Events

The Chequamegon Chapter is sponsoring a free 4-mile guided hike in the National Forests along the shores of Lake Owen on the North Country Trail.

An email R.S.V.P. is required for notices of cancelations/postponements due to forecasted severe weather and avoiding too large of a crowd (20 people max).

The average low temperature is typically 56° F and the average high is 77° F.  Expect mosquitos, blackflies, and ticks, but the vast majority of ticks can be avoided by spraying your pants and socks with Permethrin the night before. A brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes or hiking boots and long pants and socks treated with Permethrin as directed the night before is recommended. Remember to wear sturdy shoes or hiking boots, bring mosquito repellant, a camera, water bottle and a raincoat if rain is in the forecast.

The only bathroom is a vault toilet at the Lake Owen Picnic Grounds parking lot.  The only clean drinking water is from a hand pump at the Lake Owen Picnic grounds. Cell phone coverage will be spotty.

Hikers will meet at the Lake Owen Picnic Ground parking lot no later than 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 6. This parking lot is currently free parking. (GPS coordinates 46.306524, -91.217106) 

Hikers will be allowed to stage their cars at the end of the hike on North Lake Owen Drive just west of East Horseshoe Drive and be driven back to the start but most hikers opt for an 18-minute road walk back.

The trail is easy to follow and winds almost completely through gently rolling wooded terrain that provides shade. We will take several short breaks by large fallen logs and one small bench. The hiking speed will be moderate (about 2 miles per hour or slightly less) depending on the terrain, and the hike will be on dirt tread over roots and rocks and is not accessible for people with mobility impairments.

At the start of the hike, the hike leader with give brief geological and historical vignettes of the the local history, then start the hike on the 800 feet of access trail that starts at the far end of the parking lot which then joins the North Country Trail. Thereafter for the next two miles the trail follows along the shore of Lake Owen going past 4 Nation Forest Kiosks describing the large Indian village that once existed at Lake Owen and through one of the last areas of Wisconsin’s enormous virgin pines. The hike continues through the Lake Owen Hardwoods State Natural Area and comes out at North Lake Owen Drive. Total distance of the hike is 3 miles. Add another mile if you opt for the road walk back.

For additional information and to RSVP, text hike leader Ed Ronkowski at 708-227-5372 or eronkowski@hotmail.com. In the event of severe weather, you will be emailed as to the postponement of the start time, cancelation, or the rain date.

This hike is the fifth in a series of nine that will traverse most of the section of the North Country National Scenic Trail maintained by the Chequamegon Chapter. The trail here was built by U.S. Forest Service personnel and Job Corps employees in 1967 and 1968; it is the original “North Country Trail.”