Heart of Vilas

The Northwoods of Wisconsin has been a getaway for many years, and generations of families. I know of people who are now on the third generation of cabin ownership on a Northwoods lake. The lakes and the woods have been a draw, as can be seen, for generations. When my wife was a tween her family and some relatives camped together for two weeks at a time, in early July during the Harnischfeger Corporation summer break at Muskellunge Lake. The Northwoods is created through a blend of geology, geography and culture. 

Near Crystal Lake, Oct 2021

For as many years as my wife and I have camped, starting in 1998, for some reason we seldom camped in the Northern Highlands American Legion (NHAL) State Forest. I am not sure why, perhaps the popular campgrounds were all taken and the lesser popular ones I did not have much information  on. Many times we camped at Laura Lake, in northeast Wisconsin, which was a good fit with young boys who could simply play at the beach, or we could canoe. We also camped at Brunet Island and Point Beach a good deal. The Heart of Vilas Trail opened in 1994 and more segments were added by 2007. I think the first I knew about the trails was in 2014, when we did a twin time adventure to visit a brother and his wife in Conover. 

Our first major camping effort in the NHAL was in 2019, when my wife and I, in our less than three month old camper, camped at Upper Gresham Campground, off of CTH H, and southwest of Boulder Junction. During that trip we took our bikes and biked part of the trails. A brother and his spouse celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and so we timed our trip to attend their party at the Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction. Upper Gresham is a nice campground, and had many available sites at that time, but biking or driving through more recently, it seems that there has been an uptick in its use, and sites are not as available as they once were. Could it be the popularity of the bike trails?

Heart of Vilas Trail

The system consists of over 52 miles of trail, running from Mercer, in the northwest of the system southeast to St Germain. Many of the trails go through the NHAL. Some segments, such as the three year old North Creek loop have a mix of trail and on-road biking. North Creek Rd, which was unpaved when we camped in 2019, but was under construction for pavement, probably to accommodate the North Creek Loop, is a significant section of this 14 mile loop. The loop goes by Upper Gresham Campground. It also goes by Jag Lake, which is a group campground site. My wife and I one time biked into the group campground, it was unoccupied, but had some nice sites group sites.

Other campgrounds have easy access to the trail system, the massive Crystal-Muskellunge (between them they have 180 sites, where the wife camped as a tween. There also exists nearby or right next to the trail, Firefly, Plum Lake, and the two Trout Lake Campgrounds. It is difficult to get a reservation at Crystal-Muskellunge and the also popular Firefly. Our campground of choice, Cunard lake, is a small campground, just over 30 sites, and is designated as only one of two quiet campgrounds in the NHAL. that means no radios and no generators. Per the statistics of the NHAL, it is also one of the three least busy campgrounds over the past three or four years. This is fine by us. Even this past July, I was surprised how many sites were available, during prime camping season. Located about half way between St Germain and Woodruff, we drive to get to varied trails. We first camped at Cunard in 2022, and through this season have camped there seven times. The most recent in the later half of July.  

We once camped at Clear Lake in 2021, and they now have their own 5 plus mile trail which is rather challenging with hills. Part of the trail is deep in the woods, another segment follows a power line. There are other expansions about to occur, one is near Big Lake, which is another underutilized campground, between Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters. 

Other trails that not part of the Heart of Vilas system should be experienced. First, there is the Forest Lake Trail, which is set deep in a woods and winds around a bit. It is located off of County B west of County S. Another trail, which we did a few years ago, is the  Three Eagle Trail, which is a 12.7 mile trail that runs between Eagle River and Three Lakes. We often biked from Three Lakes, ate lunch in Eagle River, and bought fudge, and then biked back to Three Lakes. In Three Lakes we would stop at the local winery and taste their goods and make purchase some wine. Each trail provides some similarities, but also some differences. Forest River is fully paved, and can be extended by heading east on a trail that parallels CTH B. Part of Three Eagle is unpaved, but is, nonetheless, a pleasant ride. The small communities are a great place to have lunch, or sit and enjoy some ice cream. 

Forest Lake Trail, Oct 2021

Boulder is a great place to stay for biking. It is near central to the trail system, but more importantly is near many of the nicer segments of trails. For about six years now we have gone to Boulder and stayed at Big Bear with some family members and biked the trails for a week. While we have had our share of cold and rainy weather, the Northwoods is still a draw. Yet, there are other activities, water sports--kayaking and canoeing, swimming, and many varied hiking trails. 

Yet, biking, I believe, now dominates in the summer. I have noticed an increase number of bikers over the five or six years while staying at Big Bear. I think the increase is due in large part, to e-bikes, which now give persons who would likely have difficulty managing15 to 20 miles a much easier method of biking. You see all types of bikers, from the hard-core MAMLs, to children and seasoned citizens, many on e-bikes. What is a MAML? It is a Middle Aged Male in Lycra. I think you know the type. Then there are OWLs, a term my wife and I coined--Older Women wearing Lycra. The largest age cohort has to be retired folks, our anear our age demographic, so OWLs predominate the trails. Seasoned citizens, many on e-bikes, are the main trail users from what I see when biking the Heart of Vilas. At times I am surprised at how few e-bikes I see in some groups.

Three Eagle Trail

This past August at Big Bear there were a group of old women who stayed d in a nearby cabin. We saw them a couple times on the trail when we biked. I used the term old, and was told, by relatives that they were about  "our age". I insisted they were older, and I believe I was proven right. The day they left, another group of women, some our age and some younger showed up and they were hard core bikers. Thus, with the popularity of e-bikes the trail system use has boomed. In fact, there was an article in  Sept 27, 2026 Wisconsin State Journal by a news columnist who biked part of the system with his wife  It was a well-done article and it shows that trail expansion is important. 

My wife and I have biked every time we camped at Cunard. Hence, the trails by St Germain and Sayner are the ones we have biked the most. One of our favorite segments is the Sayner to County M-N intersection. This is a popular segment as it goes through the NHAL and borders along CTH N for part of the route. The segment by and through the woods along Crystal Lake is a favored section with the mixed woods and dappled sun which opens onto the parking lot serving the beach and day use area with Crystal Lake off to the side. Looking in the other direction, one can see through the tall grasses and trees Big Muskellunge Lake. We have biked part of the trails in June through early October. One trip in early October peak color had passed, but the yellows on the birch by Crystal Lake seemed .magical as you biked the golden trail with leaves falling about you.

The Northwoods may have short summers, and long shoulder seasons, but if you get a chance bike the Heart of Vilas Trails and enjoy a different perspective on the Northwoods than from a fishing boat. The trails can be challenging at times, but the views and the enjoyment outweigh the hills.