Hixon 50

The Hixon 50 – now a 5K, 10K, 25K and 50K race – will take place through La Crosse’s lush Hixon forest, nestled in the middle of bluff country. Enjoy views of the Mississippi River Valley from over 600 feet up in the air while tackling a challenging course in whichever distance you choose.

The race starts and finishes on top of the bluffs at the Human Powered Trails on Cty. Rd. FA. When in doubt, look for the big white weather ball on the top, this is our home base!

The 50K course will consist of two 25K loops starting and finishing at the La Crosse weather station on County road FA. There will be 4 aid stations during each loop occurring approximately every 3 miles for a total of 9 aid stations for the race. The course will be lined with pink flags, and all trail intersections will be heavily marked with signs, flags, and arrows.

The 25k loop can be divided into 3 key sections:

Upper Hixon: Consists of 6 miles of winding single track with quick turns, tight squeezes between rocks and trees, technical climbs and fast descents. This section is broken up in the middle with a wider prairie loop on top of the bluff leading to and away from Aid Station #1.

Quarry: Leaving Upper Hixon and Aid Station #2, you will find yourself in an old sandstone quarry, which is wide open with the trail meandering through the middle of it. After descending from the top ridge, you will find yourself in a longer, consistent grade climb back to the top of the bluff, slowly working back into the wooded area of the forest. This section ends with a .5 mile ridge crossing on a dead end county asphalt road.

Lower Hixon: In-between the two short road sections, you will hit one of the most scenic lookouts of the entire course, where you will find Aid Station #3. Enjoy the view before wrapping down and around the exposed bluff face, then climbing back out to the road you came in on. Less than .25 mile back out on the asphalt will bring you to the longest downhill of the course to Aid Station #4. Be careful to not overdo the 2.5 mile winding downhill section, because on the other side of it, you will hit rolling single track and eventually a 1 mile climb back to the top of the bluff and eventually to the finish line.