Gibraltar Rock: A favorite hike

For the past twenty years, a hike up to the top of Gibraltar Rock has stretched my legs and refreshed my soul. Gibraltar Rock is a flat-topped butte rising up 200 feet from the surrounding countryside.  Large flat rocks at the edge offer views of the Wisconsin River valley and Lake Wisconsin.    My adult daughter Allie was home this weekend so she accompanied me on today’s early morning foot journey.  Elvis the service dog begged to go along too, while his boy Justin slept in.

We accessed the trail via the Ice Age Trail parking lot on Hwy V about a mile west of Hwy 113 and a few miles south of the Merrimac Ferry.  There are two parking lots on Hwy V.  The eastern parking lot is located at the base of a crumbling blacktop road leading to the top.  In the old days, young lovers drove to the top of Gibraltar Rock to make out. More recently, a gate enforces the restriction against vehicle traffic. The western parking lot is a relatively new addition, completed after a recent state purchase of land and subsequent addition of an Ice Age Trail segment.

Allie and I hiked up the Ice Age Trail to the top, circled down the Ice Age Trail to the vicinity of the eastern parking lot, hiked back up via the crumbling asphalt road, and then returned to the western parking lot via the Ice Age Trail.  The hike is three to four miles and takes about 75-90 minutes depending on the number of scenery stops.

If the hike to the top doesn’t take your breath away, the views will.  Take someone special along to share the memory.