Castle Mound Pine Forest is a forested butte rising nearly 200 feet above the surrounding landscape.  Found within the Black River State Forest, access is easy from the Castle Mound Campground unit of the forest on USH 12 south of Black River Falls.  Park in the picnic parking area.

Trails wind up and around the mound from the parking area.  The large boulder field and towering trees lend an ethereal feel to the hike.  The trail did not seem particularly well-worn and was often leaf- or needle-covered, which made for a couple of slight uncertainties at times as to where the actual trail was.  At the top of the mound, a metal staircase leads to a small observation point with a commanding view of the treetops below.  This was my last visit of the day which precluded me from spending a bit more time exploring the forest and botanizing, but I still really enjoyed the “feel” of this hike and would not mind returning in the future.  It is definitely a family-friendly hike, so long as you are okay with some mild exertion.

Rocky Trail

Green Trail

Rocky Forestscape

Tall Trees

Rocky Terrain

Trail through the Rocks

More of my photos (and full-res) from Castle Mound Pine Forest can be viewed here.

400 more blog posts to go!  Well, actually a few more than that remain; counting SNA’s delisted since I started and a few SNA’s to be designated, the current total is 687, though hopefully, that will increase!

If you would like to help support this project, please consider a donation.  There are many SNA’s yet to visit and even more to revisit and I ultimately plan to write a book about my adventures.  Thank you!

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