Where the Germans are.

Inspiration Peak near Alexandria, Minn.

This wildflower-covered hill is a kame, a pile of rubble deposited by a retreating glacier.

It's one of the highest points in the state, rising 400 feet above the surrounding countryside, glacial moraine that features dozens of lakes that Sinclair Lewis famously likened to "sequins fallen on an old paisley shawl.'' A short but steep paved trail leads to the top.

Getting there: Take I-94 to the Brandon exit, just west of Alexandria, and head north on Minnesota 7.

What to do nearby: For more hiking, hit the trails at Lake Carlos State Park. Drive the 150-mile Otter Trail Scenic Byway, featuring Phelps Mill, Maplewood and Glendalough state parks and the quirky sculpture town of Vining.

Bicycle the Central Lakes Trail between Osakis and Fergus Falls.

For more, see Bicycling the Central Lakes.

Kruger Trail in Dorer State Forest near Wabasha, Minn.

In the Mississippi River Valley bluffs of southeast Minnesota, R.J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest has two- and five-mile loops, each with overlooks of the oxbow loops of the Zumbro River. For wheelchair users, there's the half-mile Easy Wheeling Nature Trail.

Getting there: Take U.S. 61 to Minnesota 60, just south of Wabasha, then four miles to County Road 81.

What to do nearby: Visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.

For more, see All eyes on Wabasha.

Last updated on September 15, 2011