Wisconsin one step closer to finishing its share of the North Country National Scenic Trail

A land purchase in Douglas County brings Wisconsin one step closer to being the first of eight states to finish its portion of the country’s longest national scenic trail.

The North Country National Scenic Trail is part of the National Park Service and stretches 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont. About 1,500 miles of the trail has yet to be built.

In July, the National Park Service purchased 317 acres of land from the national nonprofit Trust for Public Land. That group bought the land from a private landowner in June for $715,000, according to county land records. The acquisition will move more than 30 miles of trail that currently runs along roads to forested areas, linking Pattison State Park to the Douglas County Forest.

The purchase also protects 63 acres of wetlands and about 1 mile of the Black River, creating a 50-mile corridor across public lands for wildlife. Chris Loudenslager, the trail’s superintendent, said it’s a win not only for the trail, but also for conservation.

“Our primary objective was to get a permanently protected route for the trail, but to go along with that we’ve also protected all those other wonderful things to include public recreation on that property,” Loudenslager said.

The land represents only the third property that’s ever been purchased by the National Park Service for the North Country trail.

About 210 miles of the trail run through Wisconsin, of which about 140 miles are already ready to hike. The acquisition will also improve the trail’s scenery by nearly cutting in half the roughly 70 miles of trail that today run along roads, said Will Cooksey, senior project manager with the Trust for Public Land.

Cooksey said state and federal planning documents first identified the property as a priority for the trail in the late 1990s. The group had worked with the National Park Service and the North Country Trail Association for more than three years to purchase the land.

“This acquisition will, once the trail is built, enable hikers to enjoy their hikes uninterrupted across really beautiful, scenic natural forests and across the Black River and truly immerse themselves in nature,” Cooksey said.

Andrea Ketchmark, executive director of the North Country Trail Association, said planning for the route will take place over the next couple of years. She said they’ll first focus on the Douglas County Forest portion of the trail before construction of the trail begins on land purchased by the National Park Service.

“We do know that we need, likely, a large bridge to get us over the Black River,” Ketchmark said. “Right now, we’re talking to some engineers, and we need to do an assessment and find out where the best location for the bridge would be, and then start doing our route planning.”

Construction of the trail is done entirely by volunteers, Loudenslager said. Ketchmark added the work might require additional fundraising. Some funding for the purchase came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and National Park Foundation, as well as from McKee Foods, the VF Foundation and Boreal Waters Community Foundation.

“Especially as we look to complete our route across Wisconsin, we hope this is going to bring other visitors and hikers who want to enjoy this beautiful new section of trail,” Ketchmark said.

Wisconsin’s waters, trails and woods contributed a record-breaking $11.2 billion boost to Wisconsin’s economy in 2023, according to the most recent figures released by the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation. The state’s outdoor recreation industry supports 96,867 jobs.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Trails System Act into law, establishing the first two national scenic trails. Congress later added the North Country National Scenic Trail in 1980.

More than 1,200 volunteers spent more than 64,000 hours building and maintaining the North Country National Scenic Trail last year.