Wisconsin Lake Michigan Water Trail

The Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, and the National Park Service have completed development of the 500-mile Lake Michigan Water Trail inventory that covers the diverse Lake Michigan shoreline in Wisconsin from the Michigan border at Marinette to the Illinois border south of Kenosha.

Water trails are paths along rivers and coastlines that provide recreational users (such as kayakers, sailors, boaters, and anglers) with information on access points, safety considerations, activities, and points of interest. The Wisconsin Lake Michigan Water Trail network project:

• Inventoried a 500-mile water trail along the shoreline of Lake Michigan -  the second longest trail in Wisconsin.

• Identified gaps or zones where further public access is needed to complete the trail (Map 9 below). These zones will be targeted to increase public land holdings along the shoreline.

• Will develop a branding strategy that local communities and private affiliates can embrace as a Lake Michigan Water Trail Network (Phase 2, beginning summer 2012).

• Provides for educational opportunities that will encourage the understanding of the Lake Michigan ecosystem.

Updates will be available with each major step in the planning process and new information will be posted here. Please check back periodically. Thank you for your interest in the planning process.

Digital Inventory Files for Download

Inventory file in MS Excel

Inventory file in KML (for down load to Google Earth)

Inventory file in GPX (for download to GPS receivers - right click and choose "save as")

Report and Maps

• Wisconsin Lake Michigan Water Trail Report (December 2011)

• Map 1 - Lake Michigan Water Trail Overview
• Map 2 - Green Bay West Shore
  
• Map 3 - Green Bay East Shore
  
• Map 4 - Northern Door Peninsula
  
• Map 5 - Sturgeon Bay to Two Creeks Buried Forest
  
• Map 6 - Point Beach to Sheboygan
  
• Map 7 - Kohler Andrae to Northern Metro Milwaukee
  
• Map 8 - Southern Metro Milwaukee to Illinois
• Map 9 - Enhancement Zones

News Story on WBAY (Video), June 2012

Interview on Dan Small Outdoors Radio/Podcast (MP3) , September 2012 (Note: Lake Michigan Water Trail interview starts at about 24:00)

WCMP Great Lakes Chronicle Article (PDF)

Tour the Lake Michigan Water Trail with Discover Wisconsin

Phase 2, the Implementation/Marketing Phase, of the Wisconsin Lake Michigan Water Trail will be getting underway in summer 2012.

If you would like to be added to a mailing or email distribution list, if you have any questions regarding the planning process, or if you would like to submit email comments, please contact:

Angela Pierce, Natural Resources Planner III
Phone: (920) 448-2820
Email: apierce@baylakerpc.org