Ice Age Trail - Greenbush, La Budde Creek, Walla Hi Segments -

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Greenbush, La Budde Creek, and Walla Hi sections of the Ice Age Trail are amazing to say the least. I have included them all in one post, as I ran all three of the trail portions of the segments in the same run. It was a great run with a little over 14 miles total for all three trail sections. I ran the trails with one of my friends Carrie. We both have a love of the Ice Age Trail, and share the same goal of eventually running the entire trail.

It is great to run with another person on the trail. We both took a car, so that we could each park at one end of the trail. That way we could run an entire section versus doing an out and back. This allowed us to cover more trail. If your looking for other reasons why running is better with friends check out my post! These three sections made for a perfect trail run.

Greenbush Segment

The Greenbush segment of the Ice Age Trail is technical, a real trail runners dream. The trail runs 8.7 miles from highway 67 to Glenbulah, if you are heading north. I have a few suggestions prior to getting out there to make The Ice Age Trail easier to navigate.

The Ice Age Trail Guidebook is a must have if you plan to run the trails. There is tons of information on the trails and it provides insight into what to expect, where to park, and how to get there.

I would also recommend using Guthook Guides App to navigate the trail. The App is great for navigating the trail, as well as providing directions to parking, or even the next trail head. The App is free, but you will need to purchase the trails. Well worth the money.

Trail

I ended up with 8.94 miles for this section of trail. My Coros Apex is always spot on. When you run the Ice Age Trail, there are always a couple times when you have to check to make sure your headed in the right direction. At one point, when we crossed highway 23 we had to re-orientate ourselves. I am sure that is where the extra distance comes in. Makes it all part of the adventure!

There are small parking lots on both ends of the trail. Some sections of the Ice Age Trail there is road parking only, so this was a nice bonus. There are also bathrooms about halfway through this section of trail. Pay close attention to the yellow blazes, as the Greenbush Trail System passes through the same area.

The terrain is very rocky, and there are plenty of tree roots. The trail runs through a beautiful hardwoods. The trees canopy over the top of you. It was perfect on the day we ran, as it was hot and humid that day.

One aspect of the segment is that it has tons of hills. I felt, as if I was going up or down a hill the entire length of the trail! Perfect to get my power hiking form down. For this section alone, I had 1,093 feet of elevation gain.

This section was my favorite trail to run so far. It would be perfect for training for an ultra. It has all the aspects needed: hills, rocks, tree roots and elevation gain.

La Budde Creek Segment

La Budde Creek runs just outside of Elkhart Lake north for 3.5 miles. The segment passes through the La Budde Creek State Fish Hatchery Area. The section is mostly trail, with a small section of road to run. There are parking lots with ample parking on each end of the trail. From the parking lot just outside of Elkhart Lake, you will need to take a short walk on the road to catch the start of the trail. The day we ran this section, the trail volunteers were out building new sections of trail.

Trail

If you are looking for hills, you have found a great trail. Despite it’s shorter distance, I had 305 feet of elevation gain.

The trail runs through some open grassland with beautiful boardwalks to cover the wetlands. To say that we picked the perfect day to run this segment, is an understatement. The volunteers that were working on trail maintenance had just finished finished a brand new boardwalk. We ended up being the first to cross it! They also were working on a new section of trail that day. So, we also were the first to run through the new section of trail.

The trail also passes through some beautiful hardwoods. There are also plenty of tree roots to keep your trail runner soul singing!

Walla Hi Segment

The Walla Hi Segment is a 2.3 mile segment that runs through Walla Hi County Park. There is ample parking in the park. There is not any parking at the end of the section on Lax Chapel Road. Guthook Guide was very helpful. A hiker had commented that she had parked at an entrance to a gravel pit, and then walked to the trail head. Since we had two cars, we parked one at the gravel pit entrance and one in the park. It was Saturday, so it worked perfect as the pit was not in use.

Trail

The trail did not disappoint. It snakes it’s way through another beautiful hardwoods. The trail winds and twists through the park over rocky terrain with plenty of tree roots to keep your eyes busy. It is hilly and in this small section, I had 240 feet of elevation gain.

Some of the highlights of the trail is a small covered bridge. There is a beautiful stone staircase that was built by trail volunteers. Although it was a bit overgrown when we went, it was amazing to see the craftsmanship.

Highlights

Some of the best trail running I have ever done! I am not sure if it was the trails or the company. Most likely a combination of both. As I run more segments of the the trail, I get more interested in the history, geological features and small details of each segment. Nothing can compare to that feeling of being the first to run on a brand new section of trail!

The best part of running a new section is truly the exploration. There is nothing more fun, than to wonder what is just around the bend of a trail. Each corner is more awe-inspiring than the next. All the small details of each of the sections, make for a picture perfect run. Looking for other sections to run check out some of my other posts on the Ice Age Trail here. I love to hear from other runners. What sections have you run?