Point Beach Segment – Ice Age National Scenic Trail

The Point Beach Segment of Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a total of 10 miles running along Lake Michigan. This stretch of trail is inside the Point Beach State Park, so there are plenty of camping sites available if you want to incorporate a little getaway within your hike. The state park is 3,000 acres along 6 miles of Lake Michigan coastline. This stretch of the trail is a favorite among hikers for its tree-lined easily navigatable paths and great access to the lake. 

The Point Beach segment connects to the City of Two Rivers Segment (3 miles) directly to the south and the Mischicot Segment (2.9 miles) after a road connection on Highway V to the northwest. All of these segments are apart of the Lakeshore Chapter. There are many things to do and see in Two Rivers. I’ll cover five of them a bit further down in this post.

Continuing my Mammoth Hike Challenge of 40 miles in October, the next stop was the Point Beach Segment. My friend and travel partner, Renee texted me on a Friday morning asking if I wanted to come along with her to Point Beach. She took a day off to head up to bike the trails in her favorite State Park. Knowing I had signed up for the challenge, she was thinking I’d like to ride along to cross some miles off my goal. Of course, I said yes!

It was a fairly windy day so she said she would hike with me instead if I wanted a hiking buddy. I really don’t enjoy long hikes by myself, so I said I’d love the company. Time always passes faster when you have someone to talk to.

After trying to figure out where the best place to park inside the state park was to get on the trail, we decided to park at the lighthouse and make our way south on the trail. I was happy to be armed with my atlas page and the Guthook app on my phone. I turned the GPS on and began recording our hike once we found the trail. I’m not going to lie, a couple of times we lost our way. Once we ended up on the beach because we missed a turn on the trail. The only downside to this was that both my shoes filled up with sand so I had to empty them. We had a little laugh but were soon back on the trail. The GPS on the Guthook app only works when you follow it!! More than once we were talking and I wasn’t paying attention and we would soon be on a different trail.

Find out more about Wisconsin’s very own Ice Age National Scenic Trail

We did notice that sometimes the yellow blazes were hard to see. Other times there was quite a bit of distance between them making it hard to navigate the trail. I have heard this about other segments, so I would highly suggest the Guthook App for your phone. Especially if you hike often. 

The hike was gorgeous! The leaves were not quite at peak yet, but still pretty. This segment is relatively flat which makes for a nice hike for most levels of ability. Although it was a windy day with the tree cover we were very protected. It was important to watch your feet since the leaves had just begun to fall concealing rocks and tree roots.  With my track record, I was just going to be grateful if I made it through the whole 40 miles without falling!

We came upon this quiet lake at one point. Doesn’t this bench look inviting? Not only to rest but to spend a few moments to be in your surroundings. It was so peaceful here that we almost didn’t want to finish the hike. 

Some places were low and rather swampy. By the time we finished, our feet were wet and our shoes needed a heavy-duty washing. At least it wasn’t too cold out and there were moments of sunshine peaking through the clouds.

Renee and I met a handful of people along the trail. Runners, bikers, and fellow hikers were out enjoying the day. I suspect since this was fall and an early afternoon on a Friday, it was too early for the weekend campers to be out yet. We met the Lakeshore Chapter Coordinator and a friend out checking some markers. We had a great conversation with them about the Mammoth Challenge, some of our favorite segments, building and maintaining segments,  and how lucky we are to have easy access to the Ice Age Trail. 

We had planned beforehand to try and get 10 miles in. Since we didn’t have two vehicles we decided to just turn back at the 5-mile mark according to the app. At one point we were talking and realized we hadn’t seen a yellow blaze for a long stretch. I looked at my phone only to see that we had once again veered off course! It wasn’t so hard to do since there are other trails in the park. By this time we were at almost 4.5 miles anyway so we started to head back. 

By about mile 7 we could really feel it. Even if our feet felt every step, the time and distance seemed to go faster on the way back. . Once we got back to our starting point we felt tired but there was no denying the sense of accomplishment I felt. In the end, we racked up 9.3 miles and some sore muscles. 

Total miles so far toward my 40 miles:  19.3 miles

5 Things to do in Two Rivers, WI

• Grab a SnoCoaster pizza at Port Sandy Bay and find out why this is the place the locals go!
• Camp at Point Beach State Park and enjoy 6 miles of beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline.
• Stay at Still Bend/Bernard Schwartz House. If you are a Frank Llyod Wright fan, this Wright-designed 3,000 square foot home is one of the few where you can actually stay overnight.
• You did know that Two Rivers is home of the Ice Cream Sundae, didn’t you? Visit the Historic Washington House, get a sundae, and learn all about it.
• If you’d like a different ice cream experience, specifically ice cream served in a conut (cone made out of a donut), visit young entrepreneur, Emilee Rysticken’s shop Scream N Conuts (this shop is seasonal, so be sure and check the Facebook page for open times)

Thank you for reading. I’d love to hear your experience with the Ice Age Trail and if you have recommendations for segments you think I should tackle!

Lori