Hoffman Hills, Wisconsin, State Recreation Area, Mini-Moon Day 1

On June 8th I did a thing. I got married!!

Woot woot! It was exciting, and magical, and perfect. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.

While we’re planning a trip to Jamaica this winter for the honeymoon, we wanted to celebrate a little earlier with a mini honeymoon. A mini-moon! Our perfect mini-moon? A week of hiking and camping across northern Wisconsin!

Mini-moon Day 1:
Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area

The first day of the mini-moon started with a 3-hour drive from Madison to the first park on the list, Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area. This park is a day-use only park with picnic areas, scenic overlooks, and an observation tower.

Links to follow along:
Park Website
Park Map

The trails in this park are really well marked. As the park’s name implies, some of the trails are quite hilly. If this is a concern, I recommend checking out the park map as it distinguishes between easiest, more difficult, and most difficult trails.

Skyline Trail

Distance: 1 mile linear (map marker 1 to 9)
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Description: From the main parking lot, this hill travels along the ridge to a scenic overlook and passes “Mount Fuji.”

The scenic view overlooks the farmland below.

Like I said, the trails are well marked. Many signposts throughout the park are complete with a marking number, trail difficulty ratings, and a park map.

This pretty guy posed for me long enough to take a few pictures.

Hawk Ridge Trail to Lower Pines Trail

Distance: 1.3 mile linear (map marker 9 to 7)
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Description: The Hawk Ridge Trail follows the park’s north ridge, complete with an observation tower to view the surrounding area.

A view of the Greg Schubert Memorial Tower.

The observation tower is 60 feet high, overlooking the surrounding hills and farmland.

Look at that view! The climb is well worth it.

Memorial Wetland Trail

Distance: 1 mile loop (map marker 26 to 32 and back)
Difficulty: Easy
Description: On the west side of the park, this trail loops through wetlands and around several ponds.

This section of the park is open wetlands, allowing you to see the hilly formations around it. It’s a refreshing view after being surrounded by trees for the last hour.

The swallowtails were sitting on this poo for a long time. Like way, way too long.

Even with the algae, the pond was beautiful with the surrounding willow trees.

The pond was a hot spot for critters. We saw a lot birds, frogs, and insects.

Overall this park was very well maintained and had a variety of terrain and scenery. While it doesn’t have camping, it’s a great stop for hiking or snowshoeing. This park was the perfect way to kick off the mini-moon. On to Lake Wissota!