Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Port Wing
Morecabins,camping,andboatmooringscanbefoundatPortWingtothewest.Thislong-
established farming town was heavily settled by Finnish immigrants expanding westward
from their original bases in Michigan. Other than that, the town boasts the state's first con-
solidatedschooldistrict(aradicalideafor1903)andthefirstschoolbus,bothofwhich—or
at least decent mock-ups thereof—are displayed in a town park. Today, it offers mostly
sportfishingcharters,acoupleofB&Bs(anequalnumberofbars),andsomestoresandgas
stations. West of Port Wing, a marked detour leads to Brule Point, down a pocky gravel
roadscratchedoutofroughlakesidewetland.Therearelotsofpulloffsalongtheway,anda
picnicareaandgreatbeachattheend.Theplaceisisolatedandusuallylessthanpopulated,
even in high summer season.
A few miles west of Port Wing, at the junction with Falls Road, the Iron River crosses
WIS 13. A left turn on Falls Road leads to Orienta Falls of the Orienta Flowage.
Brule River State Forest
For no apparent reason, WIS 13 turns sharply to the south and trims the edge of the rel-
atively unknown (though 50,000 acres) B rule River State Forest, punctuated by lowland
spruce, paralleling the deep Brule River channel from its headwaters near the St. Croix
Flowage into Lake Superior. It may not be unknown for long. In 2012 the Department of
Natural Resources purchased more than 100 square miles of forest nearby, the largest con-
servation bid in state history.
The river was the most vital link in the chain of waterways between Lake Superior and
the Lower Mississippi River, requiring only a short portage from the Brule to the St. Croix
River. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, made the river well known in his 1680 writings.
More recently, five U.S. presidents have fished its blue-ribbon trout waters (thus, the nick-
name “River of Presidents”). So enamored of the Brule was Calvin Coolidge that in 1928
he essentially relocated the already relocated White House to a nearby lodge.
Todaycanoeistsandtroutaficionadosmakeupthebulkofcasualusers.Theareabetwixt
U.S. 2 and Stone's Bridge is the most popular, with proud stands of trees and lots of tran-
quility. Not surprisingly, this is where the presidents summered. Contact the ranger station
(715/372-8539) in Brule, south of the U.S. 2 and WIS 27 junction, for maps and camping
information.
Hikers will find one super nature trail at the Bois Brule Campground, south of U.S. 2,
andextendedsnowmobile/skitrailstotrekalmosttheentirelengthoftheriver;one26-miler
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