Round-trip: 4 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Baraboo, WI
The East Bluff Trail is the main route to the park cliffs where you might see bald eagles, turkey vultures, or peregrine falcons. This trail follows along the east side of the lake, specifically along the top of the East Bluff Ridge. You will see pretty quickly why this is a popular rock climbing area. There are great views from the top of the cliffs of Devil’s Lake and the rocky bluffs and then continue eastward along the East Bluff basin where it joins the Ice Age Trail on the south side of the lake.
If you just want to see the view, you can start from the north shore trailhead and hike the East Bluff Trail up to the first overlook which is just above Elephant Cave by Elephant Rock. This shorter look and return will take about 1 hour.
After the first lookout, the trail continues to go up and down and around the quartzite outcrops with many spectacular views along the way before intersecting with the Balanced Rock trail on the south end. From here, the East Bluff trail continues east. This section of the trail connects to Devil’s Doorway and the Potholes Trail. Near the Potholes Trail, the official Ice Age Trail will turn north, while the East Bluff Trail will continue east until it becomes the CCC trail. You will see amazing overlooks and rock outcrops and cliffs all along the way.