Recently I had the chance to plan a birthday surprise for a friend and since I knew we would be in Madison, WI I decided to look for hikes in the area. I found a few options and after seeing a few pictures on Instagram I decided on hiking to Gibraltar Rock. It’s about 30-40 minutes northwest of Madison and the road winds through beautiful countryside – it doesn’t feel like you just left a city.
Researching this hike was harder than expected- while there was plenty of information everything I found seemed to indicate we would need to take a ferry and then hike for a few hours. Normally I would be 100% on board with that but since it was October and we had a relatively short window with no rain I needed to find a way to just complete the Gibraltar Rock loop. It didn’t take long to find that there was parking at the entrance to the park and we could just complete the hike to Gibraltar Rock and back down.
The entire loop took us just under an hour but you could shorten or lengthen that depending on your time frame, abilities, or photography wants and needs. There are two options to get to the top and back – a trail that winds its way up through the woods or an old paved road that is closed to cars. We took the trail and I would recommend it if you decide to take on this hike, it’s a dirt trail that’s clearly marked with yellow tags.
Once you get to the top there are several great places to stop, take in the great views, and get some amazing photos. You may even catch a glimpse of some eagles or vultures perched on the rocks. When you’ve had your fill of the views you have a few options to get back down- you can retrace your steps from the way up, take the paved road down, or follow the trail. We opted to take the same trail back down.
I can’t get over how cute this trail was! If the weather had been better and there had been more time I would have loved to complete more of the Ice Age Trail but this was a great introduction. As it was, the hike was the perfect way to spend a few hours and enjoy time with friends.
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt” – John Muir.
Keep trekkin’ and hiking!
-Jess
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/lands/naturalareas/index.asp?sna=73
