Marathon County Chapter

The Marathon County Chapter, originally named the Plover
River Chapter, was formed in the early 1970s. Volunteers
completed the first 6 1/2 miles of trail now known as the Ringle Segment, generally running from 2nd Avenue in Ringle to the intersection of County Highway N and Helf Road, in 1973. Shortly thereafter in 1976, volunteers completed the next 6 1/2 miles of trail named the Dells Segment continuing north from County Highway N to and through the Dells of the Eau Claire County Park. In 2010 volunteers completed 2 1/2 miles of new trail through the Plover River State Fishery Area. Located 4 miles east of the Dells of the Eau Claire County Park, the Plover River Segment begins at a trailhead parking lot on Sportsman Drive and currently terminates at a trailhead parking lot on Highland Drive. The Plover River Segment has reached County Highway 52 as of June 2011, and plans to continue the trail south of Highway 29 are in development.

The chapter promotes use of the Trail for recreation and education. The chapter leads several workdays and hikes throughout the year, including an annual winter snowshoe event in February, spring wildflower hike in May, National Trail Day hike in June, geology hike in September and fall colors hike in October. Check our events calendar for details on upcoming activities.

Read stories chapter members have written about past events on our new chapter event highlights page.

You can stay up to date with the latest chapter news by downloading the latest issue of our chapter's newsletter, The Erratic.

For a handy resource for hiking the Ice Age Trail in Marathon County, check out our chapter's Trail Info and Map brochure. To get an idea of what you might see out on the trail, you can view a YouTube slideshow of photos taken on the Ice Age Trail in Marathon County.

For more information on chapter activities and/or hiking the Ice Age Trail in this region, contact the volunteer chapter coordinator:

David Mix
703 N. 88th Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-849-3348
mciat@solarus.net