Hixon Forest is a 790-acre forest preserve in the city of La Crosse. While a number of different individuals owned the land that later became Hixon Forest, a La Crosse man, Norris Bachellor proposed purchasing Grandad Bluff in 1909 for the purpose of using it for a quarry. A group of citizens led by Mrs. Ellen J. Hixon, wife of Gideon C. Hixon, was concerned about the possible destruction of the bluff and contributed money to purchase the land. Joseph and Irene Hixon purchased Grandad Bluff for $12,000 and the adjoining property for $600. In 1912, the land was donated to the city of La Crosse to be used as a city park, which would be governed by a park commission.

While early trails existed, the development of trails truly began in 1975. The Greater La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce's Bicentennial Committee was searching for a project to commemorate the nation's bicentennial and decided to build a hiking trail through Hixon Forest. The committee and City Park Department planned the trails, but local civic groups and individuals donated $50,000 worth of labor and materials to build the trails. Signs were erected to mark the trails and to list names of different types of flora and fauna. The Hixon Forest Bicentennial Trail was dedicated on October 10, 1976, and was limited to hikers only.

In 1976, the La Crosse Common Council voted to release the federal government from its lease of the Forest Service watershed laboratory, constructed in 1966 in Hixon Forest, and the city took possession of the building. An initial proposal by a local citizens' group, Citizens' Committee for Environmental Education, proposed that the building be used as a nature center, but the La Crosse City Park Board felt the building might be put to other uses. The citizens' group, who later became the Coalition for Regional Environmental Education Development, continued to promote the use of the building as a nature center. In 1982, Pat Wilson and Barb Frank, made a presentation to the Board of Park Commissioners, and an agreement was reached to turn the building into a nature center.

Hixon Forest Nature Center opened on May 1, 1983 and was operated by The Friends of Hixon Forest Nature Center, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization governed by a board of directors, in cooperation with the City Park and Recreation Department. The Friends were involved in creating nature displays, preparing programs, giving guided walks and maintaining trails. Long-range planning began when the Board of Directors set two-year goals, which included hiring a naturalist. The Friends organization grew to nearly 200 members by March 1987.

The first naturalist/director, Erik Alexander, was hired in 1986 for six months to create and provide programming for area third grade students. The original intention was to hire Alexander to develop programming which volunteers would ultimately carry out after he left. Later the position was extended, and Alexander stayed until August 1989. Third grade classes visited the Nature Center and trails three times during the school year in conjunction with their science curriculum. Students from schools in other cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota also attended programs. Alexander trained additional volunteer naturalists.

The Board of Directors again became involved in long-range planning in November 1986. The creation of a five-year plan was completed in June 1987 and revised in February 1988. In 1988, the Park Board agreed to let the nature center begin charging fees to school groups who attended programs.

The City Parks and Recreation Department provided funding to hire another 1/4 time naturalist in 1988. The Friends of Hixon Forest Nature Center gave additional funds, and Darlene Schubert was hired as a naturalist on a half-time limited term basis in 1988. Her position was full-time by 1991.

Programming at the nature center continued to expand through the 1990s. A fox snake named Squiggles was the first live animal display in the center. Additional open hours were offered as of March 1991. In the summer of 1991, the first summer day camp was offered to first and second graders and included hiking, games and crafts. By 1993 four sessions of day camp were offered. After-school and weekend programs for small groups of elementary children were offered by March of 1992. Additional programming necessitated the hiring of two part-time seasonal naturalists. Staffing needs continued to grow. As of 2003, the nature center employed an executive director, two naturalists, and an administrative assistant.

When the nature center received a $50,000 grant from the Paul Stry Foundation in 1990, some of the money was used to conduct a feasibility study to decide the best ways to expand programs and services. The study was completed by November 1991. The trail system was improved in 1990 with the addition of new signs funded by a grant from the Stry Foundation. In June 1996, the Stry Foundation donated 20 acres of blufftop land to the city with the contingency that the land not be developed. In 1997, seventeen acres of wooded land on the southeast edge of Hixon Forest were purchased with funds generated from the nature center, Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Stewardship Fund, the Stry Foundation and private donations. This land was then donated to the city with the restriction that it would be kept in its natural state. In 1999, the Stry Foundation purchased a 51.5 acre parcel on the north end of Hixon Forest; the land was donated to the city to be managed under the Hixon Forest management plan.

Since the mid-1990s, prairie restoration has been a priority of the nature center. Staff and volunteers have been working to maintain native bluff top prairies and to restore some prairie into farmland. This process has involved controlled burning, cutting away undesirable plants, and seed collecting.

The popularity of mountain biking in the mid-1990s led to problems on the Hixon Forest trails including destruction of plants and subversion of erosion control measures. The safety of hikers was a major concern. In July 2001, the City Council banned the use of off-road vehicles, motorcycles, trail bikes or mountain bikes on Hixon Forest trails.

Human Powered Park Inc., a nonprofit organization of mountain biking enthusiasts, was given permission by the city to renovate an abandoned trail behind Hixon Forest, enabling bikers to access the Human Powered Park atop Grandad Bluff. It was hoped that use of this trail would cut down on illegal biking through Hixon Forest trails.

Hixon Forest and the nature center continue to grow and change. Hixon Forest Nature Center established a Butterfly Garden in July 2002. The garden included five kinds of butterflies native to Wisconsin and was designed to show visitors the life cycle of butterflies. In January 2003, Hixon Forest began a restoration project aimed at a 1.5 acre section of the forest. The goal was to remove undesirable trees such as box elder and black locust and replace them with hardwood trees native to the area such as oak, hickory and walnut.