1.5 million acres of elk, falls, and old pines. Wisconsin’s Northwoods just keeps going

It’s bigger than you think, and wilder too

Northern Wisconsin doesn’t make a lot of noise about itself.

But tucked across 11 counties up near the Minnesota and Michigan borders, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest just keeps going.

Over 1.5 million acres of lakes, bogs, old pines, and elk country, with 600 lakes, 800 miles of trails, and five wilderness areas folded into the mix. You could spend a week here and barely scratch it.

Most people who come once start planning the next trip before they leave.

Glaciers built this place, loggers nearly wrecked it

Thousands of years ago, glaciers dragged across this land and left behind kettle lakes, rolling hills, sandy plains, and bogs. Then, in the late 1800s, logging companies came through and stripped nearly every tree.

By the early 1900s, the Northwoods looked like a wasteland.

The federal government started buying the abandoned land in 1928, and during the Great Depression, Civilian Conservation Corps crews planted thousands of acres of jack pine and red pine.

The thick forest you walk through today grew from that work.

600 lakes and three major watersheds drain through here

The water here goes three different directions. The forest contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River watershed, the Lake Superior watershed, and the Lake Michigan watershed, all feeding from the same stretch of Northwoods.

Over 600 lakes larger than 10 acres dot the landscape, along with 2,000 miles of streams, 400 spring ponds, and about 324,000 acres of wetland.

More than 50 fish species live in these waters, including walleye, brook trout, northern pike, and muskie, Wisconsin’s state fish.

A 70-foot waterfall and a summit view of Lake Superior

The trail to Morgan Falls runs about three-quarters of a mile one way, flat enough for most people, with a boardwalk and bridge cutting through the trees.

The falls drop 70 feet, and the sound hits you well before you see them.

From there, a second trail climbs nearly two miles to the top of St. Peter’s Dome, the highest point in the forest. On a clear day, you can see Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior, and the Apostle Islands from the summit.

A lumber baron’s wife saved these 300-year-old pines

In the early 1900s, a woman named Lucy Rumsey Holt brought her children into a grove of towering white pine, hemlock, and red pine.

She told her husband William, who ran the Holt Lumber Company, that she wanted these 40 acres left alone. He agreed.

When Lucy died in 1939, William dedicated the land for preservation and named it Cathedral Woods in her memory. The U.S. Forest Service bought it in 1968.

Some of those trees started growing in the 1730s, and a short gravel trail winds through them today.

Five wilderness areas where the old forest still stands

The five federally designated wilderness areas inside the forest cover more than 44,000 acres combined. Headwaters Wilderness, at over 18,000 acres, holds some of the largest and oldest trees in the entire forest.

Rainbow Lake Wilderness runs 6,583 acres northwest of Drummond, with clear lakes and a stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail passing through.

Blackjack Springs Wilderness sits on the Nicolet side, where four large springs form the headwaters of Blackjack Creek. No motors, no bikes.

Just the trees and whatever you carry in.

Elk came back to Wisconsin in 1995 near Clam Lake

Elk disappeared from Wisconsin in the 1880s, hunted out and pushed out by habitat loss.

In 1995, 25 elk from Michigan were released into the forest near Clam Lake, the first to roam the state in over a century. More came from Kentucky between 2015 and 2019.

The total Wisconsin elk population has now passed 400 animals.

September and October are the best months to spot them, especially at dawn and dusk, when the bulls bugle and the sound rolls through the woods.

Two national scenic trails cut across the Northwoods

The North Country National Scenic Trail, nearly 5,000 miles long, runs 61.4 miles through the Chequamegon-Nicolet, passing through Rainbow Lake Wilderness and along clear lakes like Wishbone and Lake Owen.

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which traces the edge of Wisconsin’s last glacier, crosses 49 miles of the forest in Taylor County.

Hikers on that route walk over eskers and moraines, landforms left when the ice pulled back. Both trails became official units of the National Park System in 2023.

Short sections are reachable from roadside trailheads throughout the forest.

300 miles of mountain bike trails spread across six trail hubs

The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association maintains more than 300 miles of marked mountain bike trails through the forest and surrounding lands.

Trails run out of six towns: Cable, Drummond, Hayward, Namakagon, Delta, and Seeley. Most routes follow a mix of logging roads, fire lanes, and singletrack through rolling terrain.

The Rock Lake trails in the Namakagon cluster push into steep, technical singletrack with lake views along the way. In winter, fat tire biking keeps the trail system running for riders who don’t mind the cold.

Watch sharp-tailed grouse in a rare open pine barrens

Moquah Barrens covers 8,700 acres in Bayfield County, and the Forest Service works steadily to bring it back to the open pine barrens it once was.

Prescribed burns, timber harvests, and invasive species removal clear the way for grassland and shrub habitat that sharp-tailed grouse, upland sandpipers, and Connecticut warblers need to survive.

Self-guided auto tour routes let you explore the barrens at your own pace.

The rest of the forest pulls in bald eagles, common loons, pileated woodpeckers, and great blue herons, with the Spectacle-Kentuck Lake Trail a reliable spot for songbirds.

The forest runs from summer swims to deep-snow ski trails

About 51 campgrounds spread across the forest for summer, when hiking, swimming, fishing, and paddling fill the days.

Come fall, the leaf color from St. Peter’s Dome or along the scenic forest highways ranks among the best views in Wisconsin.

Winter brings deep snow and groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoe routes, and hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails.

Mt. Valhalla west of Washburn has a sledding hill, ski and snowshoe paths, and a warming cabin with a fireplace. Spring follows with wildflowers, migrating birds, and the rivers waking back up.

Five ranger districts, each covering different Northwoods terrain

The forest divides into five ranger districts, and each one gives you a different version of the Northwoods. The Great Divide District holds Morgan Falls, St. Peter’s Dome, and the Clam Lake elk herd.

Head to the Washburn District for Moquah Barrens, Rainbow Lake Wilderness, and the CAMBA mountain bike trails.

The Medford-Park Falls District covers horseback trails, OHV routes, and some of the best grouse hunting in the state.

Over on the Nicolet side, the Lakewood-Laona District runs the 89-mile Nicolet State Trail from one end of the eastern forest to the other.

Explore Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin

The forest spreads across 11 counties in northern Wisconsin, with gateway communities including Hayward, Eagle River, Washburn, Clam Lake, Crandon, and Lakewood.

The Forest Supervisor’s Office is in Rhinelander, and local ranger district offices in towns like Park Falls can give you current trail conditions, maps, and forest orders before you head out.

Admission to most areas is free, though some campgrounds and day-use sites charge fees.

Check the official website for the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest before you go to confirm conditions and any seasonal closures.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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