Trail Sections — Moses Creek Trail

Length:

2.5 miles
Surface:

Crushed granite, boardwalks
Activities:

Hiking, jogging, biking, pets
Parking:

Wilshire Drive parking lot (west) or Hwy. 66 Plover River Trail parking lot (east)

The Moses Creek Trail spans from a parking area along Wilshire Drive (west) to the Highway 66 crossing (east). The west portion of trail features a curvy 1/2 mile boardwalk, the longest on the Green Circle, over a wet woodland. The middle portion follows Moses Creek, a small stream and wetland complex, through natural forest, pine plantations, and over a sedge meadow, providing ample wildlife viewing opportunities. The Moses Creek Meadows natural area offers views of a pristine 160-acre sedge meadow wetland that serves as the headwaters of the creek.

Moses Creek Trail

Features

Moses Creek: A Stream of History

This section of Green Circle crosses Moses Creek, which originates in a 160-acre sedge meadow wetland just north of the trail. In the 1860s, a Polish couple named Regina and Michael Mozuch lived in a portion of what would become Schmeeckle Reserve. The creek was named “Moses” or “Mosey,” which is an Anglicized version of Mozuch. The creek once flowed through Stevens Point and emptied into the Wisconsin River, where it formed a spit of land. Here, George Stevens stored supplies as he traveled upriver to construct a sawmill near Wausau. Stevens Point was named for George Stevens and the “point” of land created by Moses Creek. Due to flooding in downtown, the creek was rerouted into storm sewers below the city in the 1930s. A section of Moses Creek and adjacent wetlands has been restored on the University Trail through Schmeeckle Reserve.

Moses Creek Meadows

A portion of the trail meanders through Moses Creek Meadows, a 33-acre natural area donated to the Friends of Schmeeckle by John and Patty Noel in 2021. The site features a forest of towering oak and pine trees and provides access to a 160-acre northern sedge meadow wetland that forms the headwaters of Moses Creek. A rich diversity of plants and animals call this area home, including pink lady’s slipper orchids, rattlesnake plantain orchids, American woodcock, and barred owls.

Friends volunteers have constructed a boardwalk and viewing deck that can be accessed from the Green Circle Trail, which provides a stunning view of the pristine sedge meadow wetland that makes up the headwaters of Moses Creek. Click here for more information.

Yulga Disc Golf Course

The trail provides access to a popular 18-hole championship level disc golf course. The course is free to play. Click here for more information.

Birding Information (Site #2)

While it’s possible to do the Moses Creek Trail section of the Green Circle in a couple of hours, it can easily provide a full morning of great birding. Whether you experience the wonder of a dawn chorus in May or the call of a lone White-breasted Nuthatch in January, this is a trail well worth taking the time to get to know.

This section of the Green Circle has as its centerpiece an extensive length of winding boardwalk beginning at the Wilshire Drive trailhead. The boardwalk provides a comfortable and quiet path through a beautiful stand of mature mixed hardwood and white pine. In spring and summer Scarlet Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireos, and Pine Warblers frequent the forest canopy and are more often heard than seen. Ovenbirds, Veery, and Wood Thrushes may be heard nearer the forest floor. This area is great habitat for thrushes and Swainson’s, Hermit, and Gray-cheeked are regular spring and fall visitors.

The boardwalk also crosses an area of forested wetland where Chestnut-sided Warblers, Northern Waterthrushes, and American Redstarts may be found all summer. In winter the brushy shrub layer of alders and birch may hold Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and Redpolls.

After passing through a short area of red pine plantation, a second boardwalk crosses an open wetland, one of the best birding spots on the trail. Swamp and Song Sparrows, Sedge Wrens , Yellow and Nashville Warblers as well as Common Yellowthroats and Redstarts are found here throughout the summer. In spring and fall Olive-sided Flycatchers are occasionally spotted here and in winter the tamarack, birch and alders provide food for siskins and redpolls.

Further east, the trail passes through a stand of mature spruce, a winter attraction for White-winged Crossbills and Golden-crowned Kinglets and a good year-round spot for Red-breasted Nuthatches. Where the trail threads through dry pine and oak forest, Eastern Wood Peewees and Indigo Buntings sing along the woodland openings and House Wrens and Redstarts forage in the thicker trail edge shrubs. Four species of woodpecker, including Pileated are year-round residents along the Moses Creek Trail and spring and fall sightings of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are common.