High Cliff State Park 11/9/2022
High Cliff State Park sits up on the limestone bluffs of the Niagara Escarpment, along the northeast shore of Lake Winnebago. On the evening of November 9th, 2022 I was up there on a crisp, clear fall day, standing by the Red Bird statue on the little stone overlook, watching the sun drop low over the water.
From up here you look out over the largest lake entirely within Wisconsin, with the bare November trees framing the view and one of the trails winding off into the shadows. The sun went down and turned the whole sky a deep, smoky orange, that cold late-fall light that only lasts a few minutes before the dark settles in for the night.
The Red Bird statue is the landmark on that part of the bluff. It is a twelve-foot figure of Chief Red Bird, a leader of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people who was central to the Winnebago War of 1827, and it stands on a granite base looking straight out over the lake. It is a fitting spot for it. I am not sure there is a better view anywhere in the park.
I usually come up here just to walk the trails along the bluff. Once in a while I will climb the observation tower for the higher view, but most days I am happy following the path right along the edge of the cliffs. If you have never watched the sun go down from up here, put it on your list. It is one of the best free views in the whole Fox Valley.
More from High Cliff: spring trilliums in bloom and an evening at the park.
