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Rock County Parks Department
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Contact: Mary Tano, 608-798-8681
CROSS PLAINS, Wis., – The National Park Service (NPS) has approved a Corridor Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (Ice Age NST) in Rock County, Wisconsin. The corridor is an area averaging 2-5 miles wide that includes some of the best glacial features in Rock County, hiker support facilities, and existing trail segments. Subsequently, the efforts will begin to work with willing landowners to develop the trail within the approved corridor.Today, approximately 22 miles of the Ice Age NST exist in the county. The Preferred Alternative would allow an additional 65-75 miles of Ice Age NST to be constructed from the Clover Valley State Wildlife Area at the Walworth County line, west to the Green County line near Magnolia Bluff County Park.Landowners interested in allowing the Ice Age NST passage across their lands, can work with the partners: Ice Age Trail Alliance, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the NPS. Any land transactions would be made on a willing-participant basis only. Lands purchased for the Ice Age NST by public agencies or non-profit organizations may be eligible for funding assistance under the Wisconsin State Stewardship Program and Federal grant programs. It is not the intent of the partners to acquire all the land within the corridor. The Ice Age NST was authorized as a National Scenic Trail by Congress in 1980 and a State Scenic Trail in 1987. When completed, the trail will meander over 1,200 miles through some of the finest glacial scenery in Wisconsin providing day walkers, backpackers, school children, and general outdoor enthusiasts with a premier hiking and educational experience. Today, approximately 700-miles of the trail is built. For more information, please visit the Ice Age National Scenic Trail website at https://www.nps.gov/iatr/index.htm, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website at https://dnr.wi.gov/, or the Ice Age Trail Alliance website at https://www.iceagetrail.org/.Last updated: October 31, 2023