TRAVEL GUIDE

Wisconsin Travel and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is a forest on 1,519,800 acres of land in the northeastern part of Wisconsin. It is a U.S. National Forest and is protected as one. This is a great place to visit on your travels through Wisconsin.

Much of the forest was destroyed by logging activities in the early 20th century. But it was replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and the trees you see there today are probably from that time. Chequamegon National Forest and Nicolet National Forest were both established by presidential proclamations in 1933, and have been managed as a single unit since 1993 from Park Falls and Rhinelander. The Chequamegon side of the forest includes land in Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer, Prince, Taylor, and Vilas. On the Nicolet side you will find land in Florence, Forest, Langlade, Oconto, Oneida, and Vilas. An interesting fact about Chequamegon National Forest is that it is home to one of two extremely low frequency antennae that can be found in the United States. This is an exciting place to visit on your Wisconsin travel adventure.

When the forest was established in 1933, there was already an established way of life for the people and wildlife here. The culture and tradition of this historic area makes the forests very interesting for your travel through Wisconsin. Archaeologists have been able to trace culture in the forest back 10,000 years when native inhabitants lived here. It was first occupied in the era of the Paleo-Indians, followed by the Archaic Indians, and finally the Woodland Tradition Indians before European contact with the area in the 1600s. In fact, Nicolet is named after Jean Nicolet, a French explorer who came to the region to explore the land for the Europeans and to promote fur trading with the American Indians. The name Chequamegon comes from the Ojibway word meaning "place of shallow water". You can almost feel the past as you walk through the forest trails on your Wisconsin travel adventure.

As you will learn during your Wisconsin travels here, after the fur traders came the lumbermen looking to establish a timber industry. It reached its peak in the 1920s, nearly destroying the forest. In the 1930s it was rebuilt through planting trees and conservation efforts.

Today the forest is a place to relax and be one with nature as you travel through Wisconsin. There are many trails which you can enjoy, as well as campsites and cabins to spend some extra time in the forest. There is also plenty of fishing in the forest with three major drainages running through it. There is the Mississippi watershed, the Lake Superior watershed, and the Lake Michigan watershed. There are over 2000 miles of stream and almost 1400 miles are classified as trout water! There are also 607 lakes greater than ten acres in size, over 400 spring ponds, and 324,000 acres of wetland. This is a fisher's paradise on your Wisconsin travels. There are over 50 species of fish in the forest and plenty of ways to catch them! There are fully developed launching facilities that you can hike to, or there are road crossings to many of the warm and coldwater rivers. Ice fishing is also a tradition here, if you happen to visit in the winter.

There are special designated wilderness areas where you can find solitude on your Wisconsin travels and get in touch with nature. There are undeveloped areas of federally owned land where you can visit with nature. If you are looking for a quiet place in the forest, this is the park where you can find some peace with either a one-day hike or a camping trip. You don't need a reservation, but some parking areas may cost you $3 to park.

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is a very large park where you will find peace with nature on your trip. Whether you are looking for a little solitude, good camping, or many fishing opportunities, this is one place you will be sure to want to stop by!