Newton Blackmour State Trail: Seymour to Black Creek
The Newton Blackmour State Trail journeys primarily through flate farm country for 6.6 miles from Seymour to Black Creek. The path varies little in elevation throughout this section. The surface is in fair condition, with most of the trail composed of two tracks of crushed limestone with a grassy median. Part of the route runs adjacent to Wisconsin State Highway 54, and it crosses the highway once.
Nagel Park in downtown Seymour serves as a basic trailhead. It is next to the trail at the junction of Wisconsin State Highway 55 (Main Street) and Depot Street. The park has street parking, a playground, gazebo, park benches, and picnic tables. There are no public restrooms or drinking water available.
The park is home to two museums. The Seymour Community Museum houses the local historical society’s artifacts and records, and is open on summer weekend afternoons. The former depot of the “Green Bay Route” Railroad houses the second museum. The main exhibit is an HO-scale model railroad managed by the Seymour Model Railroad Club. It is open the first and third Sunday of each month.
A unique statue is also found in Nagel Park. It honors Charlie Nagreen, who Seymour residents claim invented the hamburger. The local story is that Charlie served the first hamburgers at an 1885 fair in Seymour. Every summer the city holds a large “burgerfest” at Nagel Park to commemorate “Hamburger Charlie’s” famous creation.
The land on which Seymour developed was originally the home of the Ho-Chunk and Menominee Nations. Treaties with the U.S. Government resulted in their removal in the 1820s-1850s. White Americans and European immigrants began settling on the land in 1857. Seymour was established in 1868. It was named after Horatio Seymour, New York governor and Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1868 election.
Today the small city of Seymour offers trail-goers restaurants, fast-food establishments, and convenience stores. Very close to the trail on Main Street sits Hotel Seymour. This red brick, two story hotel was built in 1889 to serve travelers using the “Green Bay Route” Railroad. It was first known as Hotel Falck after its creator George Falck. Today the building houses a supper club. Steaks and seafoods are the main menu items, and the Chicken Cordon Bleu is a local favorite and highly recommended.
Returning to the Newton Blackmour State Trail, the path leaves Nagel Park and heads west across Wisconsin State Highway 55 (Main Street). Over the next half mile, it passes business and homes, crosses Elizabeth Street and Park Lane, and departs the city. The path next crosses French Road. About 1.5 miles from the trailhead, the route bends slightly southwest.
From this curve, it is 0.8 mile to Wisconsin State Highway 54. This is a busy road with fast-moving traffic. Trail-goers should exercise extreme caution when crossing the highway. Use of bike headlights/taillights and bright clothing are recommended.
From Seymour to Black Creek, the trail travels through open farmland and small hardwood forests. Some sections of the trail are surrounded by a corridor of trees. Since little shade is provided even in these segments, sunscreen is recommended.
After crossing Wisconsin State Highway 54, the Newton Blackmour State Trail continues heading southwest. Less than a mile from that intersection, the highway returns along the trail’s south side. After another half mile, the path journeys along the northern edge of Fallen Timbers Environmental Center lands. Here, a hiking path leads south from the trail and disappears into a dense hardwood forest.
Fallen Timbers Environmental Center preserves 456 acres of lowland woods and meadows. Its environmental education laboratory was established in 1975 and is now used by six school districts and two colleges. Each year, Fallen Timbers serves 16,000 students and teachers. Hiking trails are open to the public after school hours and on weekends.
Fallen Timbers is situated on an ancient glacial lakebed, with soils of clay, muck, and sandy ridges. Common tree species include balsam poplar, swamp white oak, bur oak, red oak, green ash, quaking aspen, speckled alder, sugar maple, and red maple.
Over 500 species of butterflies and moths have been seen here. Fallen Timbers is also home to garter snakes, water and land insects, and even black bear. Other mammals include white-tailed deer, bobcat, coyote, raccoon, and opossum.
Car access to Fallen Timbers is from County Highway PP, south of Wisconsin State Highway 54. The Newton Blackmour State Trail crosses the county road 2.2 miles from the Seymour trailhead. From the path, it’s less than a mile south to the environmental center.
Back on the trail, from County Highway PP it is less than two miles to Black Creek. Before entering the village, the trail passes a large wooded wetlands to the south. A trailhead is located in Veterans Park, west of Maple Street. It has two small parking lots, benches, picnic tables, and garbage cans. There’s also a water refill station and bicycle self-repair station.
Map of trailheads and addresses along this section of the trail.
To access the parking lot on Maple Street by car, turn right (east) from Wisconsin State Highway 47 (Main Street) in Back Creek onto Railroad Street. Proceed one block and turn left (north) on Maple Street. The lot is immediately on the left side of the road. The other parking area is found off Main Street to the east, next to the trail intersection.
The people of the Menominee Nation first lived in this area, calling it Enāēnohnyah or “Little Walks Plainly.” In the late 1800s White Americans and European immigrants began coming, and Black Creek was settled in 1862 by Thomas Burdick and his son Abraham. The community was known as Middleburg due to its location between Green Bay, Shawano, and Appleton. When the village incorporated in 1904, it changed its name to “Black Creek.” The name comes from a small stream flowing on the northern edge of the village.
Although small, Black Creek has some services for visiting trail-goers. It has a grocery store and convenience mart, with a supper club and café very close to the trail. Mile 22 Roastery and Café is less than 175 yard north of the trail on Main Street. This quaint coffee shop offers hot and cold coffee drinks, tasty breakfast and lunch foods. Their breakfast burrito is a delicious, popular menu item. Directly next to the trail, the Black Creek Café is a sit-down diner offering breakfast and lunch.