Ice Age National Scenic Trail

Volunteers work to construct a boardwalk at Straight Lake State Park using only hand tools.
The Ice Age National Scenic Trail spans 1,200 miles, traverses some of Wisconsin's finest geologic and glacial features, and passes through the ancestral lands of 15 Tribes. The Trail is built, managed and maintained by dedicated volunteers, Ice Age Trail Alliance, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, local partners, and the National Park Service.
Map showing location of park.
Blue Hills Felsenmeer
National Park Service Approves Ice Age National Scenic Trail Re-Route for Rusk County, Wisconsin
The National Park Service (NPS) has approved an Environmental Assessment for an 18.6-mile re-route within the Rusk County Forest for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin. The new route will replace the existing 22 miles of the trail in the county, which currently includes many sections shared with motorized vehicles and nearly a mile which follows the shoulder of a county highway.
Three photographs placed together showing trail builders working in a forest, National Park service staff holding a ribbon, and a trail winding through grass into a forest.
Celebrate the Ice Age National Scenic Trail for National Trails Day®
Join the National Park Service and the Ice Age Trail Alliance on June 1, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Cross-Plains segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, followed by a scenic hike and a chance to meet the trail builders at the National Park Service Cross Plains Interpretive Site.
NPS staff with volunteers receiving 6000-hour Master Ranger Corps vest
Volunteers Honored for Extraordinary Dedication at Annual Ice Age Conference
National Park Service employees of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail attended the Ice Age Trail Alliance’s 18th Annual Conference at the Ho-Chunk Casino Hotel and Convention Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin to honor dedicated volunteers.
Blue Hills Felsenmeer
Public Comment Period Opened for Proposed Ice Age National Scenic Trail Route in Rusk County
The National Park Service (NPS) invites public comment on the proposed re-route of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Rusk County within the Rusk County Forest.
volunteers build a boardwalk
Photo by IATA Photo
New trail takes hikers into the forest
Photo by NPS Photo/ m.tano
For a short time, the trail follows a beach along the Lake Michigan Shore.
Photo by NPS Photo
expansive view as seen from atop Gibraltar Rock
Photo by IATA/ Eric Sherman
A boardwalks stretched accross conservancy lands.
Photo by IATA/ Eric Sherman