Avoid Muddy Trails for Nature’s Sake

By Dee Nechkash

Exploring the natural beauty of Southwest Wisconsin should be done without leaving your mark. The weather is finally shaping up into a beautiful spring. Trees are budding, migratory birds are returning and plants are starting to sprout out of the earth. It’s a magical time of year to witness the landscape awakening from a cold, snowy winter.

Just as you already know you shouldn’t carve your name into trees along the trail and you should take your trash and waste with you, you should also know that walking, biking and horseback riding on muddy trails can permanently damage the trail surface, contributing to erosion and creating hard-to-fix trails.

The rule of thumb is: if you are leaving visible bicycle ruts, deep footprints or hoof tracks, the trail is too muddy for recreation!

Muddy trails should be avoided altogether, but if you come to a muddy section on an otherwise dry trail, you can minimize your impact by continuing through the center of the trail, which reduces trail widening. Bikers should dismount and tread lightly down the center. And if there are fallen trees over the trail, walk over them if possible to prevent widening the trail.

For more details on trail etiquette, visit https://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/pr/PR0472.pdf.

The recent rains shouldn’t deter you from getting outdoors this spring. There are many paved and gravel trails locally that are ready for you to enjoy, including:

• Platteville has the David Caney Rountree Branch Trail, a paved and lit trail that follows a trout stream on the outskirts of the city,
• Mound View Park in Platteville has a paved loop as well as a gravel path that connects to the Rountree Branch Trail.
• The paved Mound View State Trail connects Platteville to Belmont.
• In Belmont you can pick up the Pecatonica State Trail, a limestone surfaced multi-recreational trail, which connects to Mineral Point and Monroe. It joins the Cheese Country Trail in Calamine.
• Darlington’s Walking Trail is a paved, lighted walking trail following the Pecatonica River from Black Bridge Park to Riverside Park.
• The Military Ridge Trail in Dodgeville is another great trail option.
• Richland Center has the 14.3-mile paved Pine River Recreation Trail that follows the waterway from Krouskop Park on the north side of Richland Center to Lone Rock.
• Viroqua and Westby are connected by the paved Coon Prairie Trail.