Wyalusing State Park
Date: Friday, August 5th 2022
Start Time: 12:08 PM
Weather: Warm, humid, sunny. Temperature estimated to be 76.
Trails: Sand Cave Trail and Little Sand Cave Loop
Total Distance: 2.4 miles of grueling up and down narrowness with spectacular caves and views. Bluffs adorn a wooded wilderness that makes you feel like you are not exactly 15 minutes drive time from a Wal-Mart.
Map: Available from the Wisconsin Wyalusing State Park Website.
The trail started out as an easy walk from the parking lot adjacent to the Paul Lawrence Interpretive Center, a small building nestled along a road leading straight in from the park’s entrance. The trail splits shortly after entering the wooded area.
After the split, the Sand Cave Trail takes a rather steep, but manageable, plunge into the woods. On the initial steps of the trail one will encounter trees at odd angles, interesting plants, an assortment of bugs and butterflies, and rocks for a quick rest. The trail is narrow so stay to your right to allow others to pass. The difficulty is easy to intermediate. You’ll need to beware of your footing in some spots but it’s easy enough for a 9 year-old to navigate safely. Mobility-impaired persons should not attempt this trail, as it is not accessible by any means.
Where the hairpin turn appears on the map, right BELOW the 1 on the linked map, I thought we were at point 1. Not the case. It is a long decent and, with a family, time proceeds faster than perceived.
Here’s what the approach looks like:
There is a small creek and waterfall to your right as you enter this curve. It’s beautiful:
You can easily step over the creek or take the steep way down; it’s your choice.
After that it’s a quick downhill through the bugs, woods, and, in our case, humidity. It wasn’t hot but it was muggy, and the bugs were out.
The trail seems like it goes in one direction but it does not; feel free to loop back at any point.
It was a long hike but gorgeous:
Gorgeous bluffs and the sound of running water almost makes one forget about the heat, humidity, and bugs. It was a challenging hike for our family but one we’ll never forget. The pictures we took were amazing – it was a collection of caves, small waterfalls, and tough trails.
In the end we conquered the trail and loop, as we knew we would, and ended up at the Wal-Mart in Prairie du Chien around 15 minutes after arriving back at our parked car. The normally frustrating sound of a semitruck driving a little too fast on the 25-MPH park road was music to my tired family’s ears as the end of the hike appeared, and the soothing sensation of ice-cold air conditioning started scouring the sweat from our bodies as we made our way into town.