There are a lot of small parks in Appleton. Most of which are too small for trails themselves but offer a potential hike for locals. So as we have been looking for new ideas for posts my wife suggested we do a multiple park review for autumn.
So over the last two weeks we visited 4 parks, hiking around. Taking videos with the GoPro and photos with the Cannon T7.
Woodland Park
For the first park we chose Woodland Park about two weeks ago. Adjacent to Horizons Elementary School, Woodland Park is mostly a small forest. We parked at the school and started our hike.
For these hikes we decided to forgo the backpack mount for the GoPro. My wife instead would be taking short videos with the GoPro on a collapsible monopod.
Visible from the road and the parking lot is a concrete sidewalk lining the north and west sides of the park. The surrounding neighborhood is connected to these sidewalks and any number of paths could create a good hike.
So we started out with the idea that we would walk the side walk to see what we would see. Almost immediately though, we found that there were paths through the forest. A small plaque at the start of the first trail indicated that the trails were created by an Eagle Scout. However they were created 12 years ago.
We hiked through the overgrown trees for a while taking pictures and videos. Endeavoring to catch the fall color change but most of the trees here just started changing.
Prairie Hill Park
Prairie Hill Park is situated between Northland and Capital Drive in Appleton. Snuggled along side of Hwy 41 but the only official parking is off of First Ave in Grand Chute.
A week and a half ago we parked in the parking lot and hiked the paved and grass paths of this small park. Named after the sledding hill situated on the south end of the park. The park also features a pond.
We spent some time taking videos and pictures. The trees around us showed a little more change. But, most of the trees were still pretty green.
We walked north from the parking lot along the paved path. We paused at the pond to grab out media and continued north.
At the north end of the park there is a small round about connected to the paved path. You could park here and walk the trails as well.
We turned around and walked the grass paths on our return hike. The surrounding neighborhood has no sidewalks but the area is isolated from Northland so the surrounding roads are safe enough to hike.
Highview Park
The third park we visited for this post waited a little more than a week. It is situated between Richmond and Meade St, north of Hwy 41 in Appleton.
All of the surrounding neighborhood has sidewalks connected to the park. The park has multiple sidewalks branching out from the center of the park.
There is no parking lot so we instead parallel parked by the park. Our visit was in the evening and we were loosing the light fast. However the park was rather busy. Dozens of the local residents passed us as we wandered the trails of the park.
There was a small thicket on the south end of the park where a small stream must have cut through before the neighborhoods were built up. There was a little water standing in the brush.
It was near this thicket that we found something we see on almost every walk. I don’t mention it much but there always seems to be some kind of tree or bush with red berries on it. During this occasion my wife took the GoPro and filmed the tree.
What was more interesting though was the trail we found leading north out of the park. Quickly looking at Google as we walked up the trail, we noticed it would lead us back to Meade St. Which means that this trail could be linked up with the Apple Creek Trail near Thrivent Financal.
We walked north on the path till it turned east to Meade St. At this point west and north of the trail the neighborhood is still in development. As we looked across the new road, empty lots, and farm field we noticed a small group of Sandhill Cranes feeding in the field.
My camera woman decided to try and get a good shot of the cranes with the GoPro. And like a skilled hunter she slowly stalked the birds until they belted out their warning calls.
After the excitement we started back to our car. The week wait between hikes allowed the fall colors to set in. We got lots of images of the sky and the foliage.
Fritsch Park
The next day we decided to walk one last park for the post. Fritsch Park is probably the largest of the four parks. Located in Fox Crossing the park is south of Hwy 441 between Onieda St and Appleton Rd south of Appleton.
We’ve been visiting this park for years. When our kids were younger they loved the play ground there. And we have watched the trees in that area grow for years. Thankfully the tornado that hit Menasha was over a half mile west of this park.
When we arrived Saturday morning the parking lot was packed. Apparently early Saturday mornings they host flag football in the fall. We were thankfully able to find a spot to park.
We got out of our car and started to hike the parameter of the park. We tried our best to keep away from the games but there may be a few unrecognizable cameos in our images.
We hiked around the park and through the center of the park. The fall color seems to have hit the Appleton area. However it won’t last long so get out there and hike.
Conclusion
Though these were short hikes they were enjoyable. I believe that we got a lot of good media to share with you. And if you’re looking for some short or long hikes these parks might be able to accommodate you.
During the winter we like these small hikes as it gets cold fast. So if you’re looking to get out doors during the winter check these parks out.
Thanks again for reading. Please comment below and check out my social media. Hope to see you next week.