Explore the best rated trails in Merrill, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Bearskin State Trail and Schrader Connection. With more than 12 trails covering 272 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I absolutely love this stretch of the trail. Beautiful scenery and solid.
This trail had been my favorite by far, the different roads you drive on, true windy trails, steep hills, multiple loops. I had a blast!!! Already can't wait to go again.
I’m not sure why there’s so many negative reviews? The trail is very nice with a cool bridge right by Sara Park, where there’s nice parking right next to the trail. It goes from there (Tomahawk) to Heafford Junction on a nice gravel trail that hooks up with the awesome Bearskin Trail.
Did the whole Southern segment. Was a decent trail..the usual trail trail..nothing spectacular. The part of the trail running along the water is pretty. Low rating is for the all the horse **** up n down the entire trail. The leaves this time of year really hide the piles.
This trail system is awesome and will def be back when I can spend the whole day exploring all of them! It was pleasantly surprised to see it ran through the sculpture garden! Love that it passes by water and has boardwalks.
We rode it yesterday and really liked the undulating trail. So much better than an abandoned railroad trail. There are quite a few metal barriers to keep cars and atvs off the trail with just enough space for a biker to get thru. The one off trail section is hilly
We rode a small portion of this trail to add miles to the Mountain Bay also done on this date. The intersection of the two trails is on grass for approximately 100 yards. If you didn't know it was there it could be missed. There was a lot of weed overgrowth on the trail, it is not well maintained. We rode from Eland to Birnamwood for a total of 8 miles.
We completed this trail in multiple legs.
July 26, 2022
We started at the Trailhead in Howard, Wisconsin. There is an outhouse. We rode from the trailhead to approximately 1/2 way between Green Valley Road and Elm Road. 30.16 miles. The Brown County surface is crushed limestone, some of it packed. Shawano County is crushed pea gravel. Both counties were well groomed. The path in Brown County is wider in some areas.
July 28, 2022
We started on Ash Circle off of Hwy 22 headed East toward Pulaski, after 15 miles we turned around about 1/4 mile past Elm Road. The first five miles there was frequent horse dung. There is a restaurant on the trail that had a horse tie out. Other than that the trail was clean with no high weeds. Surface was gravel, somewhat packed. There were no facilities on this leg. A tornado came through this area in June, 2022, the trees were cleaned off the trail. Total ride was 30 miles.
August 3, 2022
We started the ride near Herman Street & Grunewald Street, parking across the street from the Long Branch Saloon where there is a Memorial Shelter with picnic tables & a covered open shelter. It is parallel to the trail. Headed East toward Shawano turning around at county HHH. Total ride was 30.64 miles. On this APP "trailhead and water" was indicated, neither existed. About 4 miles of the ride was on a county road. It is the portion of the APP map that veers off. The trail in the village of Shawano is paved. The trail is clean with no high weeds. The Railroad station in Shawano has bathrooms. There was no tree damage on this section from the June tornado. 30.64 miles
August 4, 2022
We started at the same location across from the Long Branch Saloon heading West to Shepley. This segment had tree damage from the June tornado. It was sparse until after the covered bridge. Approximately a 3.5 mile stretch with frequent downed trees that had been cleared from the path. The clearing left the terrain difficult to manage, lots of sticks and uneven path caused by the heavy equipment used to remove the trees. There were 4 sections of approximately 1/8 mile each of torn up trail due to the heavy equipment and sticks left on the trail. The trail was marked with signage that this segment was closed, we did not see it on the way out. As the trail is used for snowmobiles, hopefully it gets fully cleaned up by winter. 30 miles.
August 30, 2022
We stayed at the Ho Chunk Casino. The trail was easy access from this starting point. We headed East to Shepley then West to Eland. We took a small detour heading North on the Wiouwash State Trail to Birnamwood. This leg was 8 miles round trip. That small leg was not well maintained. We rode on grass at the start for about a football field, if you didn't know the trail was there you could actually miss it. The two trails supposedly intersect. After returning South we then proceeded on the Mountain Bay Trail heading West toward Eland. The trail was crushed packed stone. Shawano County was weedy and not well maintained. In many areas you had only a small dirt path on each side of the trail that was free of weeds. Once you reach Marathon County the surface changes. It was very well maintained and almost free of any weeds or any growth on the trail. We turned around at the 1/4 mile long bridge, before reaching Hatley. There are no facilities on this segment. 30.02 miles of which 8 were on the Wiowash Trail.
August 31, 2022
We started at the trailhead in Weston on Municipal Street. There are indoor facilities and picnic tables. About 3 miles in there is an outhouse just off the trail on the right. We headed East crossing the 1/4 mile bridge. Then returned West. The surface is excellent and well maintained. There are donated benches frequently along the route. The trailhead in Ringle has an outhouse, however it hadn't been serviced in some time when we were there. The trail is mostly wooded with some open areas. 25.83 miles.
The segment from Weston to Eland was the best maintained on this trail.
Total ride, 176 miles less the 8 on Wiowash 168 round trip on Mountain Bay.
I left a previous review for a portion of this trail we did in June, 2022, riding from Minocqua South. On this trip we rode the first portion from South to North. Starting in Tomahawk. There is a big difference between the two starting locations.
8/23/22
We started the ride on the Hiawatha State Trail (a 6 mile trail, not 14) from our hotel on Menominee Court in Tomahawk. I left a review on that trail, it had its challenges. The trail connected to Bearskin without any hiccups. The 4.5 miles that are noted in this AP as being off road, has two sections, 3/4 mile each where surface is heavy loose gravel (1/2" gravel stones). Not a pleasant riding experience. The portion on County Rd L is 3/4 of a mile, expect there to be traffic. (to sum up, 4.5 miles of off road, with 1.5 miles on loose gravel, and 3/4 mile on a well travelled county road.) Half of that stretch (2.5 miles) isn't the best riding conditions. Our ride that day was 30 miles. We don't quit when faced with obstacles.
8/24/22
We started at the Bearskin Trailhead in Minocqua, going South. It was a great starting point with a large park, indoor toilet and picnic tables. We came upon a short detour (about 1/16 mile) on Lakewood Road, as there is a new bridge under construction. (not just a trellis, but concrete). There is a sandy road portion, we walked our bikes up. No biggie, just a few yards. Between miles 11-12 going South from Minocqua there is a challenging asphalt hill. One up and one going down a short distance from the other. Both are asphalt. Going South the hill is steeper on the downhill side. Be prepared when you traverse the other direction, it is a harder climb, to which we walked up. Surface is finely crushed stone. We rode 30 miles.
We were skeptical when starting this ride that it was 14 miles on direction. Other sources, google maps, etc., led us to believe otherwise. Turns out we were correct. We started from our hotel on Menominee Court to West Mohawk Drive, in Tomahawk. A short distance to the trail. We rode South first, the route ended in 1.5 miles. We looped back, proceeding North. The trail merged with Bearskin about 4.5 miles later, a total of 6 miles, (not 14). That is an estimate as I am going by the first Bearskin sign we saw. We were aware that the trail connected to Bearskin. The trail is mostly packed gravel, but turned into heavy loose gravel (1/2" stones) for about 1 mile. We continued going North on Bearskin to complete our ride. If interested there is a review on that leg on the Bearskin State Trail. It wasn't the best. Our total ride was 30 miles. (we aren't quitters)
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