Aztalan State Park (Blog Hike #1025)

Trails: (unnamed)
Hike Location: Aztalan State Park (43.06341, -88.86238)
Geographic Location: west of Johnson Creek, WI
Length: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: September 2024
Overview: A loop hike around a village dating to 1000-1300 AD.
Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/aztalan
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=972445
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming April 24, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: Between Madison and Milwaukee, take I-94 to SR 26 (exit 267).  Exit and go south on SR 26.  Drive SR 26 south 0.8 miles to Milwaukee Street and turn right on Milwaukee St.  Milwaukee St. becomes Aztalan Street and then CR B as you drive west out of Johnson Creek.  Drive a total of 4.9 miles from SR 26 to CR Q and turn left on CR Q.  Drive CR Q south 0.3 miles to the signed park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park and drive the main park road to the large parking lot at its end.  Park here.

The hike: When most people think of the ancient Middle Mississippian Mound Builders, they think of their amazing center they built at Cahokia Mounds across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis.  Yet the Mound Builders' civilization extended north through most of present-day Wisconsin, and around 900 A.D they settled along the Crawfish River in the southern part of the state.  Over the next 300 years the Middle Mississippian people built some of the largest pyramid/platform mounds in present-day Wisconsin, and they also built a stockade near the mounds by placing logs vertically into the ground.

            The site was abandoned between 1200 and 1300 A.D., possibly due to a mini ice age making food sourcing in Wisconsin difficult.  The ruins were discovered by Timothy Johnson in 1835, yet the land was still sold and farmed afterward.  The mounds and stockades that had stood the test of time for hundreds of years did not fare as well against the plow: the mounds were flattened and the stockades destroyed.

            In 1921, the Wisconsin Archaeological Society purchased a 3 acre plot of land that adjoined what remained of the stockade and contained 8 conical mounds.  In 1948, the Wisconsin State Legislature authorized the purchase of 120 acres that would constitute the main part of the site, and Aztalan State Park opened in 1952.  Today the mounds and stockade have been restored, and a system of hiking trails takes you through the site.  This hike forms a grand loop past all of the mounds and stockades, thus offering a thorough exploration of the ancient site.

Leaving the parking area

            Three mowed-grass trails leave from the main parking lot; you want to take the one in the middle that heads northeast to the "southeast mound," which is also known as the Gravel Knoll.  In fact, this "mound" is not a constructed mound but a naturally occurring kame deposited by retreating glaciers.  The kame still makes an interesting stop on your mound tour even though it represents natural history rather than human history.

Stairs to top of Southwest Mound

            To get from the kame to a real mound, turn left and head due west to the Southwest Mound, a 2-tier platform/pyramid mound.  Constructed wooden stairs lead to the top of the mound.  You can survey the entire site from the top of the Southwest Mound, which is this site's biggest mound.  Archaeologists think this mound had a large structure on its summit, and it was probably used for communal and ritual activities.  No evidence of burials have been found in this mound.  Also, notice the reconstructed stockade to the west; it is one of 2 such stockades in the park today.

View of Gravel Knoll from Southwest Mound

View of plaza to the north from Southwest Mound

            After taking in the view, descend to the base of the mound and head north following another mowed-grass trail that goes through the sunny prairie.  At 0.4 miles, you reach the Northwest Mound.  This mound is another platform mound.  Although it is smaller than the Southwest Mound, archaeological evidence indicates numerous burials in this mound compared to none at the previous mound.  There are no stairs or trails leading to the top of the Northwest Mound, and I do not recommend that you climb it.

Northwest Mound

            To continue your tour of the site, turn left and climb slightly to approach a secondary parking area that is very close to CR Q.  Before reaching the parking lot, turn right to begin hiking north along a row of conical mounds.  Archaeologists think these mounds were built to commemorate important events, and the row used to extend much further north than it does today.

Conical mound

            At 0.65 miles, you reach the park's north boundary and the highest elevation on this hike, which is about 70 vertical feet above the trailhead.  To begin your return route, turn right and descend steeply for a short distance along the north perimeter of the prairie.  Goldenrod was in full bloom in this prairie when I came here on a warm evening in mid-September, and the return route focuses more on this site's natural scenery than on its human history.

