Celebration for Ice Age Trail

To the Editor:

Exciting news! The Ice Age and North Country Trails are now part of the National Park System! This means support from the NPS in advertising, promoting, printing brochures and maps, and eligibility for funding to enhance the trails.

The Ice Age Trail runs nearly 1,200 miles, entirely within Wisconsin, following the edge of the last glacier, from St Croix Falls to Door County (by way of Janesville!). This year volunteers donated 150,000 hours of time to maintain this trail. 

The Ice Age Trail is less than 20 miles south of Rhinelander, at the junction of Highway 17 and County H. The North Country Trail crosses Wisconsin along the shore of Lake Superior, on its way from North Dakota to New York.  

Each trail provides many opportunities for solitude in the woods, combined with seeing places of historical and geological significance as well as visiting local businesses in the hospitality industry. We encourage you to get out and enjoy the trail and to thank elected officials from both parties, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D), Mark Pocan (D Madison), and Glenn Grothman (R Glenbeulah), who worked together to achieve this milestone that will bring hikers, trail crews, and visitors to support tourism here. 

Bravo for their cooperative efforts leading to this success!

Susan and Gerald Anderson

Rhinelander