Trails: Ice Age National Scenic Trail et. al.
Hike Location: Hartman Creek State Park
Geographic Location: west of Waupaca, WI (44.32536, -89.21733)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A lollipop loop passing Allen Lake and many Ice Age geological landforms.
Park Information:
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/hartmancreek
Hike Route Map:
On The Go MapPhoto Highlight:
Hike Video: (coming August 28, 2026)
Directions to the trailhead: From the junction of US 10 and SR 54 on the west side of Waupaca, take SR 54 west 4.5 miles to Hartman Creek Road and turn left on Hartman Creek Rd. Hartman Creek Rd. deadends at the park entrance in 1.8 miles. Stop at the park office to pick up a trail map and pay the entrance fee, then drive another 0.3 miles to the Allen Lake parking lot on the right. Park here.
The hike: Located in central Wisconsin roughly halfway between Appleton and Stephens Point, Hartman Creek State Park protects 1417 fairly flat acres in the western part of an area known locally as Chain O' Lakes. Chain O' Lakes consist of 22 lakes connected by channels, and several of those lakes including Hartman Lake, Marl Lake, Pope Lake, Manomin Lake, and Knight Lake sit in or adjacent to the eastern half of the park. Paddling is a very popular activity, and the eastern part of the park offers numerous places to put in a kayak or canoe. Motorized boats are also allowed, but all lakes in the park are no wake zones.
Before it became a park, the land portion of Hartman Creek State Park was once a hops farm that featured the largest hops house in Waupaca County. The State of Wisconsin purchased the farm in 1939, and the depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped build a State Fish Hatchery here. In 1960, the fish hatchery was deemed unnecessary, and the land was transferred to Wisconsin's State Parks and Recreation Division. Hartman Creek State Park opened in 1966.
In addition to the lakes, the park offers some nice amenities including a 103-site developed campground and many miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The famous Ice Age National Scenic Trail, a 1200-mile backpacking trail that winds through much of Wisconsin, passes through the western part of the park. This hike features a segment on the Ice Age Trail, but it uses some of the park's other trails to form a lollipop loop that passes one of the park's largest lakes as well. I honestly was not expecting much from this park when I drove in, and I sat in my car for nearly an hour at the trailhead waiting for the rain to stop. Nevertheless, I had a very nice hike.
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| Hellestad House |
Either before or after your hike, you want to check out the historic Hellestad House, which sits across the parking lot from Allen Lake. This log cabin dates to 1864, and it was built and occupied by Ole and Anne Hellestad in nearby Scandinavia, WI. Several generations of Hellestads lived in the cabin until it was sold in 1958 and fell into disrepair. Decades later, Bob and Christine Faulk bought it at an auction and donated it to the park. The cabin was moved to its present site in 1998.
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| Allen Lake trailhead |
To begin the hike, walk the asphalt trail west toward Allen Lake, then turn right to begin heading north with Allen Lake on your left. Scenic views open up to the west across Allen Lake while another much smaller body of water sits to the right. Trails in this park are mostly unmarked, but major trail intersections are marked by lettered posts bearing trail maps.  |
| Allen Lake |
At 0.15 miles, you reach the intersection at post B. Turn left to begin heading west on a wide dirt trail that is open to hikers and mountain bikers. At first the trail passes through tall old pine trees planted by the WPA in the early 1940's, but later sections pass through a younger pine planting. After a very flat first 0.7 miles, you begin a gradual climb up the ridge west of Allen Lake.
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| Old pine planting |
Pass posts C and D to reach post E at 0.9 miles. A total of 5 trails converge on this point, 2 of which are the Ice Age Trail. You want to turn sharply left to begin heading south on the Ice Age Trail. The Ice Age Trail follows a narrower dirt track compared to the trails you have been hiking so far, but plenty of yellow rectangular paint blazes mark the way. |
| Starting the Ice Age Trail |
As you start south on the Ice Age Trail, what has thus far been a rather uninspiring hike starts to gain intrigue. The Ice Age Trail roughly follows the terminal boundary of the ice sheets from the most recent ice age, and thus the trail undertakes an undulating course over and around kettles and kames. The steep kettles and kames make for much more interesting scenery than the flat pine planting you traversed earlier. Some benches provide opportunities to rest and enjoy the scenery.
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| Kettle depression |
At 1.5 miles, you reach an unmarked trail intersection with a bench. You could turn left if you wanted to short-cut this hike, but I continued south to maximize my time on the Ice Age Trail. Note the large glacial erratic standing to the left at this intersection. Glacial erratics are boulders transported southward from the Canadian shield by the glaciers. While glacial erratics are found throughout Wisconsin's forests, this one is larger than most, and you pass through a large collection of glacial erratics just ahead.
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| Bench beside large glacial erratic |
1.85 miles into the hike, you reach a parking lot on West Windfelt Lane; this parking lot is an alternate starting point for this hike. The Ice Age Trail continues south across the road and soon exits the state park, so our hike turns sharply left to head north on a wide dirt/grass trail. The trail descends gradually with the park's campground on your right. A few fall colors were showing on the early October afternoon that I hiked here, but this park has too many pine trees to make it a good fall foliage destination.
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| Hiking through young pine forest |
Allen Lake soon comes into view through the trees on the right. Ignore side trails that exit right or left and stay with the main hiking/biking trail. At 2.4 miles, you return to post C and close the loop. Retracing your steps via a pair of right turns returns you to the Allen Lake parking area to complete the hike.
