Joas Park: A Hike Off The Beaten Path In Chippewa Falls, WI

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One of the hikes I knew I wanted to do back in Wisconsin was the Joas Park Nature Preserve trail in Chippewa Falls. This is a short drive from Eau Claire and is an easy but not too short trail.

There is very little information out there about the trails here, just that they exist and it’s a 52 acre preserve, which is nice but.. not that helpful. So, here I am. Boots on the ground journalism, right here!

I had gone past here once before just to check it out for a picture I needed but didn’t have time to do the hike. This preserve is tucked away from the main road, down an old dirt (sometimes overgrown) road only accessible by foot or bike.

There is virtually no parking here so be very careful where you do park. Don’t block the roads or gate parking. It’s not great for visiting but does probably mean it won’t be very busy.

Once we were parked, we set off through the tallish grass to get to the actual park area. I would say it’s about 0.7 miles from the parking area to the actual preserve hiking area.

You’ll know when you get to the park because, on the left, there will be a large wood sign over the trail into the woods. Once you get here, it’s about a 0.7 mile hilly figure eight(ish) through the glowing woods.

There are about 100 feet of elevation gain, and they all pretty much happen in the wooded part of the trail. I would say it’s pretty typical Wisconsin woods, but it was really pretty teh day we went, with the sun and all the green glowing.

Part of the trail is along a creek, too, which was really beautiful. It wasn’t busy and I think we only saw one or two other people in there, but, like I said, minimal parking so it makes sense.

After about 0.3 miles in the woods, you will come to a little fork, or sort of an X in the trail. You’re coming from the bottom left. If you want a really short walk, continue to the bottom right.

We went to the top right, then around a short loop and then crossed back from the top left to the bottom right, continuing the rest of the main loop. It’s.. a little confusing in words, but here’s a screenshot of our route tracked on AllTrails.

I don’t think there’s anything particularly notable about the trail itself, it’s a somewhat narrow packed dirt and grass trail, some rocks and some roots as you would expect, and once you’re back on the main loop, it’s downhill back out to the rocky track you first came in on.

We did come out further down than where we started, and I can’t remember if there was an inner trail connecting back to the main entrance or not. Either way, it’s not far from the main entrance to the park area from here.

Now, you can either head back to where you parked, or go the opposite way on the rocky grassy track to the end then turn around.

There isn’t much in the other direction other than more of what you saw on your way in, but if you want a longer hike it’s not like it’s a bad choice to go that way.

From the end of the park loop to the opposite end of the rocky track and back to parking is about 2.2 miles for a total of about 3.7 miles. If you just do parking and the inner loop, it’s about 1.5 miles for the whole thing.

If you want to hike more but don’t want to just be on the rocky track, just do the inner part to parking and then head over to Kemper Woods or the little trail in Irvine Park.

While it’s certainly not the best hike ever, it’s a nice little trail, especially if you want something more secluded but also in town. If you only have time for one hike in Chippewa, I might look elsewhere but if you’ve done a lot in the area or have time for more than one, it’s worth a stop.

We went at the end of May and did get to see a lot of flowers which I enjoyed, so it’s a good place for that if that interests you! You can see them all in the gallery at the end of the post!

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

Where is the Joas Park Trail in Chippewa?

Joas Park is just south of Chippewa Falls, near Casper Park. It’s about 5 minutes from downtown Chippewa, 20 from Eau Claire, and 35 from Menomonie.

The actual preserve is tucked away down an old unused and sometimes overgrown road that’s only open to bikes and foot traffic, and there’s very little parking near the trailhead. This review on Google helped me find it the first time I stopped there.

“Finding this place is your first challenge. The correct address and directions: “300 Old Eau Claire Road, Chippewa Falls, WI Park along the road near the driveway with a Stelter Inc. sign on the gate”. Which leads you to your second problem – parking is non-existent at best, sketchy with a possibility of being towed at worst.”

How long is the Joas Park Trail?

The walk in and the main preserve trail re about 2.5 miles round-trip, and if you go to the end of the road you walked in on after doing the preserve loop, it will be about 3.75 miles for the whole thing.

Is the Joas Park Trail hard?

Nope! This is an easy and mostly flat trail. AllTrails tracked 98 feet of elevation gain but we also went to the end of the road you walk in on after doing the loop in the preserve.

Is the Joas Park Trail worth it?

I think so if you’ve done most of the other hikes in the area, but if you can only choose one, I’d probably skip this one. It’s nice once you’re in the preserve but overall it’s not like WOW. It is beautiful and it is worth it but the parking and walk in are lackluster.