Glacier's Edge: Dayhiking the Ice Age Trail, Wisconsin

The Trip

Imagine a mile-high wall of ice slowly advancing across Wisconsin, scouring the landscape and carving long narrow hills. As the ice slowly moved, it picked up sand, gravel, and rocks that were left behind when warmer temperatures prevailed and the glaciers retreated. This debris created other hills and sometimes isolated areas of ice that became bowls or depressions in the landscape. We will hike over and around drumlins, moraines and kettles, impressive geologic remnants of the Wisconsin Glaciation lasting from about 100,000 to 10,000 years ago.

This five-day hiking vacation is entirely on the Ice Age Trail, one of 11 National Scenic Trails, located in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin. The bulk of the hiking over three days will cover consecutive sections of the trail amounting to about 36 miles, featuring mature forests, prairies and marshes with occasional long views of the beautiful countryside from high ridges. Another hike will lead to Lapham Peak where Increase Lapham received weather reports via telegraph from Colorado to share with Great Lakes sailors, eventually leading to the establishment of the National Weather Service. 

We are car-camping at a cozy, shaded group site in the Pine Woods Campground. We bring a large tarp to cover picnic tables and another to protect our camp kitchen. Although the campground feels secluded and the adventure seems remote, this section of the Ice Age Trail is only one hour from Milwaukee. The five-day trip includes a weekend to make it even easier to get away. If you enjoy long day hikes in a beautiful setting, this is your invitation to wander and wonder on the Ice Age Trail.

Day 1: Our week on the Ice Age Trail begins at noon with lunch at our campsite, followed by a 5.5-mile hike on the Scuppernong Trail, a loop that begins in the campground. We’ll pass through pine plantations and hardwood forest on a trail that is described in the guidebook as “a roller coaster of hills that you won’t soon forget.” 

Days 2-4: The first of our point-to-point hikes is 9.7 miles from Scuppernong to Kettle Moraine State Forest Headquarters near Eagle, which is where our second hike begins. This eight-mile hike ends at Bald Bluff Scenic Overlook. The hike from there is nine miles to Easterly Road. All three hikes are highlighted by glacial features, woods, prairie, and camera-clicking overlooks.

Day 5: After breaking camp, the drive is about eight miles north to Lapham Peak where a four-mile hike leads to an observation tower on top of the highest point in the county. Coming down from the peak, we pass a butterfly garden planted in 1993, have lunch, then say goodbye to all our newfound friends.

Our three point-to-point hikes will require car shuttles using leader and participant vehicles so everyone with a car is expected to help with transportation. The shuttles may require 30 minutes or more of travel time each way.

Getting There

This is a car camping trip based in one state forest campground. The group campsite is shaded with water and toilets nearby. The trip price includes highly-rated meals, beginning with lunch on Day 1 and ending with lunch on Day 5. We provide all the cooking equipment, except for personal plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. One of the benefits of car camping is that the kitchen can be more elaborate, including multiple stoves and four coolers for fresh food and cold drinks. We percolate coffee each morning and offer other hot drinks morning and night. The menu is vegetarian-friendly; however, if you avoid dairy products, grains or nuts, this trip is not for you. We follow Sierra Club tradition that everyone helps cook and clean. 

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

To appreciate this outing, hikers should be in good physical condition and enjoy challenging day hikes that range from rolling prairie to rugged and steep. 

Equipment and Clothing

Participants need their own personal camping gear, including a waterproof tent, sleeping bag rated at 32 degrees or below, reliable raingear, daypack, and well-broken-in, lugged-soled boots. A detailed equipment list will be shared with the group.

Temperatures in June range from the 50s to the 70s but conditions may be hotter, colder and wetter than anticipated. The hope is that the trip is early enough to avoid some summer insects.

References

• Ice Age Trail Alliance: https://www.iceagetrail.org
• Kettle Moraine State Forest: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/kms/

Conservation:

John Muir’s boyhood home and Aldo Leopold’s farm are both about 100 miles away from our campground. We’ll take time to explore the impact these native sons had on conservation. We’ll also talk about how fracking sand mined in Wisconsin is fueling the explosive growth of the oil boom in the Bakken in North Dakota and elsewhere, and we’ll visit mining and pipeline issues in the Midwest.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.