River Trail
River Trail 10 Miles of Trail
The River Trail will connect Eagle River to St. Germain, adding 10 miles to the 55-mile Heart of Vilas County biking and hiking trail system.
The City of Eagle River and towns of Cloverland and St. Germain have formed a multi-jurisdictional commission to head up development of the River Trail, which would run parallel to Highway 70 along the Wisconsin River.
A detailed feasibility study prepared by MSA Professional Services in 2019 has been reviewed by officials with the DOT and DNR, as well as county personnel and supervisors, trail contractors, local residents, business owners, municipal officials, and the officers of the two local snowmobile clubs and ATV-UTV clubs.
River Trail Impact
Vilas County and the Eagle River area are renown for tourism, welcoming tens of thousands of people each year. The success of many area businesses is directly tied to tourism.
"Spending on hotel rooms, restaurant meals, recreational activities and shopping and transportation services by visitors reached $12.9 billion in 2021. This direct impact of $12.9 billion generated $4.0 billion business sales in indirect impacts and another $4.1 billion in induced impacts, resulting in a total economic impact of $20.9 billion in the Wisconsin economy, 21% more than a year earlier," according to The Wisconsin Visitor Industry, June 2022 report.
The Wisconsin Department of Tourism notes that Wisconsin tourism had a record-breaking 2023, generating a historic $25 billion economic impact, marking back-to-back record-breaking years for tourism’s economic impact. All 72 counties saw year-over-year growth in total economic impact.
Data from the 2022 Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation report shows that bicycling generated $451 million for the state's economy.
Since that report, interest in bicycling has continued to grow. The Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail System, which connects the towns of St. Germain, Sayner and Star Lake, Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters and Mercer, all experience significant benefits from this non-motorized 55-mile trail. The Trail received national recognition and designation as a USA National Recreation Trail in 2020.
The City of Eagle River and a couple of adjacent townships have expressed a safety concern with the proposal to create the River Trail to connect to the St. Germain segment of the Heart of Vilas County Trail system. The River Trail makes the communities safer by providing a separate, multi-use path, that removes vulnerable road users from the flow of traffic, as currently, bikers are riding along Hwy 70. This is unsafe according to the Wisconsin DOT Rural Bike Planning Standards.
For more than a decade, residents and officials in the Eagle River and St. Germain areas have been informally discussing a biking and walking trail to connect the municipalities with Cloverland and Lincoln, and extend the nationally recognized Heart of Vilas Trail System to Eagle River. The formation of the River Trail Commission in 2018, and its partnership with Great Headwaters Trails, set the stage to make the connection happen.
The Great Headwaters Trails Foundation, Inc. (GHT), has provided substantial, accurate data and information from reliable sources that include the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The River Trail Commission reaffirmed the route along the Hwy 70 corridor as the best option for safety and serving the most residents and businesses with the least expense and fewest complications.
Detailed information on GHT’s efforts, research and plan for the River Trail may be viewed below.
According to a report from StreetLight, based on data from their Active Transportation Monitor, ridership in the U.S. is up a whopping 37% since 2019.
Anyone who has visited St. Germain, Sayner and Star Lake, Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters or Mercer during the Summer can attest to the number of cyclists visiting these communities – and the positive effects on tourism revenue. As noted above, data from the 2022 Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation report shows that bicycling generated $451 million for the state's economy.
Your Support is Needed!
Show your support for the River Trail by contacting your municipal leaders and asking them to support this project!
Eagle River:
- Jeff Hyslop – jah4wi@choicetel.net
- Diane Marquardt – dianemqt@icloud.com
- Jerry Burkett – jerry@burkettrealty.com
- Kim Schaffer – kschaffer@choicetel.net
- Dan Dumas – Dan@northwoodsmediaworks.com
- Robin Ginner, City Administrator – rcginner@eagleriverwi.gov
Town of Lincoln: (declined to join, but should be encouraged to join the cause)
- Bill Hassey – bhassey@frontier.com
- Kimberly Simac – bk951@frontier.com
- Ken Fox – wpine2fox@yahoo.com
- Bill Marshall – bmarsh68@gmail.com
- Bruce Richter – Richterbrunan86@gmail.com
Cloverland:
- Scott Maciosek – 715-479-3408
- Francine Gough – supervisor1@townofcloverland.wi.gov
- Mike Gough – supervisor2@townofcloverland.wi.gov
- Millie Ritzer – supervisor3@townofcloverland.wi.gov
- Joe Spitz * – supervisor4@townofcloverland.wi.gov
St Germain:
- Tom Christensen – tom.christensen@stgermainwi.gov
- Patric Niggemeier – patric.niggemeier@stgermainwi.gov
- Brian Cooper – brian.cooper@stgermainwi.gov
- Kalisa Mortag – kalisa.mortag@stgermainwi.gov
- Jim Swenson * – jim.swenson@stgermainwi.gov
* Denotes River Trail Commission Members
For more information on the River Trail project:
- Scroll Down
- Call GHT at (715) 303-4483
- Email GHT
Thank you!
