Winding Falls
Winding Falls Loop
6.6-mile loop with side trips
Hiking time: 3 to 6 hours
Trailhead GPS Coordinates: N44° 01" 06.8' W74° 43" 48.3'
Mankind has allowed the Bog River to be a wild and free-flowing stream for only six miles, from Hitchins Pond to its mouth on Tupper Lake; above this point, a pair of dams has converted the river into a stretch of impounded water. However, within the six miles below Lows Lower Dam, the Bog is a beautiful little river. It is half rapid and half stillwater, winding through a secluded valley.
Within this valley lies Winding Falls. For years this 20-foot-tall cascade was little-known, as none of the footpaths or logging roads converging here were marked or signed for the general public. That status is poised to change, since the state is constructing a trail loop around a section of the lower Bog River that is sure to become a favorite spring hike.
What is now a wilderness valley, split between the Round Lake Wilderness to the south and the Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest to the north, was pieced together over the decades through multiple acquisitions. This has resulted in a checkerboard pattern of forest quality, from patches that have been part of the Forest Preserve for a century to others that
