Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nearly 1,700 miles. It's impossible to keep up with how many more miles are added annu-
ally, since cities and counties are establishing their own networks to link with state trails.
The state of Wisconsin tourist information centers dispense excellent free cycling maps
and booklets. Two good organizations are the
Bicycling Federation of Wisconsin
(
www.bfw.org
)
and the
Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association
(
www.worba.org
)
.
Trail passes
($4 daily, $20 annually) are not required for hikers, but are necessary for
all others 16 and over.
With more than two million acres of state and federal land open for public consumption,
along with 34 state recreation trails, hiking opportunities are endless. Two trails of interest
to serious backpackers are the
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
and the
North Country Na-
tional Scenic Trail.
The ultimate goal is to link Wisconsin's network of 42 rails-to-trails
via city-county-state plans. This would double the state's trail mileage.
GiventhatWisconsinhasmorethan16,000lakes,27,000milesoffishableriverandstream,
and more than 1,000 miles of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Mississippi River coast-
line, and that most of the state's 135 native species of fish are fair game, it's no surprise
that the number one activity is angling. Wisconsin ranks in the top five states nationwide
for number of fishing licenses dispensed and is first in number of nonresident licenses sold
annually. Most of the North Woods resorts cater to muskie anglers and tagalong families.
Boulder Junction and Hayward both claim to be the Muskie Capital of the World. Though
the
muskellunge
is revered as king of the waters, in sheer numbers the most popular sport-
fish is the
walleye.
Wisconsin'sonlynative stream troutisthe
brook trout,
closely related tothelaketrout.
Good news: hundreds of blue-ribbon streams are chock-full of these suckers.
