Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2,000 primitive acres feature three lakes, overlooks, an Adirondack shelter, pack-in hiking
campsites, and wood duck boxes. The wildlife is truly puzzled by the sight of hikers.
LAKEWOOD AUTO TOUR
Seventeen highlighted natural and historical points dot these 65 miles in and around
Lakewood, Townsend, and Mountain. (Factoring in getting lost, it's a conservative
80 miles.)
Cathedral of Pines
is an impressive name for some of the oldest standing wood
in the Nicolet, if not Wisconsin. Even more appealing, around 100 nesting pairs of
great blue herons predominate.
My personal favorite is stop number 9, the
Mountain Fire Lookout.
Go into
Mountain on WIS 32, left onto Highway W, and then another immediate left onto
Old 32. A handful of miles later, you'll come to the access road. This is one of only
a couple of the network of 20 New Deal-era fire-spotting towers throughout the re-
gion. The total height of the tower plus elevation is 880 ear-popping, creaky feet.
The
Waupee Flowage,
stop number 11, is off Highway W and Grindle Lake
Road. It's serene and isolated—you'll likely be alone here—and there are painters'
aesthetics and a tranquil platform designed to expedite the nesting of osprey (also
drawing bald eagles).
Head back to Highway W and then left on La Fave Road. Turn left onto Holts
RanchRoad(themapssayright)tostopnumber14—the
Logging Camp.
Theseeer-
ie stone ruins of a late-19th-century logging camp are now choked with weeds and
brambles. The white pines across the road were untouched in the last century.
After crossing the steel-framed girder bridge spanning the Oconto River, you
reach a prime jumping-off spot for hiking the Lakewood Trails, just east of Lake-
wood.
If nothing else, hike the 22-mile abandoned railroad grade of the Chicago-Northwestern
Railroad.
The Wolf River technically does not flow through the Nicolet, but it skirts the far south-
west boundary; with no kinetic energy yet, rafting is best here.