Updates on the River Trail
By Gary Ridderbusch, Correspondent The River Trail Commission gave a preliminary endorsement to a Highway 45 multi-use crossing and “placemaking” project that could be billed as the initial phase of the proposed River Trail between Eagle River and St. Germain at its meeting last Wednesday. The crossing project, proposed by the Eagle River Revitalization Program…
read more >By Gary Ridderbusch In an effort to support bike trail opportunities, maintenance and development in eastern Vilas County, organizers of the 3Bear 5K recently donated $4,500 to Great Headwaters Trails (GHT). The 3Bear 5K was held in Land O’ Lakes on July 4th as part of the town’s Fourth of July festivities. The annual family-friendly…
read more >The River Trail will connect Eagle River to the 55-mile Heart of Vilas System, and extend the system by 10 miles. St. Germain will become a system hub and the new River Trail will, we predict, become one of the most popular parts of the whole system! At the place shown in the photo, the…
read more >GHT’s retired engineers did a study of several routing options to provide clarity to questions raised early in the summer of 2023 about the best route for the River Trail. Their findings confirmed that the route that had been proposed in 2018 was the best in all categories of study: providing safety to bike riders…
read more >A good place to learn more about the River Trail project will be the Eagle River Council meeting at 6 p.m. on June 13.
read more >River Trail Extending the Heart of Vilas Trail System
On the map above, the proposed route of the River Trail is shown as a DARK BLUE LINE. A marks the current end of the HoV trail, B is where new trail
will begin south of STH 70, C is where the trail crosses to the north side of STH 70 and D marks the eastern end of the River Trail.
For more than a decade, residents and officials in the Eagle River-St. Germain area have been informally discussing a biking and walking trail to connect those municipalities as well as Cloverland and Lincoln and extend the nationally recognized Heart of Vilas Trail System. The 2018 formation of the River Trail Commission and its partnership with Great Headwaters Trails sets the stage to make that connection happen.
The River Trail will be a paved, off-road trail for people of all ages to use on foot or on bikes. At its western end, the trail will start on the northwest corner of Hwy 70 and Cty O where the bike-ped trail coming out of St Germain now ends. It will head east from there for 10 miles, ending at a Riverview Park trailhead in Eagle River. This will connect Eagle River, the Three Eagle Trail and the Town of Three Lakes into the 55-mile-long Heart of Vilas walking and biking trail system (it’s the burnt orange line on the areawide map on the back page).
The River Trail will be close to the Wisconsin River for much of its route. It will include parking and waysides to enhance recreational opportunities already presented by the river, like fishing, boating and tubing.
The 10 foot wide asphalt trail will also give residents along busy Hwy 70 near Eagle River a safe place to walk or bike into town, providing a convenient way to visit neighbors, get to worship, and go to businesses.
Overall, the River Trail will add a convenient amenity for community members, and a powerful draw for visitors and for people considering the area as a place to settle down. It will also be good economic news for private property owners and businesses.
- The River Trail Commission will build and operate the biking and walking trail. The Commission is composed of supervisors from the towns of Cloverland (Joe Spitz) and St Germain (Jim Swenson), and an alderman from the City of Eagle River (Ron Kressin). The Town of Lincoln can join at any time but has so far declined. County supervisor Holly Tomlanovich and County Recreation Supervisor Todd Bierman regularly attend Commission meetings.
- Great Headwaters Trails (GHT) is a local nonprofit working with the Commission in the same manner that it had worked with the towns of Phelps and Conover, raising all the funds needed to build their bike-ped trail. GHT also provides volunteer engineering services and public information about the project.
- MSA Professional Services completed a detailed Feasibility Study for the project in January of 2020. The study is based on MSA field work done in 2018 and a conceptual plan that GHT had developed. That plan was reviewed favorably by the DOT and DNR and local stakeholders. The study has also facilitated further coordination with the DOT and DNR, as well as with stakeholders of all sorts.
Planning a worthy addition to the Heart of Vilas Trail System
The River Trail will cover the 10 miles between the current terminus of the Heart of Vilas Trail System in St. Germain (Point A above) and the area around Riverview Park in Eagle River (Point D.)
Planned to meet the standards set by the Heart of Vilas Trails, most of River Trail will be a 10-foot-wide, off-road, paved path staying as far from the traffic on STH 70 as possible. The goals are to provide a safe and convenient place for recreation and transportation.
Riders and walkers will stay on Old Highway 70, a mildly traveled road away from the current STH 70, to get from St Germain to where the first stretch of trail begins (Point B). The trail will run south of STH 70 near the river from there to a crossing near Zeman Road (Point C) to the north side of STH 70. From there on the River Trail will cross the Wisconsin River on a separate non- motorized bridge north of the current highway bridge. It will stay north of STH 70 all the way to Riverview Park. In this eastern stretch of the trail it will be as much a place for people to walk as for people to ride bikes.