Mountain-BayStateTrailSignAnstonWisconsin

The Mountain-Bay State Trail is an 83-mile state-designated

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, and Shawano Counties in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The trail is the longest rail trail in the state. The trail is named for the two geological features at either end of the trail: Green Bay and

Rib Mountain Rib Mountain, also known as Rib Hill, is a glacially-eroded monadnock in central Wisconsin, located in the village of Rib Mountain in Marathon County. Composed of quartzite covered with a softer syenite sheath, it was intruded about 1.5 bi ...

Route

For much of the route, the trail roughly parallels

Wisconsin Highway 29 State Trunk Highway 29 (often called Highway 29, STH-29 or WIS 29) is a state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is a major east–west corridor connecting the Twin Cities and the Chippewa Valley with Wausau ...

. The trail begins on Lakeview Dr. in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

(), and travels northwest, where it ends in Weston, Wisconsin (). There is a gap in the trail in

Shawano, Wisconsin Shawano ( ) is a city and the county seat of Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,243 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is ...

, where trail users must use local roads after crossing the Wolf River. The trail is 83 miles long, and is made of crushed stone.

Access

The trail is open to walkers, joggers, bicyclists in the summer, and

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, and

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

ing in the winter. Horseback riding is permitted in the

Shawano County Shawano County ( ; originally Shawanaw County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,881. Its county seat is Shawano. Shawano County is included in the Shawano, WI Micropolitan Stat ...

section, but not in the

County sections. The trail is free to walk or run, but a trail pass must be purchased in order to bike the trail, which may be purchased at several self-registration stations along the trail.

History

The trail was first created in 1996. It uses an abandoned rail line from the

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Wisconsin hiking trails Hiking trails in Wisconsin Rail trails in Wisconsin Protected areas of Brown County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Marathon County, Wisconsin Protected areas of Shawano County, Wisconsin