The loop trail crosses the St. Croix River over the Stillwater Lift Bridge, whose construction began in 1929 and which opened to traffic on July 1st 1931 at a cost of $460,174. The bridge is 1,053 feet long, lifts for boat traffic every 30 minutes, stands 17 feet above the water when lowered and 65 feet when raised, and was later fully restored to its original 1931 condition before reopening for bicycle and pedestrian traffic, with paint matched to the original colors listed on the 1929 plans; it is also on the National Register of Historic Places. The St Croix River Crossing Bridge, opened in 2017, cost $626,400,000 to build, is 4,660 feet long, reaches 150 feet above the water at its highest point, and has a 2% grade, rising 93 feet over its length from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Houlton Hill was excavated in 1930 to make way for the new Lift Bridge; it rises 176 feet in elevation over 2956.8 feet, and its 8% grade makes it a strenuous climb. On the north side of the trail is a historic drainage channel built by Wisconsin Conservation Corps members in the 1930s that remains operational today. The trail is also associated with walking, jogging, and biking, which work the quadriceps, calves, glutes, and hamstring muscles; each additional 5% of incline burns an extra 3 to 5 calories per minute, traveling the trail counterclockwise will likely burn more calories, and walking the entire trail takes about 1.5 hours and about 10,000 steps.

Photo: McGhiever

Houlton, Wisconsin · USA