Liam Beran
A sign for the Ice Age Trail.
Holy Hill’s own trails mix with the Ice Age Trail.
Wisconsin, for all its joys, isn’t much known for trail running, especially not in this part of the state.
To get the real leaping-over-trees, try-not-to-break-your-ankles trail running, most runners — this one included — would point you to somewhere in the Driftless Area. That region is topographically rich, as around 11,000 years ago, it was untouched by the Laurentide ice sheet that flattened much of the state, allowing existing waterways to erode large valleys and hills.
But what if you’re tired of Devil’s Lake?
Holy Hill, about a 75-minute drive from Madison, is known as a prime spot in Wisconsin to view fall colors; the Roman Catholic basilica there is also well worth a stop. It’s also a great place for trail running, albeit for a different reason than the Driftless.
The area, part of Kettle Moraine, is a product of glacial collision: As large chunks of ice broke off around 20,000 years ago, they created depressions in the earth below (kettles) and deposited everything they had carried along the way (moraines).
For running, park at the Holy Hill Trailhead parking lot off the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive on Donegal Road south of Hartford. Facing the road, turn left and run .15 miles — if you look on the right, you’ll see a trailhead for the Ice Age Trail. To stay on route, channel your inner Dorothy and follow the yellow bricks painted on trees. You’ll be immediately met with a steep climb acquainting you with the journey ahead: a series of running up glacial kames, hills formed by meltwater, and sprinting down into the kettles.
As I leaped over one downed tree during my run in mid-April, most of the red and white oak trees were budding, but hadn’t sprouted leaves yet. It was quiet, far enough away from the road that the only sounds were birds’ chirping and my breathing. At noon, it’s impossible to avoid hearing the church bells from the basilica. You can catch comforting glimpses of the church throughout your run, especially if you decide to scale the kames.
And catch some elevation you will. By the end of my seven-mile out-and-back, my watch told me that I had an elevation change of about 900 feet — a little under a fifth of a mile.
Liam Beran
The Stations of the Cross.
One route features the Stations of the Cross.
After the run, I wiped the mud off my legs and made the four-minute drive up to the basilica. The largest building was built in 1931 and, in 2006, was named a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. Even on this Monday afternoon there were a few families milling around the grounds, which offer panoramic sights of the Kettle Moraine. I overheard one couple say that this was a destination spot for their vacation.
Even if you’re not a worshipper, there’s plenty of Romanesque Revival architecture to enjoy. On prior visits, I’ve made the walk through a hillside path of 14 ornately carved Bedford stone shrines depicting Jesus’ crucifixion, worthwhile for the emotional style and mastery with which the sculptor depicted the scenes.
But my destination this visit is not the trail, but the Holy Hill Café, a simple coffeeshop in the basilica’s Old Monastery Inn and Retreat Center — the shrine’s original monastery, built in 1920. I spotted the café while visiting after a prior run and learned it’d been revamped in 2025 with new menu options.
A girl in a hoodie takes my order and my food comes out about four minutes later. Don’t expect fine dining. The chicken bacon avocado wrap I order is a little dry and you’d be hard pressed to taste any avocado; the drip coffee I have alongside it has some pleasing chocolatey notes, but is watery.
But what the space lacks in sophistication it makes up for in proximity and coziness. After a long run, there’s something comforting about grabbing a book, sipping a coffee and gazing out the wooden window frames at the hills and valleys of Kettle Moraine — all while a framed photo of Pope Leo XIV smiles at you from the wall.
