On an early September gray day, I hiked a loop route, going around Lac du Bois, up a forest trail to Wheeler Pond, then back on the Wheeler Mountain Road to the grasslands, past another pond, and around Lac du Bois.    With some side routes long the way, it was about a 6 km route.   There are several faint trails to connect to the upper road, but this trail was the best one I have found, winding through open forests on a well-marked trail.   

To connect the trails follow a single track at the west end of Lac du Bois.    The area can be a bit overgrown.    As the trail climbs, there are two side trails going east, but ignore those and continue up the track.     There are some trail markings along the way.    Near Wheeler Pond there is a gate in the fenceline, and the Wheeler Mountain Road is just a bit farther.    I went down to Wheeler Pond and explored the old homestead site before hiking the double track back to the Lac du Bois grasslands track.   The grasslands pond (I call it Verdant Pond) was low, but it is always a scenic spot.    The whole route was quiet.    This is a rewarding loop route through the forest.

Shared here are some photos from the hike and exploration of the area.    Click any photo to go the album (with captions) or just scroll through the photos in the embedded slideshow:

There are a number of other routes to explore on Wheeler Mountain, with another hike in the list for this fall.