If you’ve never taken an afternoon to hike through High Cliff State Park, you’re missing one of the most interesting, diverse and gorgeous parks in the state.
On a recent Saturday beautiful Saturday afternoon, the park was not at all crowded – we met less than a dozen different hikers along the paths. The park is one of the best, up-close ways to view the magnificent Niagara Escarpment that begins here in Wisconsin and stretches all the way out to – you guessed it – the Niagara Falls. The Escarpment was formed 400 million years ago and is made of compressed Dolomite that’s actually the sea bed of an ancient sea. We wrote about the Escarpment before, so check it out here to read more about it.
Located on the northeast corner of Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin's largest inland lake, High Cliff State Park is a gem of a place to spend a day or a whole week.
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There are group, family and individual camping sites and tons to do. There's a beach on the lake, tons of hiking, spots for grilling and picnics, playgrounds and more.
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The park is also directly across the lake from Neenah/Menasha and not far from both Oshkosh and Appleton, meaning it's a great home base for exploring the Fox Valley area.
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But it's also a great place to spend a single day - the park is gorgeous, with miles of paths with varying degrees of difficulty as well as a short observation tower that gives you sweeping views of the lake.
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Starting at the top of the escarpment, you walk through what used to be the limestone quarry. The paths on top and at the bottom of the cliff face are easy going for most everyone. It's the rocky hill down the side of the cliff on one end and the steep, though paved, hill on the other end that prove a bit more difficult.
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But if you can handle the hike, it's so worth it to head down the side of the cliff and immerse yourself in the gorgeous forest.
You're mostly covered by the forest canopy, creating a sense of being in another world as you head down the path. The sun filters through, creating amazing shadows and highlighting parts of the rock. It's a bit magical and totally stunning.
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The layers of rock show millions of years of history and it's not difficult to imagine why Native Americans considered this sacred land.
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The path along the lake shore passes lime kiln ruins left from a time when the rock here was harvested.
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The ruins tell part of the story of this amazing and totally underappreciated park.
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About three hours from Eau Claire or La Crosse, two hours from Madison, Wausau and Milwaukee and less than an hour from Green Bay, this park is a perfect place for a day trip. Pack a lunch, plan for a few hours of hiking and don't forget your camera.
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Gorgeous in the summer when everything is green, High Cliff is an awesome spot to do some fall hiking and check out the leaves changing color.
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High Cliff State Park is located at N7630 State Park Rd, Sherwood, WI 54169.
