The Wood County Parks & Forestry cut the ribbon on a new ATV trail design and route system Wednesday evening at Dexter County Park, a project which also included new ATV campsites.
The project included 42 miles of on-road routes which connect existing routes and trails systems in next-door counties.
These main line routes include 14 miles from Pittsville/Dexter Park to Jackson County, 16 miles from the Wood County ATV Area to Juneau and Jackson counties, and 12 miles from the Wood County ATV Area to Nekoosa through Saratoga to Adams County.
It was also announced that Wood County Parks & Forestry has received over $400,000 in ATV/UTV trail grants fully funded by the DNR. Over the next two years, these will be used for maintenance for 5.1 miles at East Hazelnut and 3.8 miles at the Kimball Connector Trail, to make improvements to the parking lot and add a new ramp at the Wood County ATV Intensive Use Area, and to add four miles of new trail, which will include a bridge and two boardwalks, at the Wood County Forest in the Town of Hiles.
The county will use existing logging roads wherever possible to limit the project’s impact on wetland and forest habitat while providing trail users a scenic route through forest.