Wren Falls trail leads you to a rushing waterfall then takes you over a few new bridges and the location of an old gold mine scam.
Round-trip: 10 km
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Mellen, WI
This hike is the Casey Sag Road to Wren Falls section of the North Country Trail. From Mellen, take Wis. Hwy. 77 east. Go left/north on the gravel Casey Sag Road. Look for the trail access, which is on both sides of the road at the Gold Mine Creek Bridge. Park along the road and head west on the trail.
There is a story about a gold mine scam that happened at the location of this trail. It seems that sometime in the 1800s some bad guys sold shares in a fictitious motherload of gold to some unsuspecting buyers, and then ran off with the money. So that the investors and anyone else coming by would believe the story, he even had equipment set up there. When you hike along the trail you look for the old steam boiler and a couple of water-filled mine shafts providing evidence to the story.
This is best done as an out and back hike as there really isn’t anywhere to park near the end of the fall of the trail. Not far after you leave the trailhead at Casey Sag Road you will come to a 34 bridge built in 2011 that crosses a spur of the Gold Mine Creek. At about 1km in you will get to a ravine where the ‘gold mine’ was located. Follow the well-marked NCT trail all the way to the falls. The hike has a few views from some rock outcrops and the area, in general, is just beautiful. The waterfalls are only 6 or 7 meters but the narrow chasm makes it seem much more dramatic. Return the way you came, back to the Casey Sag Road trailhead.