Third Installment of Wisconsin With Kids
Located in Marathon County (North Central part of WI) the Dells of the Eau Claire River is a beautiful, yet slightly dangerous place to tour with kids. The Eau Claire River flows through an area of enormous Pre-cambium rocks creating waterfalls, gorges, and potholes.
It was raining lightly the day we went, which made for very slippery rocks. The heavy clay soil on the walking trail was also quite slippery.
We started out at the trail head not quite knowing what to expect. Then all of a sudden it opened up to a scenic overlook. There was an obvious well worn path leading to the rock outcropping. We took the adventure, but as you can see (a couple pictures down) we had to keep our hands on the little ones very firmly.
Cleaving is the process of rock breaking. These rocks cleaved with the most interesting straight lines.
There were so many neat things to explore along the way, like this cave. Not sure if it's natural or man-made or started as natural and then later reinforced.
Some parts of the trail ran tight to the river.
While other parts were much higher with a steeper grade. Just a note, this is not stroller friendly. We had Maria in a backpack and kept an eagle eye on Joe and Peter.
If you're into the nature study aspect of hiking this is your spot. We looked at lots of moss and Hemlock Trees and Pre-cambium schist and exposed tree roots. So much to see. Do you see the trail behind (and above) Emily and Joe? Not for strollers.
This was a phenomenal site to see in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has so many state natural areas to explore. Give one a try.
