Kinnickinnic State Park

Green Loop

Address: W12192 757th Ave, River Falls, WI 54022

Website: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/kinnickinnic/recreation/biking

Maintained by : Willow Kinni Mountain Bike Club

Fee: Requires a Wisconsin State Park Vehicle Admission Sticker. $8 daily or $38 annual for out of state residents. Cheaper if you’ve got WI plates.

Amenities: Picnic Table (No restrooms, water, or trash cans at the trailhead. Available in the main park.)

***7/15/23 Update – The trail head now has a port-a-potty!!***

Kinnickinnic State Park is in western Wisconsin, near River Falls. From the Twin Cities you would either take I-94 to Hudson or Hwy 10 to Prescott and then get on County F. It’s about 45 minutes from Minneapolis, so some might consider it a haul, but I think it’s worth it. Or I live in Red Wing and the 40 minutes to Kinni makes it one of the closest trails to me.

Kinnickinnic is my absolute favorite trail, at least that I’ve found thus far. It’s fast and fun and flowy. And oh so scenic. And there are pine trees! If you are looking for technical features, this is not your park. There is not more than a rock garden, nothing artificial, no skinnies, no bridges, no jumps. But if you are looking to cruise through the trees, with fast sweeping downhill and fun turns, this is your ticket.

Important to note, the mountain bike trailhead is not in the main section of the park. I enter “Red Trail Head” into Google Maps to get to the right spot. It’s really just a gravel parking lot in the middle of a field. It is also lacking a lot of the amenities you’ll find at the popular parks closer to the cities. There isn’t even a porta-potty at the trailhead, but there are toilets available in the park proper, or it is only a few minutes into River Falls or Prescott to visit a Kwik Trip. I have a kiddo with a nervous bladder and the lack of proper toilet was a problem the first few times we came here. A stop at the gas station before and after the ride worked for us.

Another difference and possible deterrent, you’ll need to pay for a Wisconsin State Park Pass to park at the trailhead or in the park. For out-of-state plates, a daily pass is $8 or $38 for an annual pass. I recommend the annual pass, because I think once you’ve tried the trail out you’ll want to come back. And it will also get you into Willow River State Park in Hudson for awesome mountain biking, hiking and camping. You can buy a pass ahead of time online or they have a pay station at the trail head, it’s on the left as you enter the lot.

There are a total of 10 miles of trail at Kinni, all named after mushrooms. Today I’m going to focus on the 2.5 mile, green “Puffball” loop, but I enjoy the blue/black trails too. They are truly intermediate trails, not like the “blue” at Carver Lake, so I do not consider them beginner friendly.

There are two trails leading out of the parking lot, a hiking trail and the mountain bike trail. The bike trail is on the right. Both head out through the prairie and into the woods and are essentially the same trail, as it is multi-use. I’m not sure why they have separate access trails, other than it causes most hikers to walk in the opposite direction of the bike trail, which helps make sure they see you coming. Hikers yield to bikers.

The green loop is about 2.5 miles long, which is an OK length for a beginner, and if you want more (but aren’t ready for the blue loops) you can easily do it a 2nd or 3rd time. There is a bigger, longer climb here than some of the other beginner trails, and little legs get tired. On the plus side, there are two benches you can stop to catch your breath and have a drink. But once you are on the trail there is no opportunity to turn around, so you are committed to at least the 2.5 miles at a go.

It helps me to break the trail into sections to talk about it, so I’ve color coded another map. This is just the green section, and it’s all called Puffball, these labels are completely my own.

You start out from the trailhead on a short section of two-way trail to get to the woods. When you get the split, hang right, the left trail is where you’ll come out at the end. The trail is well marked, but I found these signs confusing when I first encountered item. The top is the trail you are on, and the bottom is the next cross trail. So this sign means go right to stay on Puffball, where you’ll eventually meet Lost Morel, not that you are somehow on the green and blue trail at the same time.

You enter the woods immediately into a small grove of pines. Ah pines. But they soon give way to other trees as you come to the first and really only feature on the trail, a giant pile of rocks. Some may call this a rock garden, but I call it rocks for no reason, hang right to skip it.

You’ll soon come to the the intersection with Lost Morel, the blue trail. Stay to the left to keep on the green trail.

The rest of “The Top Part” winds back and forth across the edge of a small ridge. There are short climbs followed by fun flowy bits, but for the most part this section is pretty level and easy. You occasionally pop out of the woods into the prairie for minute and then head back into the woods.

You will eventually come to a split with a second blue trail, Maitake Mayhem.

This is fun rocky descent that short cuts back to the green trail. I think it is doable for most riders…

But if this is your first ride or you don’t like rocks, the green trail does a gentle switch back to get you to the same spot.

At this point, you’ve moved onto what I am calling the descent. The view opens up as there is less undergrowth in the hardwood forest. You make your way down to the edge of the ravine above the Kinnickinnic River. It is fast and twisty and so much fun. And it ends in a bench, which is the perfect place to to rest up and drink some water before the climb that is coming next.

Liam and I take a selfie every time we stop at this bench. It’s a tradition.

Unfortunately, after your rest on the bench, it is time for The Climb. Now, I don’t want to scare anyone, it isn’t really that bad. But all that fun downhill means we need to go back up, and it is mostly uphill for quite a bit.

But eventually the climb is “mostly” over and you pop out into a bit of prairie and find another bench to recuperate on if need be.

After this, there is the tiny bit of uphill, and then you are back in the pine trees and almost done with your loop.

Here is where you will meet up with the trail in from the hiking trail head. It is well marked as hiking only, no bikes, keep left to stay on the bike trail.

And before long you’ll have to make the decision, was 2.5 miles enough, or do you need more? Go left to do another loop or take a right to head back to the parking lot.

Now there is one last bit of pine trees before you are spit back onto the two-way trail to the parking lot.

So that is the Puffball loop at Kinnickinnic State Park. My all time favorite green trail, which although it is short on “extras” makes up for it in shear fun. It might not be a great trail for your first time out, but once you’ve got a few miles under your belt, I hope you give it a go, because I think you’ll love it.