There are two ways to do this hike, but since you’re reading a hiking blog, you’re probably not the type of person who is going to go the easy route.
RELATED: The Best Hiking Trails in Brown County State Park, with Maps and Rankings
You can use this interactive map at the trail! Here’s how
Download map GPX file
Trail 6 (Strahl Lake) map GPX file
Directions
Trail 6 (Strahl Lake) trailhead. Follow Brown County State Park Road two miles to Horeseman Camp Road. After one and a half miles, continue straight onto Parkview Lane for one mile. The Trail 6 trailhead is on the northern side of Brown County State Park Nature Center.
Difficulty
Easy
Hiking Time
1 hour
Total Distance
2 miles
Route type
Lollipop
Cost
$7/vehicle (in-state), $9/vehicle (out-of-state)
Dogs
Allowed on 6-foot leash
Sun exposure
Dense tree canopy
Bathrooms
Yes
Flora/fauna
Copperheads, timber rattlers, ticks
Accessible?
No
Kid friendly
Yes
Hiking Trail 6 (Strahl Lake)
This lollipop-style hike begins at the Brown County State Park Nature Center and quickly descends 300 feet, which includes some 160 steps of a wooden staircase en route to Strahl Lake.
If you’re not interested in climbing back up all of those stairs on the return, there IS an alternate route that begins at the Strahl Lake dam.
That being said, if that’s the route you’re taking, you’re probably not the type of person who reads hiking blogs. So we’ll stick with starting at the Nature Center.
Throughout much of the year you’ll find park visitors fishing on the banks of Strahl Lake. Being in a more remote section of the park, this area sees less traffic than the larger Ogle Lake, and at 7 acres it is less than half the size.
Although it’s a nice little hike, it does not connect to other trail systems, so we’ve ranked Strahl Lake lower on our list of favorite hiking trails in Brown County State Park. However, just south of the Nature Center is the short interpretive Discovery Trail, and adding the center and Discovery Trail to the day’s itinerary might be the perfect combination for a hiking outing with children.
Use this map on your hike!
Load this web page on your phone while you still have service.
Then, tap the arrow icon on the map to show your current location and follow along.
Tap the layers icon to switch between topo, satellite and other helpful map layers.
To save battery life, put your device in airplane mode. GPS still works even without service!
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