High Cliff State Park: Red Bird Trail (Blog Hike #1090; Golden Staff Hike)

Trail: Red Bird Trail 
Hike Location: High Cliff State Park
Geographic Location: east of Appleton, WI (44.16327, -88.28825)
Length: 3.5 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: October 2025
Overview: A mostly flat loop hike atop this park's namesake cliff with good views and interesting history.
Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/highcliff
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming August 14, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of US 10 and SR 114 on the east side of Appleton, take SR 114 east 2.1 miles to Pigeon Road and turn right on Pigeon Rd.  Drive Pigeon Rd. south 1.6 miles to State Park Road and turn left on State Park Rd.  State Park Rd. deadends at the state park.  Stop at the park office to pick up a trail map and pay the entrance fee.  Turn left at the first intersection, drive to the top of the cliff, then turn left again.  Drive a total of 1.4 miles from the park entrance station to the parking lot beside the observation tower.  Park here.

The hike: 1187-acre High Cliff State Park earns its name from the high rock ledge that runs north/south through the park's central area, but there is far more to that ledge than meets the eye.  The ledge that defines this park is the southwestern end of the Niagara Escarpment, a 650-mile discontinuous arc of dolomite that has been exposed by erosion.  From this park, the Niagara Escarpment heads northeast out the Door Peninsula, then east along the southern edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, then southeast along the northern edge of Lake Huron and south across Ontario to reach its eastern end in western New York.  As its name implies, the Niagara Escarpment also forms the famous Niagara Falls and Horseshoe Falls along the New York/Ontario border.

            Before this land became a park, the exposed dolomite was quarried; part of this hike passes through the old quarry.  The State of Wisconsin purchased the land to form the park in 1956.  The park offers many amenities including a 112-site developed campground, aquatic recreation on adjacent Lake Winnebago, several picnic areas, and many miles of trails.  This hike features this park's signature trail: the Red Bird Trail.  Named after a famous leader of the Winnebago people, the Red Bird Trail forms a skinny loop along the top of the ledge, and it offers a fascinating mix of natural scenery and human history.  I came here on a Tuesday morning in early October, and I had one of the best hikes I have ever done in Wisconsin.

Observation tower

            Either before or after your hike, you want to walk the asphalt trail a short distance north through the mowed-grass area to the observation tower.  Climbing 4 flights of stairs elevates you to the top platform, which gives great views in all directions.  Lake Winnebago extends to the west, and views across the east side of Appleton unfold to the north.  This tower is popular but for good reason: take a few minutes to enjoy the view and see all there is to see.

Tower view across Lake Winnebago

Tower view across eastern Appleton

Trailhead for Red Bird Trail

            Back on the ground, pick up the Red Bird Trail as it leaves from the southwest corner of the parking lot.  An information kiosk marks the trailhead.  Very quickly you reach the statue of Red Bird, a handsome monument to the famous Winnebago leader.  The statue area also features another nice view northwest across the north end of Lake Winnebago.

Statue of Red Bird

            Past the statue, the wide dirt/gravel trail heads south with the top of the park's namesake ledge just through the trees to the right.  The Red Bird Trail is marked with red paint blazes, and distance markers appear at 0.1-mile increments.  The terrain atop the ledge is very flat, making the hiking easy and pleasant.

Crevasse near edge of the ledge

            Just past 0.4 miles, you enter the old quarry area.  The quarry operated from 1895 until 1956; workers used dynamite to blast the dolomite loose.  A kiln at the base of the ledge extracted lime from the limestone, and the lime was shipped all over the Midwest for use in various industrial products.  Today the quarry is a sunny area of open mostly flat rock, but a few ledges created by the blasting will need to be stepped up or down.  The trail on the rock is mostly unmarked; just keep heading south and stay close to the ledge on the right.

Old quarry area

            After crossing the park entrance road, you exit the old quarry and re-enter the forest.  The forest at this park is dominated by maple, hickory, and oak trees with a few birch.  The fall colors were just starting to show when I hiked here in early October.  At 0.8 miles, you reach another westward overlook that provides another fantastic view across sprawling Lake Winnebago.

View across Lake Winnebago

            1.1 miles into the hike, you reach an intersection with the Indian Mound Trail, which provides an opportunity to short-cut this hike.  We will eventually go straight to hike the full Red Bird Trail, but first take a short detour to the left to view the ancient mounds.  Experts think these mounds are 1500 years old, and the low mounds vary in shape from simple lines to animals such as panthers.

Panther-shaped mound

            Continuing south on the Red Bird Trail, the Lime Kiln Trail exits right at 1.25 miles.  The rocky Lime Kiln Trail leads steeply downhill to the old kiln site.  Stay left to remain on the Red Bird Trail.  After hiking down the west side of the campground, ignore another trail that exits left; it is another opportunity to short-cut this hike.  At 1.6 miles, you reach the south end of the Red Bird Trail's loop.  An unmarked trail continues south and leads to the Overlook Trail, but our hike turns left to stay on the Red Bird Trail.  Watch for the trail markers to make sure you do not miss this turn.

Old stone wall beside trail

            The trail curves left and then right to begin heading east through a narrow strip of woods with the park's campground on the left and an open field on the right.  An old stone wall parallels the right side of the trail; it probably marks an old property boundary.  Soon the trail curves left to begin heading back north.  What the return portion of this loop lacks in scenic ledge-top views it makes up for in scenic forest: this is the oldest and nicest forest on this hike.

Hiking through scenic forest

            You cross the campground access road at 2.4 miles and pass the group campground at 2.7 miles.  The forest gets younger and brushier the further north you go.  At 3.3 miles, you come out at the park road across from the park's playground.  Angle right and then left to hike through the playground and return to the observation tower parking area, thus concluding the hike.