Jay Cooke State Park: Silver Creek Trail (Blog Hike #645)

Trail: Silver Creek Trail

Hike Location: Jay Cooke State Park

Geographic Location: southeast of Cloquet, MN (46.65462, -92.37047)

Length: 3.4 miles

Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)

Date Hiked: July 2017

Overview: A loop hike featuring the St. Louis River and Silver Creek.

Park Information: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00187#homepage

Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: South of Duluth, take I-35 to SR 210 (exit 235).  Exit and go east on SR 210.  Drive through the town of Carlton and stay on SR 210 to reach the River Inn state park visitor center 3 miles east of Carlton.  Turn right to enter the large Visitor Center parking lot, pay the entrance fee, and park on the far side of the lot.

The hike: For my general comments on Jay Cooke State Park, see the blog entry from my 2010 hike at this park, which describes some of the trails in the northern part of the park.  The Silver Creek Trail described here leads south across a regionally famous suspension bridge and along the scenic St. Louis River.  In addition to the nice scenery, the Silver Creek Trail is this park’s Minnesota State Parks’ Hiking Club hike.  Thus, you should not expect to be alone on this hike, although the crowds do thin once you leave the suspension bridge area.  Bugs are fairly bad along the river and creek, so wear good bug spray during the summer.

Silver Creek Trail trailhead

            From the southeast side of the parking lot, head down the concrete path that leads past a bench to the suspension bridge, which is visible from the parking lot.  A regionally famous structure that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a suspension bridge across the St. Louis River has existed on this site since 1934.  The bridge has been damaged several times by flooding, most recently in 2012, but the original design has been retained.  The stone supports and cedar hand rails give the bridge a rustic look.  Admire the bridge’s strength and aesthetics as it carries you across the rocky cascading river.

Suspension bridge

St. Louis River

            At the bridge’s south end, the Silver Creek Trail goes left and straight.  Turn left to begin a clockwise journey around the Silver Creek Trail.  This section of trail is also used by the Superior Hiking Trail, a 310 mile backpacking trail that starts a few miles southeast of here and leads up Minnesota’s north shore to the Canadian border.  Walking this direction leads less than 5 miles to the trail’s southwestern terminus while walking the other direction would take you toward Canada.  The somewhat rocky trail climbs slightly as it parallels the St. Louis River, heading downstream.  A few views of the St. Louis River can be had to the left, but for the most part the river is heard rather than seen.

            Soon the rocks end as the trail surface changes to dirt and grass.  Expect mud and tall grass if you are hiking here shortly after the spring snow melt.  The treadway also widens to begin following a two-track path that doubles as a cross-country ski trail in the winter.  Ignore the narrow and rocky River Trail that exits left and stay with the wider Silver Creek Trail.

Hiking through birch forest

            Just past 0.5 miles, you reach trail marker #30 where the River Trail reenters from the left and the East Ridge Trail exits right.  Major intersections in the park’s trail system are marked with numbered blue plastic diamonds and signs that feature trail maps.  The East Ridge Trail provides a short and fairly flat loop, but the Silver Creek Trail continues straight to begin a mostly gradual descent that features a few short steep drops.  Lots of ferns live in the understory of this open birch forest.

            Near 1.3 miles, the trail curves right to leave the St. Louis River and begin paralleling Silver Creek, heading upstream.  You soon pass a picnic table located atop a bluff that overlooks Silver Creek.  As with the river, the creek usually cannot be seen due to lush vegetation.

Picnic table on bluff

            At 1.7 miles, you reach trail marker #37 where you need to turn right to remain on the Silver Creek Trail.  The trail continuing straight leads to the park’s snowmobile trails and continues the Superior Hiking Trail.  This trail’s Hiking Club password is also located here.  Now on a westward course, the Silver Creek Trail climbs gradually through more of the same scenery.

Crossing a bridge

            2 miles into the hike, you cross the first of three sturdy wooden bridges that seem wide and strong enough to support a small car.  Although the rest of the Silver Creek Trail was well-maintained on my visit, the section between the first and last of these bridges did not appear to have been cut all year.  Thus, I ended up walking through some waist-high grass and a little mud on this section.  After I crossed the third bridge, the excellent trail maintenance began again, and I had no grass or mud trouble for the rest of the hike.

            At 2.4 miles, you begin the only significant climb of this hike: a pair of switchbacks raising you up 150 feet of elevation in roughly 0.2 miles.  A nice trail shelter makes a good place to sit and rest when you get near the top of the hill.  After reaching the top of the ridge that divides Silver Creek from the St. Louis River, a short bit of hiking on a narrow ridge brings you to trail marker #53.  Turn right here to continue the Silver Creek Trail.

