Forest Lodge Nature Trail

The Forest Lodge trails were originally developed in 1968 by the Cable Natural History Museum on property owned by museum founder, Marry Griggs Clark. In 1999 the land was gifted to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and has since been maintained in a cooperative effort by the museum and the U.S. Forest Service.

Forest Lodge features a small, stacked-loop trail system. There are three trails named the Forest Lodge Nature Trail, Extended Nature Trail, and the Conservancy Trail. The first two are the most popular hikes, and all provide scenic relaxing walks through the Wisconsin northwoods, especially if your looking for something a little less strenuous than the nearby North Country Trail.

The trails meander through a variety of habitats and forest types over uneven terrain. Expansive fern beds frequently surround the well-worn footpaths and flowering plants bloom at various times throughout the warm-weather seasons. Flowering species include wood anemone, laurel, arbutus, sundew, starflowers, serviceberries, bog cranberry, and wintergreen, just to name a few. Birdlife is abundant. Expect to see and hear warblers, nuthatches, vireos, sparrows, woodpeckers, and chickadees, especially on early morning walks.

Nature Trail

The Forest Lodge Nature Trail is one of the best interpretive trails in northern Wisconsin. The mixed forest features massive oaks, mature red and white pines, birch and aspen groves, dense stands of balsam fir, a shady hemlock swamp, an open fen, several stream crossings, and a small experimental prairie. The rolling terrain has a few small hills with occasional steep inclines.

A boardwalk to a viewing platform in an open fen is the highlight of the trail. The fen was once a small kettle lake that formed after the last ice age. Over several millennia, vegetation encroached into the acidic waters of the lake and, as the plants died and sank to the bottom they formed layer after layer of poorly decomposed peat. Eventually, the layers of peat and living plants filled the lake, transforming it into the small fen you see today. A spongy mat of sedge grasses and leatherleaf carpet the open area, surrounded by tamarack and spruce with tall spires of conifers and canopies of hardwoods in the background. This is a very scenic setting.

It is recommended that you download the interpretive guide/booklet. It gives a detailed narrative of the Forest Lodge Nature Trail including descriptions of local flora and fauna as well as tidbits and facts about the history of the area. The booklets are also freely available in a small wooden box near the trailhead, and at the Cable Natural History Museum, a 12-minute drive away.

Extended Nature Trail

The Extended Nature Trail is a short, extended loop of the main nature trail that circles a scenic hemlock swamp. A high forest canopy blocks out much of the sunlight. Moss-covered deadfall is scattered on the damp ground amidst beautiful fern gardens, all surrounded by low, steep sided hills covered in vegetation and dense stands of balsam fir. The scent of pine is present throughout this short loop.

Conservancy Trail

The trail runs east from the main trailhead, crosses FR 203 twice, and ends at the east end of the Extended Nature Trail loop. The Conservancy Trail primarily runs through a mixed hardwood and pine forest over hilly terrain and is a longer hike than the other two trails.

Although you will occasionally hear traffic from Garmisch Road, this is a very peaceful hike and you will see and hear plenty of wildlife, especially birds, and especially during early morning walks.

Recreation & Attractions

Interpretive trail, scenic forest, spruce & tamarack fen, hemlock swamp, historic Point of Interest

Amenities

Parking area, drinking water (hand pump), picnic table, pit toilet

Managing Agency & Fees

• US Forest Service
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• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• Great Divide Ranger District
• 10650 Nyman Ave.
• Hayward, WI 54843
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• Phone: 715.634.4821
• Official Website: Forest Lodge Nature Trail
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• Permit / Access Fee: Yes
• Daily Pass: Just visiting for the day? The Forest provides payment envelopes on site where day-use fees are required. Simply write your information on an envelope, enclose your payment, and drop the envelope in the payment box. Make sure to reserve the perforated tag for display in your vehicle.


• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Annual Sticker: An annual sticker provides year-round access to day-use sites on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. A sticker is valid from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.


• Interagency Pass: Honored nationwide at all Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and US Fish & Wildlife Service sites charging entrance or standard amenity fees
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• Also Visit:
• Cable Natural History Museum
• 13470 County Highway M
• Cable, WI 54821
• Phone: 715.798.3890
• Official Website: Cable Natural History Museum

Nearby Trails & Places

• NCT Swedish Settlement | Hiking, historical sites, scenic overlooks
• Morgan Falls-St Peters Dome* | Hiking, waterfalls, scenic overlook
• CAMBA Trails* | Mountain biking
• Namekagon River | Paddling
• Copper Falls State Park | Waterfalls, hiking, mountain biking, camping