With plenty of hiking trails around Minnesota and Wisconsin it can be hard to determine which trail you should add to your 'must visit' list. Well, I have one that definitely should make your list because apparently, it's one of the most scenic hikes in the entire country.
There's a total of 20 hiking trails on this list from Trips to Discover. There's only one from Wisconsin on the list so you know it's a good one. And actually, I've never heard of this trail before.
Before we get into Wisconsin's most scenic trail, let's check out what other hikes around the country made the list.
Most Scenic Hikes in the USA
Half Dome Hike - Yosemite National Park in California
Precipice Trail - Acadia National Park in Maine
Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park in Virginia
Harding Icefield Trail - Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska
Eagle Creek Trail - Columbia River Gorge in Oregon
John Muir Trail - Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney in California
Burroughs Mountain Hike - Mount Rainier National Park in Washington
Angel's Landing - Zion National Park in Utah
Grinnell Glacier Trail - Glacier National Park in Montana
Halema'uma'u Trail - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii
Canyon to Rim Loop - Smith Rock State Park in Oregon
Charlies Bunion Hike - Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee
Continental Divide Trail - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico
Delicate Arch Trail - Arches National Park in Utah
Pyramid Point Trail - Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan
Emerald Lake Trail - Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado
Cascade Canyon Trail - Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming
Devil's Bridge Trail - Sedona, Arizona
Pacific Crest Trail - California, Oregon, and Washington
Wisconsin's Most Scenic Trail
As for the most scenic trail in Wisconsin, and one of the most scenic trails in the country, that would be the Ice Age National Scenic Trail which stretches from St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin all the way to Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay, Door County.
I've never heard of this trail before! Trips to Discover writes that it's "a footpath that extends over a thousand miles and is great for hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, and some sections for cross-country skiing too." In total, it's about 1,200 miles long!
As you could probably guess from the name of the trail, the Wisconsin landscape it runs through was created by glaciers melting and sculpting the landscape thousands of years ago.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Merrimac, WI - Photo by Dave on Unsplash
You can learn all about the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin on their website here.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Baraboo, WI - Photo by Jonathan J. Castellon on Unsplash
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Ice Age National Scenic Trail stretched into Minnesota. The trail is located entirely within Wisconsin. This article has been updated to reflect that.
