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The St Croix Falls Segment is the westernmost segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. It is the traditional starting point for long distance hikers seeking to trek the nearly 1200 mile full route of the IAT from Interstate State Park to Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay.
The St. Croix Falls segment continues 7.8 miles from Interstate Park through the city of St Croix Falls, into the Wert Family Nature Preserve, and along the banks of the St. Croix National Scenic River. This is a moderately challenging hike due to several exhilarating hill climbs and a number of rock hops across streams.
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| View of the St. Croix National Scenic River from Interstate State Park |
Before hiking the St. Croix Segment, I had already hiked a third of the trail segments that make up the Ice Age Trail. So, when I came to Interstate State Park, the Western Terminus of the IAT, it was a potent spiritual experience. Being the Western Terminus, I knew that I would begin this trail segment at sunset.
I approached the high rocky bluffs of the St. Croix as the sun was kissing the tree line across the river on the Minnesota side of Interstate State Park. A pair of other hikers rested pensively in hammocks erected on the crown of the Old Man of the Dalles rock formation illuminated by the final rays of summer as the Labor Day sun drifted from the sky.
I was able to hike the Potholes Trail, and to reach Horizon Rock for the sunset, and with the afterglow of the day I was able to complete the Skyline Trail and finish out the trails of the IAT at Interstate State Park. I returned in the morning to complete what remained of the St. Croix Falls Segment.
The photogenic sights of the trail at Interstate State Park should be enough to inspire anyone to embark on a journey across the state sculpted to its current scenic splendor by ancient glaciers. But the St. Croix Falls Segment continues to deliver a first-rate hiking experience beyond the gates of the state park.
The City of St. Croix Falls feels immediately accessible and alive with the restless spirit of Americana. Along the trail I met a crew of beatnik travelers - a family of youthful wanderlusts and their dogs who were voyaging about the North American continent in a vintage VW bus. Later we shared a pizza at a gazebo in a town park overlooking the hydro dam between St Croix and Taylor Falls.
In today's fast paced technology driven culture I had forgotten that young people still thrive on the promise of never-ending adventure as told on Kerouac's road. St. Croix Falls has this magic appeal, somewhat frozen in an era of motorcycles and white tees with rolled up grease-stained sleeves. It is a gentle, ever peaceful community that is humbled by the gashes of scenic wonder surrounding it. It is a Midwestern tourist destination - a settlement relaxed by laughter and recreation seekers. It feels a world and decades away.
I drank in the sunshine on that weekend of blissful hiking on the St. Croix Falls Segment as though the sun itself were the fountainhead of youth and I felt returned to the optimism and surety I had once been overflowing with at age 18 as I set out to the West without a destination. Along the mainline of the IAT in St. Croix Falls there are many intersecting and joining trails - Mindy Creek, Indianhead, Esker, and one trail called The Trail of Myths. Well riddle me this, what is the trail of myths? I had to add it's two miles to my route just to honor a trail of such a peculiar name.
I longed to remain on the remarkable miles of the St. Croix Falls Segment, but there are many more segments of the Ice Age Trail to be hiked. I used my campsite at Interstate State Park as a base for exploring the Trade River, Straight Lake, Straight River, and Pine Lake Segments - the foundations of a long journey to the East.
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| Along the Summit Rock Trail - Ice Age Trail St Croix Falls Segment |
Overview: Ice Age National Scenic Trail - St. Croix Falls Segment
COUNTYPOLK COUNTY
COMMUNITIES
ST CROIX FALLS
TOTAL MILES
7.8-MILE POINT-TO-POINT
DIFFICULTY
MODERATE
LOWEST ELEVATION
737 AMSL (WESTERN TERMINUS)
HIGHEST ELEVATION
1110 AMSL
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN
1014 FT
TOTAL ELEVATION LOST
-960 FT
CAMPING
Interstate State Park, St. Croix National Scenic River Site S55.3
LODGING
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS, DALLES HOUSE INN
NEXT IAT SEGMENT EASTBOUND
GANDY DANCER SEGMENT
Directions and Trail Map
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF USGS TOPOGRAPHIC MAPST CROIX DALLES QUADRANGLE
Click Map Image to load the full interactive map.
If viewing on a mobile device, open the trail map above to load into Google Maps App by touching the expand rectangle in the upper right corner.
Address for your GPS: 1266 WI-35 St. Croix Falls WI 54024
| coordinates: 45.400204, -92.647401 |
| From Milwaukee | 5 Hours |
| From Madison | 4 Hours |
| From Green Bay | 4 Hours |
| From Wausau | 3 Hours |
| From Minneapolis | 1 Hour |
| From Chicago | 6 Hours |
Photos
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| A couple enjoys hanging in hammocks atop the Old Man of the Dalles Rock formation |
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| The Potholes Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| The Potholes Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| The Potholes Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| The Potholes Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| The Potholes Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| Horizon Rock on the Horizon Rock Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| Horizon Rock Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| Horizon Rock Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| Horizon Rock Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| Interstate State Park in St Croix Falls WI |
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| Skyline Trail at Interstate State Park |
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| A rock hop across a stream on the St. Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| St Croix River from the St Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| Trail of Myths Loop on the St Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| Mindy Creek Segment of the St Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| Walk-in/Boat-in campsite in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway |
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| A rock hop across a stream on the St. Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| Along the St Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail |
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| Western Terminus of the Ice Age Trail |
Video
Links
Ice Age National Trail Alliance
Ice Age National Trail - National Parks Service
Interstate State Park