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National Scenic Trails - Ice Age Trail Overview
Trail at a Glance
Length:
1,000 miles
Route: Glacial morraine through Wisconsin.
Highlights: Fascinating, sometimes strange glacial landscape. High marks to kettle morraines in the north.
Completion: 55%; 610 continuous miles in 45 segments. Longest segment is 88 miles.
Hiker Purity: Certified trail segments are foot-travel only. Thru hikers will have lots of on-road travel.
Route: Glacial morraine through Wisconsin.
Highlights: Fascinating, sometimes strange glacial landscape. High marks to kettle morraines in the north.
Completion: 55%; 610 continuous miles in 45 segments. Longest segment is 88 miles.
Hiker Purity: Certified trail segments are foot-travel only. Thru hikers will have lots of on-road travel.
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- The 1,000-mile Ice Age Trail is a work-in-progress. With only about 600 miles finished and accessible to hikers, the trail is broken up by a number of necessary road walks. Check with the Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation to identify completed segments and navigate between them. Local Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation chapters often provide shuttles to distance hikers.
- A standout 17-mile segment from Lake Wisconsin to Parfrey’s Glen winds through Devil’s Lake State Park, south of Baraboo. The park’s quartzite bluffs and the sandstone canyons in the glen offer more rugged topography than one would expect in a Midwestern state.
- East of Whitewater, abundant glacial phenomena flank the trail through 30 miles of the Kettle Moraine State Forest’s southern unit. Numerous spur trails lead to scenic kettle lakes and esker formations.
- The trail’s north-central reaches—through the northwoods of Taylor, Lincoln, and Langlade counties—provide the longest uninterrupted segments. Roadless treks of 50 or more miles pass through hardwood and pine stands in Chequamegon National Forest and through timber wolf habitat in the New Wood Wildlife Area.
- East-West thru-hikers reach trail’s end in the utterly rewarding Interstate State Park, where the St. Croix River plunges through the craggy gorge of the Dalles—and where cold beer and a fish fry are just up the road in St. Croix Falls.
Published: 30 Oct 2008 | Last Updated: 15 Sep 2010
Details mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication
Details mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication
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