Saturday, April 25th. Meet at 8:30 and start ride at 9:00 AM from the Willow Flowage “Handicap Accessible Nature Trail” parking lot at 5043 Willow Dam road, Hazelhurst, WI 54531. Public restrooms are available 1/4 mile south across the street from the Willow Dam boat launch in the parking lot.
Restroom facility very close to the start area (1/4 mile):
5022 Willow Dam Road.
This is directly across from the Willow Flowage Boat Launch at the Flowage Dam.
-(1/2 way point) Lunch break at 11:00 and finishing up around 3:30 pm.
1/2 way location is also the Lunch location : Oneida County Willow River Picnic Area; Town of Lynne, WI. Meet here (drive a vehicle with your bike, leave the vehicle) if you want to ride ~1/2 of the route. In the past people have volunteered to bring riders back to pick up their vehicles. (Detailed location: Off of Rapids Road-closest address to picnic area is 13485 Rapids Road, Lynne, WI; picnic area is 1/2 mile SE of that address).
Finish is where we start/park.
POST RIDE FOOD:
Meet at the nearby Willow Haven Bar & Grill Supper Club, 4877 Haven Drive, Hazelhurst, WI 54531 Phone: (715) 453-3678
https://www.facebook.com/WillowHavenBarAndGrill
Estimated Ride Time: 9:00-11:00 (11-12:00 lunch) 12:00-3:00 = 5-6 hours. Will break into groups to meet everyone's pace. There will be a sweeper to make sure everyone makes it to the end.
Bring: lunch, electrolytes, jacket, hydration pack and water bottle(s).
Course details:
SHORT: ~39 miles which includes Iron Gate Road
LONG: ~46miles which includes Gobbler Lake Road.
The UTV/ATV trails will likey not be open yet, however, some of the gravel roads may still have vehicle traffic, as they are multi-use roads. Rides include some paved roads. The goal is to stay off of paved roads but we must use some to make it around the Willow. The gravel roads are fairly flat but the double wide snowmobile trails have some short hills.
The SHORT route includes a river crossing and a corduroy road.
The LONG route heads south at the intersection of Lamar Springs Road, and McCord Road, to Kelly Fire Lane, to Gobbler Lake Road, to Burrows Lake Road, Brown Creek
Road, to Hwy Y, then Willow Dam Road to the finish.
There is no way to get around some gravel roads used by UTVs/ATVs and other vehicles (cars and pick up trucks). However, you will have scenic views of the Gobbler State Natural Area, from the top of a classic Esker on Gobbler Lake Road, and go past Burrows Lake.
Approx. surface sum of mileage for the long route:
2-track/grassy snowmo trail-10
Gravel-30
Paved-7
Grand Total ~47 miles for long ride or 39 miles for the shorter ride. The amount of gravel is decreased for the shorter route, from the long route. Groups will split off soon after the 1/2 way point/lunch location.
Interesting features: Water fall at the Cedar Falls Campground, where the Tomahawk River enters the Willow Flowage (the campground has modern toilets); Water fall/rapids at the lunch location on the Willow River; many road-creek crossings (we cross creeks on top of gravel roads); a ~1,200 foot long esker. Since an esker is essentially all gravel, it will be loose, but not very deep. That part of the route is used by UTVs/ATVs, trucks, and cars (stay to the right on the esker hills), even if the UTV/ATV trails are not open, but is generally not used by UTVs/ATVs to the extent that Iron Gate Rd. is. Iron Gate road may be open to vehicle traffic as it is not an official UTV/ATV route, it is a multi-use gravel/sand road.
A Fat bike is recommended. If you wish to ride a mountain bike or gravel bike, 50mm tires (2” or larger) is recommended. This is a social ride...stopping for breaks/ pictures along the way. If there is a group that wants to finish more quickly, the routes are posted in the chat in gpx file formats.
LONG 46 Mile ROUTE:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46730644
SHORT 39.5 Mile ROUTE:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46467331
Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Hazelhurst, Workshops in Hazelhurst.
