Lake Loop
1-mile loop, woodchips
Looping around Lake Joanis, this is Schmeeckle's most popular trail. It offers spectacular views of the lake and island, and provides many opportunities to get close to the water. Several benches and sandy areas make the trail a favorite place for sunbathing, fishing, studying, and relaxing.
Trail of Reflections
0.5-mile loop, crushed granite
This easy loop trail starts and ends at the
visitor center, and is accessible to wheelchairs. Discover conservationists from Wisconsin through inspirational quotes carved into wooden signs. A treehouse takes you into the canopy of a white pine. A swinging bench over a frog pond is a great place to watch wildlife.
Granite Parkway
0.5-mile, crushed granite
Located adjacent to the university's academic campus, this trail provides easy access to the
Green Circle and other trails in Schmeeckle. An open-air shelter near Maria Drive is a perfect place to have a picnic or meet with groups. Until 1975, Reserve Street ran through this area—watch for fire hydrants still along the trail.
Green Circle Trail
1.5 miles, crushed granite/boardwalks
The
Green Circle is a 27-mile hiking and biking trail that loops around Stevens Point. About 1.5 miles of the trail crosses the northern portion of Schmeeckle Reserve. It travels through diverse habitats of oak and white pine forests, meadows, a prairie, a cattail marsh, and the restored
Moses Creek wetland.
Berard Oaks Trail
0.2-mile, woodchips
The Berard Oaks is a 5-acre area being restored to an oak savanna. Once common in central Wisconsin, oak savannas are now one of the rarest habitats in the state. The trail meanders past 200-year old red and white oak trees standing above sedges, grasses, and wildflowers. This is one of the best areas to see butterflies and birds.
Moses Creek Trail
0.4-mile, woodchips/boardwalks
This trail follows
Moses Creek as it meanders through a diverse 15-acre wetland. A viewing deck features a scope for observing wildlife and a swinging bench shaded by a green roof. In 2010, a major wetland mitigation project restored this area to its historic wetland floodplain. It is part of the
Green Circle Trail.
Sedge Meadows Trail
0.3-mile, woodchips/boardwalks
This trail features three boardwalks that cross over sedge meadow wetlands that ebb and flow throughout the year. The wetlands are interspersed with forests of towering white pine trees. The trail crosses Michigan Avenue and connects the Granite Parkway with the Lake Loop Trail.
Frog Chorus Trail
0.2-mile, woodchips/boardwalks
In early spring, a symphony of wood frogs, spring peepers, chorus frogs, and toads erupts from the wetlands along this trail. It serves as a quick route between the
visitor center and the Lake Loop Trail.
Pine Meadows Trail
0.1-mile, planks and grass
Follow this rustic, narrow trail over wetlands to secluded, grassy meadows surrounded by towering white pines. The trail begins off of the Granite Parkway and dead ends at Michigan Avenue.
Plank Trail
0.1-mile, boardwalk
This boardwalk trail connects the Green Circle with the Lake Loop. It winds through a wet woodland strewn with granite boulders. This is an ideal place to watch for white-tailed deer.
Crossing Trail
0.2-mile, boardwalk
This boardwalk is the only one that crosses the entire
Moses Creek restored wetland. A concrete bridge spans Moses Creek and connects with a residential subdivision. The bridge is dedicated to the Milano and Sciarrone families, who donated 5 acres of land here in 2008. Watch for wildlife in the pools.
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