BROKEN OAK HILL(R) Dispatches from the heart of Wisconsin Wildcat Mountain State Park You can also see the Kickapoo up close along the park’s Hemlock Trail, now reopened after it was damaged by the heavy rains in the summer of 2008. It cost more than $258,000 just to get the highway to the park reopened, according to Lenore Schroeder, park supervisor. Another great vantage point is a short walk from the park office at the top of the "mountain." It’s just a little over a quarter mile to the Taylor’s Hollow overlook on the Old Settler’s Trail. From there, you can see the village of Ontario, where canoe rentals are available if you want to take some time paddling the Kickapoo. After the overlook, the 2.5-mile trail gets more challenging, beginning a steep descent along a rocky bluff covered with moss and a variety of woodland plants. Once you get to the bottom of the trail, which passes through three separate white and red pine plantations, you feel like you’re in a northern jungle. At some points the trail is so narrow that plants brush against you as you pass by. The trail can take anywhere from one to two hours, and as the park’s hiking brochure warns: "Hikers will experience very little level hiking."
Spectacular views overlook Kickapoo
River Valley
Wildcat Mountain State Park has more than 3,600 acres and 25 miles of hiking and riding trails. More important, at 1,265 feet – or 410 feet above the Kickapoo River – the park’s Observation Point offers one of the best views for miles around.
More information: (608) 337-4775 or dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/wildcat/
The Kickapoo River winds through the woods below in this view from Obsevation Point.
The Old Settler's Trail takes hikers through a variety of terrain, including along rocky hillsides like this.
