Great Headwaters Trails Foundation Recognized in Wisconsin Outdoor Industry Awards Program
By Gary Ridderbusch
The Three Eagle Trail Foundation, Three Lakes Visitors Bureau and Great Headwaters Trails Foundation (GHTF) were recently recognized in the Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Awards program in the category of “Tandem Award for Collaboration.”
Although the locally-nominated organizations did not receive the top award, they were invited to be recognized and joined the ceremony with Gov. Tony Evers, who made the award announcements at the Executive Residence in Madison last month.
The Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Awards recognize the people, businesses, organizations and places leading Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry. The awards celebrate outstanding accomplishments that drive economic impact and elevate Wisconsin’s thriving outdoor industry.
The Three Eagle Trail Foundation was nominated for a 2025 project with the Three Lakes Visitors Bureau and GHTF. The Three Eagle Trail was selected to complete an economic significance study sponsored by the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation.
“Our group met with a consultant over Zoom for almost a year to design the study, develop the survey instrument, deliver the survey both online and in person, analyze the data, and write up the report,” said Three Eagle Trail Foundation President Chris Nafziger.
The study found that bikers and pedestrians spend about $206 per person in the area. Passive infrared trail counters were also installed on the trail and showed that in the summer of 2025 about 10,659 people used the Three Eagle Trail.
“The big takeaway is that visitors and locals to the Three Eagle Trail spend over $2 million in the town of Lincoln, the city of Eagle River, and the town of Three Lakes each year,” said Nafziger.
The trail is free to the public, does not require tax revenue and is open year-round, bringing in tourists for events from around the state, according to Nafziger.
“Businesses don’t often credit their patrons with being bikers because they don’t go shopping in bike clothes,” said Nafziger. “Almost two-thirds of all spending came from out-of-town visitors, which underscores the role the trail plays in attracting new dollars to the local economy.”
For three seasons, the foundation maintains the trail as a 12.7-mile bike and pedestrian crushed limestone path, with a short section on a public town road. During the winter, volunteers groom the middle 5-mile section into classical and skate cross-country skiing trails while the northern and southern thirds of the trail are converted into snowmobile routes.
“This project (economic study) could not have been done without the help of Cheryl Adams from the GHTF and Jacqui Sharpe from the Three Lakes Visitors Bureau,” said Nafziger. “The three of us met monthly for around a year to discuss strategies and develop ideas for how to ask the right questions. Survey development is a complicated task; there are many ways to ask the same question, and it takes time to find the best iteration. Most of our discussions benefited from having multiple perspectives, which was important to our success. It was an honor to be nominated for the award. I look forward to similar projects in the future that can demonstrate the economic veracity of our great Northwoods.”
Jacqui Sharpe, executive director of the Three Lakes Area Visitors Bureau, also said it was an honor to be nominated for a Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Award.
“Even though we didn’t win, it was wonderful to be included in the very special awards at the Executive Residence,” said Sharpe.
“The collaboration between the Three Eagle Trail, Three Lakes Visitors Bureau and Great Headwaters Trails Foundation as part of the Office of Outdoor Recreation DIY Economic Impact study brought valuable data and insight into who is using our trail and how they experience our communities,” Sharpe added. “We’re excited to continue to work together to grow outdoor recreation in our area and strengthen our community.”
Another nomination:
The UW-Platteville School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Senior Design Capstone was also nominated for a collaboration award for sponsoring teams of engineering students to complete engineering projects for GHTF’s bike/pedestrian trail development.
Laura Van Valkenberg, GHTF president, said she was thrilled that GHTF was part of the two nominations for working in collaboration with the other organizations.
“While we didn’t win, it was wonderful to be nominated and even more so to work with such great people on these projects,” said Van Valkenberg. “This was GHTF’s second time working with the UW-Platteville engineering students. It is a fantastic program that gives senior students hands-on experience with real-life projects.
“When we first collaborated with them about four years ago, they worked on two potential projects: a 2-mile extension of the Conover-Phelps Trail to Torch Lake County Park and a design for a safe crossing of Highway 45 for bikes and pedestrians in downtown Eagle River. Based on the students’ initial work, both of these projects are now in progress.” Mike Maierle, GHTF volunteer engineer, attended the awards program with Adams, a GHTF board member.
He said GHTF has participated in several UW-Platteville senior design projects over the past few years, in which teams of senior engineers are tasked with developing engineering solutions to real world infrastructure and building challenges faced by the private/public partners who participate in this valuable UW-Platteville program.
“Although UW-Platteville did not win the 2026 award, its nomination is a strong testament to the importance of its program and the value of collaboration between wide ranging public and private partners to enhance outdoor recreation in Wisconsin,” said Maierle, who coordinates GHTF’s activities with UW-Platteville.
“As a recently retired engineer, it is very rewarding to work with UW-Platteville and their well trained, enthusiastic engineering graduates. They develop creative and fit-for-purpose solutions and apply the latest engineering tools for generating design options that will be useful as planning activities advance for the River Trail,” he said.
In this last round of senior design projects completed in the spring of 2026, two teams of graduating UW-Platteville senior engineers developed design analyses, preliminary designs and cost estimates on behalf of GHTF for various routing options for both the eastern and western ends of the proposed biking and hiking River Trail between Eagle River and St. Germain.
“Their project work will be useful during subsequent detailed planning for the applicable sections of the proposed River Trail,” said Maierle. “Previously, a UW-Platteville senior design team provided design recommendations for a portion of the Conover-Phelps Trail which were incorporated into the final design and construction of that trail.”
The Conover-Phelps Trail is an 11-mile trail that connects the business districts of Conover and Phelps, while the proposed 10-mile River Trail is in the planning stages and will run from Eagle River to St. Germain. It will connect to the 50-mile Heart of Vilas County Trail System and the Three Eagle Trail.