Hartman Creek State Park
Located a few miles west of Waupaca, and part of the Chain O’Lakes, Hartman Creek State Park is one of my favorites in Wisconsin. There is a campground, plenty of hiking trails, some biking trails, and you can access two segments of the Ice Age Trail in this Park. There is also a system of mountain bike trails as well as horse trails. And there are lakes, beautiful lakes!
Mid Lake
Here are some of the trails in this park, most of them easily and primarily flat:
To see a video of the six mile loop (including Hartman Lake trail, Pope Lake Hiking Trail and Deer Path Trail around Allen lake) I ran on a gorgeous sunny Fall day, click here.
For a full official map of the trails, click here.
Pope Lake Hiking Trail
This is the easternmost trail in the system, and when the foliage isn’t too dense, you can see Pope Lake.
This easy one mile loop, with only a couple of short hills, mostly dirt trail but a short section with sand, is glorious all around!
The trail is wide, and there is a bench at one point to view the lake.
Crossing Rural road, there is a short connecting trail that will lead you to Hartman Lake and the parking lot by the beach, where you can access a bathroom as well as a place to rent bikes, kayaks etc.
Hartman Lake Loop
North of the Lake (this trail doesn’t go around the lake), there is a loop that is half in the woods and half along Hartman Lake. Both sections are really beautiful in their own way, but if you’re there on a sunny day, the lake is truly magnificent.
It’s an easy trail less than a mile long, wide in the woods, narrower along the lake. The lake section has a short boardwalk.
You can access it from both the parking lot by the beach and the parking lot by the amphitheaters. Both of these have bathrooms nearby.
From there, there is a paved trail that is also a biking trail that will lead you to the campground and Allen Lake.
Paved biking trail between Hartman Lake and the campground/Allen Lake.
Deer Path Trail
This loop around Allen Lake might be my favorite! It’s also the most difficult, with a narrower trail on the south side of the lake, roots on the trail, small hills and one bigger hill giving you nice views of the lake.
On the northern side, the trail is wider and gorgeously nestled among tall pines. Walking on pine needles is my favorite! You get the best views of the lake from this side too.
If you want to start with this trail, there is a parking lot to this lake, shortly after you leave the park’s office, or you can access it directly from the campground. The parking lot has a bathroom nearby.
Allen Lake in the winter.
Water Trail!
Don’t forget that you can kayak the many lakes of this State Park!
In my opinion, the best place to do this is the set your kayak down in Marl Lake. You’ll have to drive from the main part of the park and use the Whispering Pines parking lot, but it’s worth it! There is a paved trail from the parking lot to a staircase going down to a dock on Marl Lake.
From there, you can explore four connecting lakes located within the State Park’s limits: Marl Lake, Pope Lake, Manomin Lake and Knight Lake.
To see a video of this, click here.
Hartman Lake is a beautiful park to visit in all seasons. The Ice Age Trail segment there is beautiful, especially the Emmons Creek segment, but the other trails in the park give you a much better view of the lakes, which is truly one of the specificities of this place.