The autumn season has officially arrived! What better way to welcome fall than to celebrate its natural beauty? Here are some beautiful spots to experience and take in the changing fall foliage.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
This thousand-mile trail travels through some of Wisconsin’s most beautiful natural areas. The City of Janesville has more miles of Ice Age Trail located within the city limits than any other Wisconsin community. Janesville’s portion of the trail makes up a large part of the Janesville Trail System, and marks the southern-most point of the Ice Age Trail. Most of the trail in Janesville is paved, perfect for biking, walking, running and rollerblading. For more of a hike, read about the Devil’s Staircase segment a little bit later in the blog!
Robert O Cook Memorial Arboretum
A large portion of the Arboretum is a beautiful mature forest, and also includes a prairie, marsh, and wetlands, making it an excellent place for birding and exploring approximately 8 miles of trails.
Rock River Heritage County Park
Rock River Heritage Park is located northwest of Janesville on the eastern banks of the Rock River. The parcel was originally created in 1946 to provide outdoor recreation, camping, and education for Boy Scouts in Southern Wisconsin. Since that time, the parcel has evolved and developed as a public park to now include trails, a man-made lake, and many other amenities.
Riverside Park
The 87-acre Riverside Park runs along the beautiful Rock River, with three scenic overlooks, picnic areas, pavilions with grills, and boat launches for boating and fishing. The Ice Age Trail runs through the park, featuring the Devil’s Staircase portion of the trail. This gorgeous trail travels along and up the side of the bluffs parallel to the Rock River for stuninng views of the changing leaves!
Palmer Park
Palmer Park is perfect for bringing the family on an adventure into the outdoors! CAMDEN Playground is a large and accessible playground that was rebuilt in 2016. A kid-friendly zipline was also added to the park. Palmer Park serves as a very popular access point for Janesville’s Trail System. The park is also home to the new Palmer Urban Mountain Bike Park (PUMP) – a 35-acre mountain bike/BMX bike park with flow and progressive trails in the southern part of the park. These off-road trails include areas for beginners as well as more advanced riders, a dirt pump track, and a mountain biking skills area.
