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The hiking trail that runs through the farm
Plus: a Braille Trail opens in Milwaukee, 50 million trees, and candlelight hikes
Forrest Koslowski
October 15, 2026
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Mornin’ to the squirrels, who have some competition this fall. The DNR’s state nurseries buy tree seed from regular folks to grow next spring’s seedlings. Call your nearest nursery first, since they stop buying once they have enough. Finally, a side hustle that’s just picking stuff up off the lawn.
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This week’s weekly:
🦯 Havenwoods opens a trail you can read with your hands
🌳 Wisconsin hits 50 million trees, halfway there
🕯️ Candlelight hikes are back at state parks
🐄 STORY OF THE WEEK: The hiking trail that runs through the farm
🦯 Havenwoods opens a trail you can read with your hands LINK
Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee has a new Braille Trail, a 0.33-mile loop with tactile and audio stops along the way. The braille signs cover the forest’s history, habitat, plants and animals.
The ribbon cutting is Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to noon, at 6141 N. Hopkins St. Everyone’s welcome. Expect activities, tables from groups that serve people who are blind or visually impaired, and white canes to borrow for the trail.
The ribbon gets cut at 11 a.m., and then there’s cake. If it rains, everything moves into the nature center. We’d have put the cake in the headline.
🌳 Wisconsin hits 50 million trees, halfway there LINK
Wisconsin just planted its 50 millionth tree under the trillion tree pledge Gov. Evers signed in 2021. The goal started at 75 million by 2030, then got bumped to 100 million in 2024, so we’re halfway.
The DNR’s urban foresters say the count is only half the job. They want every tree planted right, so it lasts 100-plus years. Our record with a houseplant is about six weeks.
One million of the trees are going into cities, including Havenwoods, the Milwaukee forest with the new Braille Trail. Want to plant your own? Seedling orders for spring are open.
🕯️ Candlelight hikes are back at state parks LINK
State parks are lighting trails with candles and torches this fall. Most add a bonfire, cider, hot chocolate or s’mores at the end. Somebody at the DNR has planned a date before.
This weekend: Lakeshore State Park’s sunset stroll Friday, then candlelight hikes at Mirror Lake and Lake Kegonsa and a pumpkin hike at Hartman Creek Saturday. Straight Lake has one Oct. 24. The full list is on the DNR’s events calendar.
Most need a state park vehicle pass, and some libraries lend a daily pass. Wear something bright or bring a glow stick. You’ll be walking in the dark.
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🐄 STORY OF THE WEEK: The hiking trail that runs through the farm LINK
Ever driven through the Driftless, looked up at those ridges and thought, I’d love to walk up there? Usually you can’t. It’s somebody’s farm.
The Driftless Trail is changing that, one farmer at a time.
The problem. Out West, long trails run almost entirely on public land. Wisconsin doesn’t have much. Only about 16.5% of the state is publicly owned, and there’s next to no federal land down south. So unless you have family land, the hills outside the state parks are off limits.
The fix. The Driftless Area Land Conservancy asks landowners for easements, a legal OK that lets the public walk a strip of their land. In 2018, a National Park Service grant paid to find out whether anyone would say yes. Enough did. The first mile opened near Pleasant Ridge in 2020.
What’s open now. Four sections, just over 7 miles in all. Knobs Road is just under four miles through a working cattle farm with big views. Phoebe Point runs about a mile above the Wisconsin River. Weaver Road passes the dairy cows whose milk becomes Uplands Cheese, made just down the road. Farm to table, but you walk it. Welsh Hills starts at the Taliesin Visitor Center, by Frank Lloyd Wright’s old place, and crosses the Cates family farm.
Why farmers say yes. Ann Zimrin, who hosts Knobs Road, says people should get to understand the land around them. Hunting is part of life out there, so she closes her section during the deer hunt, and she says there’s been no trouble. Dick Cates, whose family protects more than three miles of brook trout water on Lowery Creek, says they can hardly wait to share it with walkers, birders and skiers.
Where it’s going. The plan is a 100-mile loop linking Governor Dodge State Park, the Lower Wisconsin River near Spring Green and Blue Mound State Park. Another 15 miles are in the works. By 2030, the hope is a 15-mile hike from the riverway to Governor Dodge. By 2040, maybe the whole loop, through corners of the Driftless the public hasn’t walked since the mid-1800s.
Want to go? The conservancy’s Driftless Trail page lists the sections. Treat it like you’re a guest on somebody’s farm, because you are.
Now get out ’der!
WISCAMPSIN WEEKLY POLL
Last Week's Trivia Check
We asked how Sandhill Cranes project that rattling call for miles. We got you guys on this one! Over 56% of you bet on a throat sac, while only 27% guessed the wild truth.
The Correct Answer: Their windpipe coils deep inside their breastbone like a brass horn.
The Takeaway: A four-foot crane has a five-foot windpipe coiled inside its hollow breastbone. It acts just like a French horn, amplifying their voice across marshes and cut cornfields for miles.
This Week's Trivia
This Saturday, October 17, brings the statewide Pheasant and Zone B Ruffed Grouse openers. Right now, young grouse are going through the "Fall Shuffle," scattering for miles to claim winter territory. As they prep for snow, they actually start growing custom winter gear right on their feet.
What bizarre physical change happens to a Ruffed Grouse's feet every October?Give it your best gut check: |
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A review from the trail…
Five cheeses and a raised eyebrow. We’ll take both.
Well, how'd we do this week? |
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