Madeline Island Loop Hike

Today we planned the 4-mile loop hike that started with 2 miles on the boardwalk to the Big Bend city park with a return along the Lagoon Ridge trail. The first part along the boardwalk that parallels the Superior shore was quite nice — with information signs side routes to the lagoon and the lake.

At the end we found many people enjoying a swim and some canoeing in the lagoon. We climbed the stairs to the City park and found the trail marked Lagoon Ridge Trail. It is a well-traveled trail through walk-in campsites. The trail was quite nice with bridges across ravines until it wasn’t. After about a mile we came to a sign which stated “this is a natural trail with muddy areas. Not maintained.” We initially thought we would give it a try, but immediately ran into a tree down over the trail and could see another just ahead. So we retraced our steps to the campground, climbed down the stairs, and walked the boardwalk trail back to our camp site. Our 4-miles hike turned into a 6-miles hike.

When we returned to the state park end of the trail, we noted a sign a little ways in with the same warning about a “natural trail.” It would have been nice to see that sooner on the other end and it would have been mentioned on the maps we were given or even on the maps posted along the way.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)