Trails For Snowshoers
There are plenty of marked and signed trails to help you tramp safely Story and photo by Jerry Kiesow "So, you think I should get myself a pair of snowshoes," said a friend the other day as we were sharing a table over lunch, discussing how to get the most out of the winter season.
"Where does a guy like me go once I have them? What do I do with them?" he continued to probe and prod. "We aren't always together, and I'm not going to go off on my own on these 'webs', as you sometimes refer to them, any more than I wander off into the woods by myself in the summer."
"I'm no mountain man you know. No, before I put out any money for even an inexpensive pair of these shoes, you are going to have to point out places where I can go, follow a trail, and have some
guarantee I won't get lost and have to spend the night in a snowbank."
"Are you finished rambling on about your predestined fate because you might be trying something new?" I said. "When have I ever gotten you into anything you couldn't handle ... well, or at least learn how to handle eventually? And you won't get lost. There are places that have marked trails and some even supply guides."
Do snowshoes intrigue, but also intimidate you? Perhaps you even own a pair, but only use
them when you really need to, because there is no place to go with them except in the woods. It's not like cross country skiing.
There are lots of places to go cross country on marked, tracked, circular trails that end up back at the parking lot. Trails with people. No fear of getting lost. Heck, the thought never enters one's mind when thinking of xc skiing, but snowshoeing? Snowshoeing is different. It's new. It hasn't caught on. It's not organized yet.
 Wrong! Well, partially wrong. Snowshoeing is not new, and it has definitely caught on. More important, the state of Wisconsin, the federal government and many nature centers have recognized that there is a growing need to offer, to those who prefer to travel on, or near, the top of snow, space to exercise this ancient/new method of exploring winter – and
at a pace that allows for more gratification of the surrounding countryside than other modes, such as snowmobiling and even cross country skiing.
I contacted some nature centers around the state, plus the state park office in Madison, the Kettle Moraine State Forests and the Feds. Below, listed alphabetically, is a brief description of just some of the places in Wisconsin (primarily southern and eastern portions of the state) to snowshoe, and
what accommodations you can expect when you visit. Other similar opportunities abound not only in Wisconsin but neighboring states as well. This list will at least get you started.
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanctuary Road, Green Bay, WI 54301, 920/391-3671, restricted to guided tours only, rentals available.
Bong State Recreational Area, 26313 Burlington Road, Kansasville, WI 53139, 414/878-5600, some exclusive, some shared with skiers.
Havenwoods Environmental Awareness Center, 6141 North Hopkins Street, Milwaukee, WI 53209-3565, 414/527-0232, shared with skiers; federal forests, allows snowshoers to use hiking trails.
Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve, 4815 Lynndale Drive, Appleton, WI 54915-9785, 920/731-6041, mostly exclusive, some shared, rentals available.
Kettle Moraine State Forest-North Unit, P.O. Box 410, Campbellsport, WI 53010, 920/626-2116, all trails open except those groomed for xc skiing.
Kettle Moraine State Forest-South Unit, S91 W39091 Hwy 59, Eagle, WI 53119-9708, 414/594-6200, all trails open except those groomed for xc skiing.
Ledge View Nature Center, W2348 Short Road, Chilton, WI 53014-9673, 920/849-7094, exclusive trails, rentals available.
Mosquito Hill Nature Center, N3880 Rodgers Road, New London, WI 54961, 920/779-6433, exclusive trails, rentals available.
Navarino Nature Center, P.O. Box 606, Shawano, WI 54166, 920/983-0120, shared with skiers, rentals available.
Retzer Nature Center, W284 S1530 Road DT, Waukesha, WI 53188, 414/896-8007, mostly exclusive, rentals available.
Riveredge Nature Center, 4458 Hawthorn Drive, Newburg, WI 53060-0026, 414/375-2715, some exclusive, some shared.
River Bend Nature Center, 3600 North Green Bay Road, Racine, WI 53404, 414/639-0930, shared with skiers.
Schlitz Audubon Center, 1111 East Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI 53217-1999, 414/351-4200, mostly exclusive, closed on Mondays.
1000 Islands Environmental Center, 700 Dodge Street, Kaukauna, WI 54130, 920/788-9024, partly shared, rentals available.
Wisconsin State Parks, Rib Mountain has specific trails, all other parks allow snowshoeing in the open areas.
Each center, park or forest designates their trails a bit differently. There is no tracking equipment, as with cross country skiing. If you are the first on the trail, you make the first tracks, although a couple of centers do send a member of the staff, "a real human being" as one director wrote, to lay a trail after any heavy snowfall. Many of the trails will be marked as hiking trails, some will have a special color on posts. As you check in at each place you visit, you will be told where
you can snowshoe and how to follow the trails. At these places, you will not spend the night lost and in a snowbank.
I visited one of the nature centers that offer trails just for snowshoes, the Schlitz Audubon Center in Milwaukee. This is a great place for beginners, or if you live in the metro area and get the urge to get out and get some air but want more than a walk around the neighborhood and don't have the time to drive an hour or more out of town.
Located in the northeast side suburb of Bayside, Schlitz offers two trails that are for snowshoers only. One, the Woodland Trail, is just that -– a walk in the woods. With a foot of fresh snow on the ground, it is far enough from Lake Drive to give the feeling of semi-wilderness, with birch, pine and poplar interspersed with brush. Deer, squirrel and rabbit tracks abound. The trail is short and a portion follows the top edge of a deep ravine. This ravine must be crossed, via
long wood steps, carrying your snowshoes, before getting to the trail.
The second trail, the Beach Trail, leads down from the Interpretive Center to Lake Michigan's shore, a shore which is in constant change, depending on the weather. No two trips here are ever the same. The trail parallels the beach for a while then turns back up the bluff at about a 45 degree angle. It takes about one to two hours to do both trails. depending on
how long you take to enjoy the scenery and read the stories in the snow.
"So there, friend, you have many places to visit with your new 'webs' without the fear of getting lost. Of course, if the worst scenario plays out, and you do make a wrong turn and wander off the trail, you can always follow your own tracks back to from where you started," I said as we were splitting up for the day.
"Oh yeah," he said, with the look of discovery on his face. "Why didn't I think of that?"
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