Red Trail (Badger South)

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The Red Trail lies in pleasantly open and undulating terrain in what was once called the “Magazine Area,” a site that once served as a storage area for finished explosives. The underground bunkers were widely spaced for safety reasons, to avoid any potential chain reaction of exploding materials, were an explosion to have occurred. There are few roads in this area, and the Red Trail is a loop that follows the old road network.

The Red Trail is transected by a connector spur the Bypass Connector. This outer loop is 2.7 miles, while the spur is 0.6 miles long. This is a quiet and pleasant area on the state-owned Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area. The invasive brush is starting to become dense and in some places impenetrable, but there are still open vistas and kettle potholes with singing frogs in the springtime.

The Red Trail starts at the Thoelke Cemetery, one of three extant cemeteries on the Badger lands. In order to get there, a visitor will cross through USDA Dairy Forage Research Center property, which is off-limits to public access except for roads that are shared with the Wisconsin DNR.