Riverfront Trail 2025 07

The last stop on our anniversary trip was the Riverfront Trail in Stevens Point. This is part of the 30 mile long Green Circle Trail, which circles Stevens Point. Of course this was the hottest hike of the weekend.

Key Features

• Scenic Wisconsin River Views: The trail runs directly along the shore of the Wisconsin River, offering picturesque views and opportunities for photography, especially at sunset.
• Paved Surface: The trail is asphalt-paved, making it suitable for a variety of activities including hiking, jogging, and biking, and ensuring accessibility.
• Connection to Bukolt Park: It seamlessly integrates with Bukolt Park, providing access to additional amenities like picnic areas, fishing spots, restrooms, playgrounds, a swimming beach, and a lighted baseball diamond.
• Connection to Pfiffner Pioneer Park: The trail also passes through Pfiffner Pioneer Park, featuring a lagoon with a fountain, a bandshell, picnic areas, and restrooms.
• Access to Historic Downtown Stevens Point: The trail provides easy access to the vibrant historic downtown district, allowing users to explore unique architecture, specialty shops, and local restaurants.
• Historical Significance: The trail recalls the history of the lumber industry and pioneer settlements in Stevens Point, with the Wisconsin River itself being a historical transportation route for timber.
• Dog-Friendly: The trail is welcoming to dog owners, offering a scenic environment for walks with pets (remember to bring your own waste bags).
• Wheelchair Accessible: The Riverfront Trail is generally wheelchair accessible, ensuring that a wide range of individuals can enjoy the natural beauty.
• Part of the Green Circle Trail System: As a segment of the 27-mile Green Circle Trail, it offers connections to an even larger network of trails, providing extended opportunities for recreation and exploration through varied landscapes.
• Wildlife Viewing Opportunities: The natural setting along the river and through parks provides chances to spot local wildlife and enjoy birdwatching.

Review

We arrived in Stevens Point around mid morning and parked in Pfiffner Pioneer Park. This park is just off the west side of the downtown Stevens Point. And lays along the Wisconsin River.

We expected the hike to be a warm but breezy stroll along the water front similar to what we saw in Wausau. Unfortunately that was not the case.

The temperature was in the mid 80s, which for those of us who grew up in Wisconsin is hot, but it’s not so much the heat as the humidity. I realize this is nothing to what happens in the southern states. It can get hotter and was the weekend before.

However normally the heat can be mitigated with a nice breeze. We normally get this breeze along the water in the Fox Valley. This is what we expected on a walk along the Wisconsin River. Previously we saw that same breeze in Wausau along the river. In Stevens Point that day the air was still.

We started out from our car after gearing up. Crossing the street and into the park we walked through a butterfly garden with spiraling walkways. I took a couple of pictures of flowers before we continued through to the trail.

At the Riverfront Trail, we started south to see if we could find a park sign to photograph. We walked all the way to the Clark St bridge. Once I got my picture we turned north. Walking a short way until my wife noticed an Osprey hovering over the bridge hunting for fish.

We stopped and waited to see if the Osprey would get closer to us. I took a few pictures but it never got as close as I wanted. So we turned back north and continued our hike.

Pfiffner Pioneer park is mostly just a river front park. Benches and stylized light poles line the trail tracing the river bank. There is a stage for concerts and plays however while we were there it had been co-opted by a small homeless encampment.

As we continued along the river we reached the end of Pfiffner Pioneer Park. The park was capped off by a small marina and a boat launch.

The trail continued along the river as we walked out of the park. With the river on our left, a neighborhood lay to our right. Homes and city streets replaced the green fields of Pfiffner Pioneer Park.

This is one of the features of the Green Circle Trail. It connects parks while circling Stevens Point by traversing through neighborhoods. Which makes it easy for the residents of Stevens Point to walk out of their driveway and start a hike.

While the 30 mile loop is not a hike that any one could make in one day, a short drive to a different park could provide the opportunity to walk different sections if your neighborhood hike gets monotonous.

This segment of neighborhood was short. We quickly arrived in Bukolt Park. This park is much larger that Pfiffner Pioneer Park. This park contains multiple softball diamonds, a skate park, a boat launch, and other amenities.

We continued our trip to the north section of the park. Here there are pavilions and a small pond but the trail leaves the riverfront to venture into a wooded area.

Eventually we reached the end of the park and were facing another neighborhood section of the trail. At this point I urged my wife to return to our car. The heat was starting to get to me and even my wife was commenting on the lack of breeze.

Though we could have gone further, I pushed for us to return to our car. So drenched with sweat, we walked the trails back to our car.

The Green Circle is definitely a trail to visit if you like hiking. With many parks to start out from there is a number of ways to structure your hike to your liking.

We have only hiked two sections of the trail so far, Iverson Park and the Riverfront Trail. I like the Iverson Park section more so than the Riverfront Trail. But other people might like the Riverfront trail because of its proximity to the downtown area.

Please let me know if you have hiked the Green Circle in the comments below. And thank you again for reading my blog. I am getting close to the one year mark from my first post here and I really appreciate the support I’ve gotten from you all over the last year.