Mammoth challenge: Hike 40 miles of the Ice Age Trail
The Ice Age Trail Alliance is celebrating the trail’s 40th anniversary with a Mammoth Hike Challenge: Walk 40 miles of the trail and visit three official trail communities in October and get a special limited-editing patch and completion certificate.
For hikers who can’t complete the entire 1,200-mile national scenic trail, which stretches through the state from St. Croix Falls to Sturgeon Bay, this challenge is a more manageable feat. And it comes during one of the most beautiful times of year in Wisconsin, as fall colors reach their peak across the state.
Hikers can register and log miles as individuals, families or teams. Trail miles do not have to be unique — you can hike the same segments throughout the month as long as you hike at least 40 miles.
Free registration includes access to StriveON, a location-based app for finding restaurants, attractions and stories about segments and Trail Communities. The IATA will also be doing giveaways on the app.
There are 13 official Trail Communities: St. Croix Falls, Cornell, Lodi, Cross Plains, Verona, Janesville, Milton, Whitewater, Delafield, Hartland, Slinger, West Bend and Manitowoc-Two Rivers.
To register and for more information, iceagetrail.org.
Ice Age Trail in southeastern Wisconsin
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Here are some good segments in southeastern
Wisconsin to hike in the fall. Before you head out, check trail conditions on the Ice Age Trail website. Make sure you carry a map as the Ice Age Trail often intersects and shares a tread with other trails as it passes through parks. Also remember that fall is hunting season in Wisconsin, so wear blaze orange or bright colors.
Scuppernong (5.6 miles): This segment passes through pine plantations and hardwoods in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit, intersecting with a handful of loop trails north of County Highway ZZ.
Find the southern trailhead and parking on Highway 67 south of County Highway X. The northern trailhead is on County Highway C, with parking nearby at the Pinewoods campground.
Lapham Peak (7.8 miles): This segment starts at the Glacial Drumlin State Trail at the UW-Waukesha Field Station and heads north through the restored savannah and wooded hills in the Lapham Peak unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. The segment ends at Cushing Park Road, where you can follow part of the 2.8-mile Delafield segment north into Delafield to check a Trail Community off your list.
While hunting is permitted in most public lands, including state parks, it is not allowed in Lapham Peak, so this is a safe segment to hike in the fall if
hunting makes you nervous.
Monches (3.1 miles): The dense stands of maple trees in this segment put on a spectacular show in the fall. The forest here is named for Wisconsin conservationist Carl Schurz, who advocated for a national forest service as secretary of the interior in the late 1800s.
The northern end of the segment is on County Highway Q on the border of Waukesha and Washington counties, and the southern end is on E. Kilbourne Road, between Highway 83 and County Highway E east of North Lake. The Trail Community of Hartland is about 5 miles south.
Holy Hill (6.9 miles): Combine a hike on this heavily wooded segment with views from the top of Holy Hill, the highest point in Waukesha County. The tower at the Basilica and National Shrine of
The Ice Age Trail passes through the Pike Lake Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Mary Help of Christians is closed "due to social distancing limitations,” but you can still catch glimpses of the surrounding countryside from outside the basilica and walk the Stations of the Cross.
The southern trailhead is on Donegal
Road east of County Highway K, and the northern end is County Highway E. Find parking near the southern end at Holy Hill, on Station Way Road or on Shannon Road.
Pike Lake (3.3 miles): This segment picks up where the Holy Hill segment ends and travels through the heavily wooded Pike Lake unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, ending with a short road walk on County Highway CC to where it meets Highway 60.
The trail intersects a handful of other trails in the Pike Lake unit, allowing for a loop hike instead of the usual out-andback.
The Trail Community of Slinger is about 2 miles north.
West Bend (6.7): The best stretch of this segment — which passes through the Trail Community of West Bend — is through the heavily wooded and hilly Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area.
The southern trailhead is on W. Paradise Road, where there is a parking lot. The northern trailhead is on County Highway D, with parking a little farther north on Wildwood Road.
Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis@journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @TravelMJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.