Crawfish River

            When you reach the exterior of the stockade, turn left to head for the Crawfish River, which you reach 1 mile into the hike.  The river was this site's original main entrance road, and down here you view the site the way ancient peoples would have approached it.  Turn right to begin hiking downstream with the river on your left.  Angle left when you reach the Gravel Knoll for a second time, and a short descent and climb returns you to the parking area to complete the hike.

Lizard Mound State Park (Blog Hike #1024)

Trails: (unnamed)
Hike Location: Lizard Mound State Park
Geographic Location: northeast of West Bend, WI (43.46402, -88.14055)
Length: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: September 2024
Overview: A short, flat loop past many effigy mounds including the famous Lizard Mound.
Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/lizardmound
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=972355
Photo Highlight:

Short Video: (coming July 15)

Directions to the trailhead: From West Bend, take SR 144 north 3.7 miles to CR A.  Turn right on CR A.  The park entrance is 0.4 miles ahead on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and park in the only parking lot.

The hike: Hundreds of years before the first European explorers arrived in America, the Mound Builder peoples lived a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle across what is now the eastern United States.  The Mound Builders lived in societies that were highly organized for their era, and they built their characteristic mounds at numerous sites, many of which are protected today as state or national parks.  Wisconsin lies on the northern end of the Mound Builders' geographical range, and the Lizard Mound site is one of the best places in Wisconsin to view the Mound Builders' legacy.

            The historical value of the Lizard Mound site lies not so much in the size of the mounds as in their variety and quantity: at least 60 mounds of various shapes have been identified at this site.  The exact date and builders of the mounds remain unknown, but most experts think they were constructed between 650 and 1300 AD.  Some of the mounds were destroyed by farming before Washington County established the site as a county park in 1950: only 47 of the original 60+ mounds remain today.  The State of Wisconsin acquired the site in 1986, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

            True to a park established to preserve history, tiny 22-acre Lizard Mound State Park has limited amenities.  The park offers only a parking lot, some picnic tables, and a small interpretive center that gives you information about the mounds.  A limited system of unnamed and unmarked trails provides access to the mounds, and the hike described here takes you on a winding route designed to maximize your distance and your mound viewing.

Interpretive center

            Start by heading to the interpretive center.  To get there from the main parking lot, walk back out the park entrance road and angle left to reach the small picnic shelter-looking building.  Although many questions about these mounds remain unanswered, numerous signs give general information about effigy and burial mounds as well as specific information about this site.

Heading toward the mounds

            Armed with some knowledge about the mounds, next head for the mounds themselves by exiting the interpretive center to the south and walking between 2 ornamental metal fixtures that bear lizard-like shapes.  The first part of this hike goes through a sunny grassy area that is dotted with trees.  In general you want to turn right at each trail intersection to take the longest possible route through the mounds.

Passing a mound

            Quickly it becomes apparent that these mounds come in many shapes and sizes.  The first mound you pass on the left is a T-shaped mound that resembles a bird when viewed from above, while the next one is an elongated mound many experts think was meant to resemble a panther.  More ordinary conical and linear mounds are also passed.

Large panther mound

            At 0.3 miles, you pass a large panther mound that I originally thought was this site's signature lizard mound, but in fact the lizard mound sits just beyond and is signed.  This site has several panther, bird, conical, and linear mounds, but it only has 1 lizard mound.  You approach the lizard at its head, and the best vantage point looks over the lizard's front and back legs down its elongated tail.  A bench encourages you to sit, rest, and admire the unusually-shaped mound.

Lizard mound, looking toward the head

Lizard mound, looking toward the tail

            Past the lizard mound, the trail passes between a pair of panther mounds and enters a more heavily wooded area, where it will remain for the rest of the hike.  This area could be very buggy in the spring and summer, but bugs were not a problem when I hiked here in mid-September.  Many more conical and linear mounds are passed, and while no mound on this site is more than a couple feet high, all of them are interesting.

Conical mound in the woods

            The trail takes a serpentine course through the wooded eastern part of the park, and the persistently flat terrain might make you feel like you are hiking in circles.  Keep turning right at each trail intersection and keep following the trail.  Just shy of 1 mile, you reach an old hand water pump that probably dates to this land's agricultural days.  The main parking lot sits just to the right, thus signaling the end of the hike.