Hiking along the ridge

            Now heading north, the East Ridge Trail comes in from the right at trail marker #31 before you reach a bluff overlooking the St. Louis River at trail marker #28.  Turn right here to begin the last segment of the Silver Creek Trail.  The trail surface turns to gravel and a wire fence appears on the left as you descend back to the south side of the suspension bridge to close the loop.  Cross the suspension bridge to return to the parking lot and complete the hike.

Lake Kegonsa State Park: White Oak and Prairie Trails (Blog Hike #644)

Trails: White Oak Nature and Prairie Trails

Hike Location: Lake Kegonsa State Park

Geographic Location: north of Stoughton, WI (42.98038, -89.23572)

Length: 2.4 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2017

Overview: A pair of short loops, one through forest and one through prairie.

Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/lakekegonsa

Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: East of Madison, take I-90 to Dane County Road N (exit 147).  Exit and go south on CR N.  Drive CR N south 0.7 miles to Koshkonong Road and turn right on Koshkonong Rd.  Drive Koshkonong Rd. west 1.7 miles to its end at Door Creek Road and turn left on Door Creek Rd.  Drive Door Creek Rd. south 1 mile to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the large park entrance fee, then turn right at the first intersection past the park office.  Park in the second trail parking area on the left, the one near the playground.  A firewood concession, restroom building, and soda machine also stand here.

The hike: Located just off of I-90 southeast of Madison, Lake Kegonsa State Park protects 342 land acres on the northeast side of its namesake lake.  Lake Kegonsa is one of four natural lakes on the Yahara River that were created by moraine dams at the end of the last Ice Age.  Lakes Monona and Mendota in Madison are two other such lakes located further upstream on the Yahara River.  Kegonsa is a Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) word that translates to “Lake of Many Fish.”  True to its name, Lake Kegonsa is one of Wisconsin’s most productive fishing lakes.

            In addition to angling, the park offers a swimming beach, a 96-site campground, 5 picnic areas, and 5 miles of hiking trails.  All of the park’s trails are short nature trails, but the 0.9 mile White Oak Nature Trail and the 1.3 mile Prairie Trail share a common trailhead.  Thus, while you could hike these two trails separately, they combine nicely to form the slightly longer route described here.

Start of White Oak Nature Trail

            For no particular reason, I chose to hike the White Oak Nature Trail first.  A counterclockwise journey around the White Oak Nature Trail starts at a signed trailhead near the back right corner of the parking area.  The two-track dirt trail heads northeast into a dense forest that features many black walnut and (of course) white oak trees. Numbered trail markers correspond to a 20-page interpretive guide posted on the park’s website.

            The park’s campground stays nearby on the right until the trail curves sharply left to begin heading west.  These woods stay fairly damp, so bugs will be a problem here during the summer.  Also, looking for tracks in the soft dirt can reveal what has come this way before you.  I noticed many deer tracks, some fox tracks, and a few skunk tracks on my hike.

Indian mounds

            At 0.5 miles, you reach a brown metal sign that says “Indian Mounds.”  While the park does contain several mounds and other archaeological remains from the Mound Builders that lived here between 1000 and 1400 A.D., these long, low mounds would be hard to identify with the naked eye were it not for the sign.  Continuing around the loop, you next pass a large wolf tree, an oak tree that grew here when the land was cleared for farming.  Wolf trees are identified by their long, low limbs that were put out before the forest canopy blocked sunlight from the lower levels.  Numerous benches offer nice places to sit and rest provided the bugs are not too bad.

            After passing a pine plantation that dates to 1967, a short climbs brings you back to the trailhead area to complete the White Oak Nature Trail.  Turn sharply right and look for a wooden post with painted blue top to find the start of the Prairie Trail.  The wide gravel Prairie Trail soon begins its loop around the prairie.  Angle right to start a counterclockwise trip around the perimeter of the prairie.

Tallgrass prairie

            The large tallgrass prairie features a wide array of prairie plants including bluestem, milkweed, and some yellow coneflower that was in full bloom on my late July visit.  Butterflies and dragonflies were also prolific on my visit.  Where a shortcut trail exits left, turn right to keep following the west edge of the prairie.  The prairie is drier than the forest, so bugs are less of a nuisance here.

At 1.6 miles, you reach the southern end of the prairie where the trail curves left and briefly enters the woods.  The remainder of the Prairie Trail stays close to the main park road and the park’s developed area.  The group camp, a mowed-grass athletic field, and the campground dumping station all come into view.  Some side trails exiting right and crossing the park road allow you to extend your time in the prairie if you wish.  When you get back to the north end of the prairie, you pass a nice interpretive sign that tells about common prairie plants before returning to the parking lot to complete the hike.