Hi everyone! I am going to be working in Milwaukee for a week and was hoping to get some suggestions for a 1-2 night backpacking trip. I will most likely be arriving on a Friday and I'm able to hike all day Saturday and most of Sunday. I was hoping to find a loop near Milwaukee (maybe 1-2 hours drive if necessary) so that I could park a rental car and just return to it from the trail.
Any suggestions for a moderate 2 day backpack?
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/kmn/
Kettle Moraine State Forest Northern Unit. Both the southern and the northern unit were my go to when I lived in Madison. Beautiful parks and about your only option for the a true backpacking experience in southern wisconsin.
Thanks for the reply! Do they allow foot traffic on the horse/snowmobile trails? It looks like I could make a pretty sweet loop around the lakes. What's the terrain like?
Well I'm not sure what the official word is but I've always used them. (watch out for massive land mines) Generally I stuck to the Ice Age Trail since it's a bit narrower and I love the single track but yea that's the only downside of staying on it, out and back not a lot of options for loops. It gets a little hilly as far as terrains goes but I think you can only use the term "hilly" if you were born and raised in the midwest. (The trail tries to follow the tops of the moraines whenever it can) Water can be a little scarce once you go north away from the lakes so you do have to factor in getting it from the campgrounds or parking areas after that point. I've never run across many sources while actually on the trail other than those areas. I'm not much of photographer but just some quick shots from the last time I was back down there:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=daaefd405f
This. What he said.Originally Posted by alifeoutdoors
I may be out by my girlfriends in the southern this weekend
Most IAT is going to be out and backs, not much for larger loops. I have seen foot traffic on the sled/horse trails. But not really sure what the rules are.
I have some pics on my blog page, posts are titled by section names, so if there's a section you're curious about I might have pics there. I've done from the south end of Janesville to the Manitowoc county line, on the Ice Age.
http://blog.ericksaint.com/category/ice-age-trail/
I don't believe there are any primitive camp spots in the northern or southern kettles. They expect you stay at the shelters scattered through the forest. They are reservation shelters, but I've never stayed in one. I don't know if they have an occupant limit, or if it's first reservation just gets the whole shelter. There is a big gray area as far as stealth camping if you read the statutes on the dnr website they only make reference to the standard 200 feet off trail for camping. Perhaps a call to the ranger station could clear up "their" rules so there's no surprises. But I tried to find a definitive answer, in writing, as to if camping was allowed in areas not designated as primitive camp areas, I could not find anything.
No I wondered about this back in the day and discussed it with DNR officials. They definitely do not want bush camping in either the southern or northern unit. However it would probably be worth a call, policies/attitudes change.
I don't have a problem with staying at a shelter. Hopefully I can plan something that works!
I might end up having more time then I thought. Maybe I should expand my territory?
ErickSaint, are there any particular sections you would recommend just based on uniqueness?
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