Cherokee Marsh, Madison WI

October 10, 2011

There was a point in time where all M and I did was fish and not hike. On this particular day, we went to Cherokee Marsh in northeast Madison WI. The weather was warm and the fall colors were abundant. We parked at the entrance and hiked north through the prairie section before cutting west through some woods to get to the Yahara riverside. 

There was a metal boardwalk where M could cast while I snapped photos of the area. As the sun broke through, the cloudy sky swirled in a multitude of orange and pinks, and after a few more casts and no fish in hand, we left. Going back to the car in the dark was harrowing since we had no light and we were unfamiliar with Cherokee Marsh. After our shortcut through the woods turned out to not be a shortcut after all, we finally reached the gravel road that led us back to our car. Overall, Cherokee Marsh was a quaint and quiet retreat from the busy city streets of Madison.

Map: We started at Blue Dot and went north

Map of where we hiked to get to our fishing spot in Cherokee Marsh

Cherokee Marsh

Prairie section

more prairie

Boardwalk in prairie area going over the marsh

Cutting west, we came to this section

Followed the gravel path past some houses to get to Yahara River

Woods before the boardwalk to Yahara River

Trail to Yahara River

Looking back at the trail from the Yahara River

Sun starting to set on Yahara River

M fishing on the boardwalk

Yahara River where M was casting

Sunset on Yahara River

Sunset on Yahara River, Cherokee Marsh

Mound section in Cherokee Marsh

Colorful skies

Boardwalk going back to where we parked our car.

Shortcut through the woods

More of the shortcut

Gravel road back to our car. Gorgeous autumn sky