Chippewa River State Trail: Caryville to Meridean
A bicycle ride on the Chippewa River State Trail from Caryville to Meridean offers a relaxing tour through the scenic countryside. The route is 6.7 miles long. The surface of the path is oil-based asphalt emulsion, in fair condition. A small trailhead in Caryville serves the basic needs of cyclists. It contains a parking lot, information kiosk, self-registration station, and restrooms. It is located off Wisconsin State Highway 85, and is 11 miles from Eau Claire. Next to the trailhead is Luer’s, small-town grocery store with a variety of goods.
Caryville is a small community in Dunn County. It was founded in the mid-19th century. In its heyday, it had a train station, post office, and Pony Express office. The nearby Caryville ferry crossed the Chippewa River from 1910 to 1964, when a bridge was finally built.
Returning to the Chippewa River State Trail, it borders two state natural areas in the section from Caryville to Meridean. West of Caryville, the trail runs along the edge of the Lower Chippewa State Natural Area. It winds through peaceful forests and crosses Coon Creek. After leaving the natural area, the trail continues through forests. It crosses Rock Creek and travels close to the Chippewa River around a large bend, and next to a high, shaded bluff.
For 2.5 miles, the Chippewa River State Trail travels next to the bluff of the river valley. In this section, Brush Island comes into view to the right (north). The low, sandy island in the Chippewa River is home to Caryville Savanna State Natural Area. The natural area is known for its exceptionally high-quality oak barrens. The preserve protects prairie grasses and groves of various oaks: bur, white, black, and Hill’s oaks.
Continuing past Brush Island, the trail departs the river’s edge and the line of bluffs. It passes by forests on the north side of the trail, and farmland to the south. In late summer, brilliant fields of sunflowers may be seen through the trees surrounding the trail.
It is two miles from Brush Island to Meridean. From Caryville, Meridean is 6.7 miles down the trail. The trailhead is located at the path’s junction with 730th Street. It has a picnic table, cooking grill, and information kiosk. Just west of 730th Street, and on the trail, is a historical marker about the community’s unique past.
To access the trailhead by car, travel on Wisconsin State Highway 85 from Caryville. County Highway O intersects the state highway at two places. Turn left (north) on County Highway O at its first or second intersection; both arrive in Meridean. From the county road in Meridean, take 730th Street north a short distance to the trailhead parking lot.
From its origins in 1863 on nearby Happy Island, Meridean was a busy lumbering town in the 1880s. The thriving community contained sawmills, a post office, school, church, store, ferry, and 135 people. Its success was dependent upon the power of the Chippewa River. The town’s name is said to have come from Mary Dean, the daughter of a lumber baron who died in this area while traveling upriver in a steamboat with her mother to join her father.
After the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad built a railway along the south side of the river, Meridean began to die out. Throughout the 1890s, businesses, residents, and the post office moved to a new emerging settlement on the south bank of the river along the rail line. Trade changed from lumbering to farming. Now the original Meridean on Happy Island is just a ghost town. The boat landing at the end of 730th Street is all that remains of where for 50+ years, a ferry carried people across the Chippewa River to Happy Island.
Map of trailheads and addresses along this section of the trail.
The route from Caryville to Meridean on the Chippewa River State Trail provides a leisurely and picturesque ride. The most scenic section is the first five miles west of Caryville. Here the trail travels close to the Chippewa River. By a large bend in the river, the trail advances through a narrow strip of land between the looming bluffs and the flowing waterway. It makes for a stunning view and a thrilling ride. The forest in the low valley is thick and lush. Closer to Meridean, the landscape opens up to agricultural fields. However, a corridor of trees surround the path for most of the route.
Trail last ridden and documented in September, 2020.
