A true wilderness
treasure, 8,270-acre parcel purchased by the Wisconsin DNR's Stewardship
Fund
included 64 miles of shoreline around the 6,375-acre Willow
Flowage, the largest undeveloped lakeshore
in the state. One of the most
scenic wilderness areas in the state. With 1,000 miles of trail in
Oneida
County and 285 miles in Lincoln County. A ride north on Corridor
Trail #17 from Tomahawk's Sara Park
begins with a crossing of the wide
Wisconsin River. The iron-framed bridge is a highlight of the
Hiawatha
Trail, a converted rail bed trail named after the famed Milwaukee Road
streamliner that once
carried tourists to the Northwoods. At Heafford
Junction you can head northeast to Rhinelander to ride
the full loop, or
half-loop by heading north to Hazelhurst on Trail #51. On the long loop,
you'll ride
Corridor Trail #17 winding over lake and bog in the Oneida
County Forest. A short jog east on Trail #8
takes you to Rhinelander
where the city's mascot, a mythical bog-crawling creature called the Hodag,
prowls in replica form at the Chamber of Commerce. From
Rhinelander, Corridor Trails #15 and #17 take
you north along the Wisconsin River through the southern lob of the
220,000-acre Northern Highland
American Legion State Forest.
Wooded trails traverse the lake
country around Lake Tomahawk, Minocqua and Woodruff. Off-route near
Minocqua you can tour the Northwoods Wildlife Center where injured
animals are cared for before being
set free. Your ticket out of Minocqua
is a six-mile ride south on the Bearskin State Trail to Hazelhurst.
Riding east on Trail #6A from Hazelhurst, then south on #AA and #51A
brings you to the snow-covered
Willow Flowage. You'll access the flowage
near several private resorts and restaurants. Given good ice,
there will
be a marked east-west trail across the flowage. Riders are encouraged to
check ice conditions
daily and to stay on the marked trail. On the
snow-covered ice, you'll encounter an ever-changing
wilderness
shoreline. The trail crosses some of the flowage's 117 islands. Watch
for bald eagles around
the open water or the three wolf packs that are
known to inhabit the area. Leaving the Willow Flowage,
Trail #5 takes
you south through the snow-covered Oneida County Forest to the little
village of Tripoli
just north of the Lincoln County line. From there
it's on to Corridor Trail #19 and Trail #86 to
Lake Mohawksin and the
trailhead at Tomahawk.
