The Northwoods has always been a vacation destination for many families with fishing being the top outdoor activity, but each passing year, bicycling is becoming more popular with most small towns in the Northwoods (NORTH/CENTRAL) have and are still building bike trails. These trails/routes range from easy paved trails, long routes for touring bicyclers and challenging mountain bike trails. Many of these trails/routes wind in and out of the woods, pass lakes, edges of rivers and over bridges with rapids rushing underneath, but before you jump on your bike, here’s a few things you should know.

As I mentioned, some of these trails are paved, some have a compacted surface, some are on county/town roads, and some are shared with walkers and even horses. If you haven’t biked up here before, these trails and routes are rated as easy, moderate, varied or hard and I would suggest knowing what the different trail ratings are before choosing one. Also, know the distance of the trail you will be riding, especially if you are biking with children so they’re not overwhelmed.

I do not and never will promote one town over the other, but in this case, because it is centrally located, I would suggest Boulder Junction be your home point. If you do not know the area, this location has parking areas along bike paths, has bicycle rentals, rest areas and I believe you can plan one day trips better. Or, if you’re not sure on where you would like your ride to start/end, there is information on bicycling, and you can download trail apps for free by Googling HEART OF VILAS COUNTY PAVED BIKE TRIAL or MAP IT VILAS COUNTY TRAILS APP.

Please be safe when you are biking. Some of the Trail/routes share two lane county roads, so ride single file, others cross highways and when riding on trails that zigzag in and out of the forest, watch for animals when coming around bends/blind spots, because Deer and other wildlife can be on the trail or cross in front of you. TRUST ME, THIS DOES HAPPEN.