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  • A Walk Along Table Bluff in Cross Plains

A Walk Along Table Bluff in Cross Plains

  • July 06, 2021
  • 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Scheele Road, Cross Plains
  • 11

Registration

  • The member may register a guest.

 

Free to PLATO Members and Guests

Registration is required

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

We will follow Dane County COVID-19 safety protocols in place at the time of the walk.  By registering for this event, you:

  • Agree to wear a mask if you are unvaccinated.  Fully vaccinated participants do not need to wear masks unless they feel more comfortable doing so.
  • Acknowledge that going on the walk is voluntary and a personal decision. PLATO recommends full compliance with safety standards: masks, social distancing, and handwashing. We are not responsible for enforcing public health orders. 

The Table Bluff Walk will take us to the western edge of Cross Plains

We will have two experienced guides, each leading a group along the walk.This will allow us to take a larger total number of walkers while keeping COVID-19 protocols.

This walk will start with a challenging hike up a drumlin to the top of Table Bluff: a 200 foot elevation.

The Table Bluff Segment of the Ice Age Trail is 2.5 miles long offers ridge top views and showcases the results of remarkable land stewardship efforts.  There is a 1/2 mile optional loop that leads across a valley and up a second ridge. This walk will start at the bottom of a drumlin and walk west along the Bluff to a second parking lot.  We will place cars at both locations for ease of return to the trail head

If you are up for a total of 5 miles walk, you may choose to treat the walk as  a loop so that you will start and end in the same location. 

Our guides are two  IATA members who have lead us on walks of Wilkes Gorge:  Tom Gross and Gary Warner.

Driving and Parking Information

We will meet at Scheele Road parking lot in Cross Plains .  The following map will provide guidance  to reach the trailhead parking lot.


To find how to get to Scheele Road in Cross Plans from your location, click on Google Maps and enter your beginning location with Scheele Road, Cross Plains as the ending location.


Highlights of the Walk  

Located in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin. the Table Bluff Segment of the Ice Age Trail traverses restored prairie as well as steep, rocky slopes.  The trail has approximately 200 feet of total vertical relief and several vistas from the heads of two valleys and two prominent goat prairies that offer great views of the Driftless Area.

Melt water from the Laurentide ice sheet poured through a preglacial valley depositing sand and gravel and partially filling the lower valley floors, which now hold extensive wetlands and a tributary stream of Black Earth Creek, a class 1 trout stream.  The area is home to various types of wetland prairie, oak opening and forest plants.

From the Trail access on Table Bluff Road, the trail heads south across a 73 acre IATA-owned property.  After passing through a prairie and then an old orchard area hikers wil come to an intersection with an optional loop trail that offers a 1/2 mile "bubble" to the west of the main Ice Age Trail route.  The loop trail traverses a ridge overlooking two valleys with streama and a marsh.

Trail Difficulty Ratings

Difficulty of walk:  The walk will start with a challenging climb of 200 feet in elevation to the top of Table Bluff, rated a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is rated not rugged and 5 is very rugged.  The remaining portion of the walk is rated a 3 , as the trail ascends and descends hills.  The paths are well maintained with good footing throughout the walk. 

Restaurant: There are a few restaurants in Cross Plains that can handle groups of 10 people

Handicap Accessibility?

The trails are not handicap accessible.  Nor can  they be managed with someone to assist you.

General Guidance

PLATO has the right to cancel any event if it is apparent that the activity itself does not comply with the current guidelines.  PLATO can also cancel any activity if there is an increase in COVID cases (or hospitalizations or deaths), which would increase an infection risk for the participants.

Questions? - contact Mike Dillorio at mdiiorio@tds.net

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PLATO is proudly supported in part by Oakwood Village.


PLATO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in association with:

for more information, contact us at:

info@platomadison.org

608-572-6869

6209 Mineral Point Road #203
Madison, WI 53705

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