A stretch of the Wisconsin River stretch is now a National Recreation Trail
The National Park Service has designated the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway, a 108-mile stretch of the Wisconsin River, as a National Recreation Trail.
The Great Pinery runs from the Hat Rapids Dam in Oneida County to the Lake DuBay Dam in Portage County. The waterway also includes shorter stretches of the Lower Big Rib River and the Lower Eau Claire River. Signs, maps and a website, greatpinery.com, help guide boaters, particularly kayakers and canoeists, along its route.
The water trail was developed by a consortium of community leaders and groups, with the Wausau and Marathon County Parks Foundation as a driving force behind it. The development of the Great Pinery is part of ongoing efforts to bolster the Wausau area as a tourism destination and an attractive place to live.
The National Recreation Trail status "is more than a win for outdoor lovers," said Tim White, the executive director of Visit Wausau, in a news release announcing the designation. "It's a boost to our economy, identity and way of life."
The National Recreation Trail system is designed to spotlight "some of our country's highest-caliber trails," according the system's website. There are about 1,300 in the country. No federal agency oversees, manages or funds the system. Instead, the designation is meant to promote tourism, showcase public access to desirable areas and recognize the value of the trails for communities.
"The National Recreation Trails system connects people with the landscapes that help shape them," said Chris Morgan of the Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service.
"This designation helps local communities preserve access, expand signage and inspire the next generation of paddlers," Bill Bertram of the Marathon County Parks and Recreation Foundation said in the release.
Wisconsin's paddling trails: Love paddling a canoe or kayak? Wisconsin has dozens of water trails just for you
White said the new Great Pinery designation helps link the waterway with another nationally-recognized trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, in people's minds.
"With the Great Pinery now nationally designated, Marathon County can proudly say we are home to not one, but two national trails," White said.
It also helps bolster a marketing campaign that calls Wausau "Wisconsin's Basecamp." The label is meant to encompass all the outdoor activities available in the area, which in addition to flat-water paddling and hiking, includes mountain biking, downhill and cross-country skiing, and whitewater kayaking.
The Pinery offers a range of paddling conditions. There are gentle, scenic stretches through pine forests as well as the churning whitewater paddling available at downtown Wausau's Whitewater Park.
Often called the "hardest working river in the world," the Wisconsin River helped bolster and develop the region's logging and paper industries in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
"The Great Pinery celebrates our natural and cultural heritage," Bertram said.
Keith Uhlig has been writing about Wisconsin, its people and all it has to offer since 2000. Raised in Colby, he loves wandering around the state. He can be reached at kuhlig@gannett.com, and is on Facebook, X and Threads.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Great Pinery Heritage Waterway designated a National Recreation Trail
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