High Cliff State Park (WI): Hike Reports

11/06/02

Hi guys!

I'm dating a woman from Wisconsin, so I've been checking out a few parks there. One that kind of captured my interest is High Cliff SP near Appleton/Green Bay on the east side of Lake Winnebago. It has lots of cool rock formations and, well, cliffs. These cliffs are apparently a part of the Niagara Escarpment.

Now, I know that Niagara Falls and the Bruce Trail to Tobermory is part of this. And I seem to recall a post here about a hidden section in the UP. And would it be wrong of me to assume that the chain of islands from the Garden Peninsula to the Door Peninsula is a section of this escarpment?

Anyway, this whole formation just always intrigues me. Does anyone know how long it is? Do you know of any hidden sections? What,exactly formed it? Any info. would be much appreciated.

Thanks!Nighthiker Mike:)

11/07/02

Re: Niagra Escarpment

Thanks Craig!

I'd love to check this section out sometime. Maybe you could pass on the directions sometime?
Jackson, eh? Too bad I'll be on my way to Wisconsin tomorrow afternoon. It'd be great to catch you for a neighborhood dayhike. Anyway, I think I'll try and catch a bit of the Ice Age Trail in Kettle Moraine SF this weekend. We'll see how it is.

Mike

--- In greatlakeshikes@y..., grypnytail@a... wrote:> Mike:> I've been to a section of the Niagra Escarpment in the Up. It's a50-100'> tall cliff, maybe 1/2 mile long, and very interesting. It's verynear the NCT> and easily accessable from a car (couple hundred yards). I think Ihave pics> on a CD somewhere...> Craig

01/19/03

I hiked about 8 miles on Saturday at High Cliff SP near Appleton/Green Bay, WI. I love the place because it has a portion of the Niagara escarpment. There is rock climbing to be had here and some nice hikes in rock crevices. On this hike, we ended up just looping through wooded areas on the edge of the cliffs along Lake Winnebago. It was cold and the wind was strong on our high route. That said, it was really nice. There is little to no snow in Wisconsin right now, so the dogsled teams that we encountered were using wheeled contraptions and four-wheeled ORVs to drive their teams. Some Boy Scouts were camping in the area and had created ice sculptures at the visitor's center. Hiking was flat and fun. The highlight was a beautiful sunset over Lake Winnebago.

03/30/03

I hiked a new trail today. Even though it was only three miles, the Old Lime Kiln trail at High Cliff is great. High Cliff SP is nearAppleton, WI on the shores of Lake Winnebago. This particular trail rises and falls over a section of the Niagara Escarpment, so it'spretty hilly. The cliffs are pretty broken in this area, so there is opportunity for some climbing and hiking through crevices. There were some mud spots and central to northern Wisconsin didn't quite get the 60s and 70s that we've seen in extreme southern MI, so Lake Winnebago is still almost completely frozen. The old lime kiln is at the trail head and it's pretty cool. I've hiked all the trails in this park except for the horse trails and I'll get those in some time this week. If anyone knows of good trail in the northeast section of WI or near Menominee in the UP, I'd appreciate them.

The most interesting aspect of the hike was the variable weather. We could see snow falling in the distance, but the bright sun was also shining through the cloud banks. Then, suddenly, we couldn't see the other side of the lake and - BOOM - the snow was upon us. Then, five minutes later it was gone.

Spring Break in Wisconsin - Brrrrr!

03/31/03

Then, I checked out the horse trails at High Cliff SP. These are fantastic. For a mile or two, we were on a sharp cliff face and the trail followed the edge. There were a couple of places where it looked possible to scramble down the cliffs. Great lake views. Some up and down. Neat old stone grain silo to check out. Good fieldstone walls. Pleasantly rocky trail at points. We hiked about 6 miles here, but you could add mileage to this section with snowmobile trails and other offshoot horse trails. And you could use the hiking trails in the park proper for a nice long day or two of hiking. I really enjoyed this place despite the drizzly snow that started to drench us.

04/01/03

BTW, I went out again last night and hiked 6 miles of horse trail in High Cliff SP. Wow! For a mile or two, I followed the top of a sheer cliff a couple of hundred feet up. Some of the terrain was reminiscent of the Minister Creek Trail in the Alleghenies. And there were spots where it seemed possible to scramble down to the lake. Lots of crevices and rock outcroppings. And that lake is gigantic - sometimes not possible to see the other side. I'll bet there are 15+ miles of trail in the park. Still, it's just a dayhiking place.

04/02/03

One cool thing, though. I was reading on the mtbr trail review page and a biker says that there is a trail that connects to High Cliff SP. That would greatly increase the total trail possible in a long dayhike.

07/12/04

I've been a regular lately at High Cliff SP near Appleton, WI. First, the out-of-state daypass is $10. I turned around and got Kathy's car with the sticker after that shocker. Lake Winnebago, however, is very cool. If you stand on the cliff, you can't see the other end of the lake - I love that. But you really to get the sense of the immensity of the Great Lakes system. I believe that Winnebago was once a part of Green Bay/Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes are much bigger than just the 5 main lakes.