December at Rocky Arbor State Park

The recent storm brought with it over a foot of snow to some parts of central Wisconsin, which is great news to all the avid cross country skiers who take to the trails at both Devil’s Lake & Mirror Lake State Parks each winter. At the moment trails at both parks are reportedly in great condition, so get out there and enjoy! But what about hikers and snowshoers?

Well, that’s a tricky question that comes up each year at the parks. It can even get a bit heated at times. You see, most trails within the parks have been designated to skiers. Groomed trails are easily damaged by hikers and expensive to maintain. Generally hikers and snowshoes are told they are welcome to come to the parks.. Just go “out there” somewhere.

This weekend I took the time to stop and both parks and talk to the rangers about winter hiking and snowshoeing. My thought is of course that while “out there” is fine for some, lots of folks who visit from around the area are not looking to get “lost in the wilderness”, but simply seeking a nice 2 or 3 mile trail where they can take in the winter wonderland of out state parks and yet feel confident they won’t get lost and spend the night out there. This is exactly where we run into trouble, at least at our local parks.

If you look at the Devil’s Lake XC trail map I’ve posted today you should see the problem quite easily. While the trails up over the bluffs are technically open to hikers and snowshoers, they are not exactly ideal, and often not all that safe. (I know, I hike them in the winter all the time. Up and over snow covered stairways and along icy cliff edges is not for everyone.)  The nice winter trails are to the east of the main day use area in Steinke Basin. The problem here of course is that the bulk of the trails are groomed for XC skiing.  In addition the groomed trails block access to the trails snowshoers could potentially use IF they could get to them.

According to the ranger I spoke with, hikers and snoeshoers will be asked to not even walk alongside the ski trails out on Stienke Basin. They are essentially off limits to anyone but skiers (good news for skiers of course). As it is, the rangers hear quite a few complaints from skiers about hikers messing up the trails. Obviously hikers should be more respectful. The rangers on the other hand, can’t possibly patrol the miles of trails out there either. Still, we have to keep in mind that hikers and snowshoers, have nowhere else to go in the winter other than over the cliffs or “out there” somewhere.

To some extent Mirror Lake has an even worse problem when it comes to non-skiers. Almost every trail at Mirror Lake (over 17 miles) is groomed for cross country skiing. However, I should note here that the ranger at Mirror Lake offered hiking along the groomed trails as a possibility while observing that shared use creates a very a delicate situation. Certainly not all hikers are always respectful as they should be, and sometimes people just don’t know how to share.

In the end it’s a tough situation for those of us who do like to hike or snowshoe within the park while at the same time taking advantage of a marked trail. I do think as the popularity of snowshoing grows, the parks will have to do more to accommodate enthusiast. It’s important that hikers and other winter park users speak up. They also need to respect the groomed trails as well. Let’s not forget many of us participate in both activities. Maybe in time there will be a way to open up certain trails for multiple uses side by side. That seems like the easiest solution.

Until then.. what’s “out there?”

Rock Formation Along the Trail at Rocky Arbor

The ranger at Mirror Lake State Park offered a great suggestion. He suggested hikers and snowshoers take advantage of Rocky Arbor State Park in Wisconsin Dells. In fact we left the Mirror Lake Park office and had a look for ourselves. The park is not staffed in the winter and you will have to park outside the gate, while being careful not to block the road. Once you walk around the gate you enter an amazingly magical winter wonderland of snow covered pine and ice contrasted by amazing sandstone formations. Hikers can follow the marked nature trail or simply walk the snow covered roads within the park and into the campgrounds. It’s a perfect location to try out those new snowshoes or simply hike without too much fear of getting lost somewhere.

Closer to Devil’s Lake State Park there are miles of trails in the Roznos Meadow area on the south-eastern corner of the park. You can also hike a short loop by combining the Grottos trail and the Group Camp Trail on the south side as well. You may also enjoy hiking through the campgrounds which are closed this time of year, but make for a nice quiet hike in the winter.

Of course there are many other natural areas nearby that hikers and snowshoers enjoy all winter as well. We’ll talk more about that as the winter season goes on. Still we certainly can see how non-skiers can feel pushed off their favorite trails in the winter. In time we can only hope the parks do more to accommodate the many varied ways people enjoy our parks, even in the winter.

BTW we’ve added highlighted maps of the ski trails at both our Devil’s Lake & Mirror Lake State Parks websites.

• Cross Country Skiing at Devil’s Lake State Park
• Cross Country Skiing at Mirror Lake State Park
• Hiking & Snowshoing @ Rocky Arbor

*Update: Read about the Merrimac Preserve as one option for hikers & snoeshoers.

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