Fox Trot Trail 2025

Last week was a bust because of the cold. This week though the weather cleared up. So I decided to take a walk down by the river.

Key Features

• Distinctive Trail Markers: You can easily navigate the path by following blue fox paw prints painted directly on the sidewalks. When you reach a specific point of interest, you’ll see a blue fox head logo indicating a historical stop.
• The 2.2-Mile Loop: The trail is a manageable 2.2-mile loop, making it an ideal length for a casual afternoon walk. It is fully paved and accessible for all ages and fitness levels, though there are some inclines when moving between the river “flats” and the downtown bluffs.
• Houdini Plaza Starting Point: The trail officially begins at Houdini Plaza (121 W. College Ave), named after the world-famous magician Harry Houdini, who spent much of his childhood in Appleton.
• 16 Historical Points of Interest: There are 16 designated stops along the route. Each stop corresponds to a brochure or mobile app entry that explains the history of the location, including sites related to the paper industry, famous residents, and local architecture.
• Riverfront Views: A significant portion of the trail takes you down into the Fox River “flats.” This area offers picturesque views of the water, the industrial history of the paper mills, and the local dam system.
• Lawrence University Campus: The trail winds through the heart of the Lawrence University campus, passing iconic buildings like Main Hall and the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, which are staples of Appleton’s cultural and educational history.
• Connection to the Newberry Trail: The Fox Trot Trail intersects with the Newberry Trail, a longer paved path that runs along the river. This allows walkers to extend their journey toward Telulah Park if they want a longer workout.
• Wildlife Spotting: Despite being in the city, the river section of the trail is a prime spot for birdwatching. It is common to see pelicans, bald eagles, egrets, and herons hunting near the water and the dams.
• Proximity to Downtown Dining: Because the trail starts and ends on College Avenue, it is steps away from dozens of local coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques, making it easy to turn the walk into a full “day out” in the city.
• Educational Museums: The route passes by several major cultural institutions, including The History Museum at the Castle and the Trout Museum of Art, allowing walkers to stop in and dive deeper into the local culture.

Review

Its been over a year since I talked about this trail. Though it is one of my favorite in the valley. It is part of the greater chain of trails that follow the Fox River through the Fox Valley.

Yesterday I started my day out by parking under Oneida St in the Jones Park lot. Just after I got out of my car I started hearing House Sparrows chirping from under the bridge.

Locating them perched under the cable conduit, I took a few pictures. Then I started my hike.

Walking down the sidewalk toward Water St and Old Oneida, I crossed them both to end up strolling south on the east side of Old Oneida.

Once I passed the old paper mill turned apartments, I was able to start snapping some pictures of the river. Then I saw the first of many ducks, but this was a different duck than I remember seeing in the past. It had a green head like a mallard but its body was mostly white and black.

I was not able to get a picture of this one but later in my hike I caught another photo of this species. A Common merganser flew from under the bridge.

It was a fair day for a December, just under 32 degrees. So there were more than a couple on the trails. As I neared the beginning of the North Island Trail section I could see multiple people walking my direction.

I turned east on to the North Island Trail and greeted the people passing me on the trail. Watching the river as I walked down the trail I could see a mostly black bird floating down the river as I walked. I hastened my gait to try and catch up to the Hooded Merganser for a picture.

Suddenly I saw something larger in the sky above the river. It almost looked like a small plane without a reference point for size. A red tail hawk hovered in the wind over the water.

A few snaps of the hawk and a few more of the ducks in the river, then I continued to Lawe St. Here I made the choice to cross Lawe St and briefly walk across the bridge at the start of the Hydro Electric Heritage Trail.

Ducks were lined up on the ice at the edge of the river and swimming up and down. Walking across the bridge gave me the opportunity to take more pictures and get a photo of the Common Merganser that I missed earlier in the hike.

Returning to Lawe St, I started south to get to the Newberry Trail. My path today was to use the loop created by the North Island Trail and Newberry trail between Lawe and Old Oneida St.

My walk south along Lawe St was fairly uneventful. But the city of Appleton was nice enough to not plow part of the west side walk on Lawe Street. As Lawe Street drops into the valley from College Ave to the north there is only a sidewalk on the west side of the street.

About the halfway point a sidewalk starts on the east side of the street. But the controlled cross walk for the final bridge which only has an east side cross walk was after this unplowed section.

So after playing frogger with traffic along Law St, I got to the Newberry Trail. Turning west I started along side the frozen navigation channel of the river.

A couple passed talking and missing the two deer on the ridge. So I stopped and took a couple of pictures. Continuing along the path to eventually reach Old Oneida St again. Once at Old Oneida I turned north to start the return to my car.

First though I stopped near Pullman’s at Trolley Square to take some more pictures of ducks. Here I got a snap of the third species of Merganser. Red-breasted Mergansers joined the Common and Hooded Mergansers I had the opportunity to snap earlier.

I continued on my way back to my car stopping briefly to take a few videos of the roiling waters under the dam.

I was glad to get back on the trails this weekend. As I have said before this is one of my favorite trails partially because it is sheltered from the wind. But also because of the wild life.

Feel free to tell your stories of this trail or of the bird watching you enjoy doing in the comments. I could always use ideas for new trails to hike. And thank you for visiting.