North Country Trail in Wisconsin

09/04/2026

Heritage chapter sept hike
Sat. Sept 5 at 10 am
Meet at foster falls trailhead off Sullivan firelane in Iron County
Hike along beautiful potato river
Bethany Thomas is your guide.

09/04/2026

https://knowlesnelson.org/events/team-knowles-nelson-tailgate-friends-of-wisconsin-state-parks-brewers-game/

Anyone going?

08/27/2026

Chequamegon Chapter Holds Fun Hike in the
Porcupine Lake Wilderness

By Joyce Cielecki

On Saturday, August 22 eleven hikers traversed a portion of the Porcupine Lake Wilderness area, located approximately four miles southeast of Drummond, Wisconsin. The hikers were regularly challenged by numerous downed trees, but they enjoyed beautiful scenery and wonderful camaraderie.

The Porcupine Lake Wilderness area is suffering from extreme drought which has resulted in a nice dry trail, but the drought has also resulted in extremely low pond water levels. A highlight of the hike included an entomology lesson: one of the astute hikers spotted a pesky Japanese Beetle in the forest and upon further inspection found an egg of the parasitoid Winsome Fly on the beetle's head! (How cool is that!)

Another highlight was spotting a large cluster of young Chicken of the Woods fungus on a downed tree; this lovely mushroom is considered a choice edible. At the end of the hike, the hikers enjoyed treats from fellow hiker Rhiannon--thank you!

Photos by Joyce Cielecki.

08/26/2026

The BSC Chapter Blaze & Brush Crew were hard at work Tuesday, improving two miles of trail in the Brule River State Forest near Samples Road Trailhead.

08/25/2026

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/environment/2026/08/25/enbridge-line-5-appears-to-have-natural-gas-leak-in-northeast-wisconsin/91462644007/

08/24/2026

08/23/2026

Canthook Reroute Continued During August Workdays

By Mel Baughman

On August 15 and 16 Chequamegon Chapter volunteers and members of Ashland Scout Troop 342 continued building tread on the hillside around Canthook Lake and ended only about 100 yards from an old roadbed where only mowing will be required for the next 0.87 miles. Wielding mattocks, McLeods, pulaskis, and loppers, our Chapter volunteers on Saturday included Mel Baughman, Mark Belknap, Jim Fridsma, John Ipsen, Mark James, Derek Ogle, Kevin Schramm, Julia Waggoner, and Kris Wegerson. Boy Scouts and their leaders included Tristan Blackman, Tony Blackman, Jonah Houck, Noah Houck, Paul Houck, Ed Jakaitis, and Isaac Jakaitis. Volunteers on Sunday included Mel Baughman, Mark James, Clair Morud, Derek Ogle, and Tom Piikkila.

Here’s a recap of the great progress we’ve made this year.

Following mechanical work by a skid steer with a macerator head that chewed up brush along 1.2 miles of an old railroad grade, we finished clearing woody debris on that section, then removed small trees on a wooded stretch for another 0.10 miles. We still have some tread work to do, but the trail is very walkable for 1.3 miles.

Then we moved to Canthook Lake and worked southward building 805 yards of tread through the forest. There’s just another 100 yards of tread to build before we meet a system of old dirt roads that lead us 0.87 miles forward to a 0.20 mile section of woods where more tread needs to be constructed. We also need to build about 0.2 miles of new trail from Canthook Lake up to Canthook Lake Road, then westward until we reach the trail heading north to Happles Lake.

To support our volunteer effort the US Forest Service has lined up an American Conservation Experience crew (5 or 6 young people) to help us build trail for five days starting August 31. I previously worked with an ACE crew with members in their early 20s. They were enthusiastic folks with stamina that most of our chapter members can’t match. I’m really looking forward to their contributions.

We are well on our way to creating a walkable tread for 3.36 miles of new NCT. That was our goal for the year and it’s in reach!

The NCTA and USFS also are in discussions to provide substantial funds to the NCTA that would enable us to hire youth or professional trail crews to complete about 1.62 miles of new tread from Canthook Lake Road north to Musky Lake Road. Our goal is to complete that work in 2027.

08/19/2026

The Brule-St. Croix Chapter begins our fall schedule of seven events this weekend. Join us for a hike in the Douglas County Wildlife Area to look for some late summer flora and early migrants. Meet at 9 AM Saturday at the US53 Trailhead outside Solon Springs. For more details, see Events on this page, or www.meetup.com/sscbhikers.

08/18/2026

Chequamegon Chapter Holds Porcupine Lake Wilderness Fun Hike

The Chequamegon Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will be hosting a Fun Hike on Saturday, August 22. This hike is in the Porcupine Lake Wilderness and is from County Road D to FR213 Porcupine Lake access parking, (4.3 total miles), shuttle vehicles*. Meet at Country Road D at 9:00 a.m. at GPS coordinates 46.30326 -91.09341.

Features of this hike include old growth pine, beaver ponds, Porcupine Lake, Porcupine Creek, and the recently built laminated wood bridge over Porcupine Creek.

This is the sixth of 9 hikes/events for 2026 that are mostly held on the North Country National Scenic Trail. All Events are free and open to the public except for occasional parking fees.

Please note that in case of severe weather or if the Air Quality Index is in the Unhealthy category the hike will be cancelled.

See events description for more details at North Country Trail Association’s Calendar of Events at http://northcountrytrail.org/events/map or at the Chequamegon Chapter’s page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/4004210863146372/ or email Joyce Cielecki at [email protected]

Photo: Scenic Porcupine Lake along the North Country National Scenic Trail. Photo by Vickie Swank