4 minute read
The Wonder of Water
The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway
The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway, newly designated by the DNR as Wisconsin’s 21st water trail consisting of three rivers located in Central Wisconsin. The Wisconsin River Trail is 108 miles in length starting at the Hat Rapids Dam in Oneida County and ending in Portage County at the Lake DuBay Dam. Portions of the trail hold scenic wonders as it flows over rapids and rock outcropping, through primeval pine and hardwood forest, and along the Ice Age Trail.
The trail beckons us back to a time when the Miami tribe called the great river, Meskonsing. French missionary Father Jacques Marquette entered it in his journal in June 1673 during the voyage he made by canoe with fur trader Louis Joliet across Wisconsin and down the Mississippi River.
The great river is never far from our imagination, fast flowing, scenic in its northern segments to urban and industrial as it flows south through cities that once had names such as Jenny Falls, Big Bull, and Little Bull Falls. The river has always been a gateway to the north, to the “Great Pinery” the great boreal forest that blanketed the lands to the great lake, the Chippewa called, Gitchi Gami.
In the 1870’s the river earned a new name as the “Hardest Working River in the World” when men with names like Stevens, McIndoe, Barker, and Stewart put the river to work sawing lumber for the cities and homes of the Midwest. In 1907 the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company was established as a group of private interests to manage and regulate the flow of the Wisconsin River so that hydroelectric energy and the papermaking industry could develop and flourish.
Today, the Wisconsin has returned to its beginnings offering the paddler an adventure not soon forgotten!
Trail Vitals: 108 miles in length with 24 designated landings along its length, two state parks, state and county forests, six dam portages, primitive camping, wildlife and natural areas, hiking and biking trails that border its banks, amenities galore, historical bridges and dams, Class I-III rapids, adjoining Class I trout streams, and a Frank Lloyd Wright home that graces its banks!
The Lower Big Rib River Trail starts its 17 mile journey in Marathon City at Lions Park as it flows east to join the Wisconsin River at Bluegill Bay Park on Lake Wausau.
The river flows over sand and gravel bars and along heavily wooded banks that give the river an “up north” feeling of seclusion and adventure. Heron, ducks, and deer are common along its banks and the river fails to disappoint the angler for smallmouth and walleye.
Trail Vitals: 17 miles with three landings along its length ending at Bluegill Bay Park, a historical bridge, and wildlife viewing.
The Lower Eau Claire River Water Trail starts its 15 mile journey at the Clubhouse Road landing on the south side of the bridge and flows through boulder fields, and scenic landscapes before entering Lake Wausau just west of the historic Brooks and Ross dam. The trail passes by historical bridges, flowing through the Eau Claire River Conservancy giving the trail an “everglade” like feeling as one paddles around cattails and reeds before exiting at the Drott Street Landing where once stood one of the first sawmills in the Northwoods and having the claim to fame of cutting one of the largest and oldest white pines in the state, germinating in or around 1500.
Trail Vitals: 15 miles in length with four landings, one dam portage, natural areas, historic bridges and ending in Lake Wausau where it joins the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway.
Head to GreatPinery.com
Restaurants
Local Fare
17th Ave & Grill
201 North 17th Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
715-845-4341
19th Hole Tavern
1821 Grand Avenue
Schofield, WI 54476
715-359-2343
2510 Restaurant
2510 Stewart Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
715-845-2510 www.2510restaurant.com
319 Bistro
319 Fourth Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-574-8179 www.319bistrowausau.com
6th Street Filling Station
1314 North Sixth Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-848-3000
6th Street Pub
2002 North Sixth Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-298-0701
A Taste of Jamaica
518 South 7th Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
715-261-6216
Arrow Sports Bar & Grill
6202 Schofield Avenue
Weston, WI 54476
715-359-2363 www.arrowsportsclub.com
Back When Café
606 North 3rd Street Wausau, WI 54403
715-848-5668 www.backwhencafe.com
Bamboo Hut Chinese & Thai Cruise
1122 East Grand Avenue Rothschild, WI 54474
715-298-4132
BB Jacks Pizza and Sandwich Lounge
900 Golf Club Road Wausau, WI 54403
715-675-2460 www.bbjacks.com
Becca’s Cafe, Bistro & Catering
226409 Rib Mountain Drive Wausau, WI 54401
715-298-9727 www.beccascafe.com
Becca’s Café, Bistro & Catering
4002 Schofield Avenue Weston, WI 54476 www.beccascafe.com
Big Dan & Space’s Kelly Club
4810 Ross Avenue
Weston, WI 54476
Blue Willow Cafe
1111 North Fourth Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
715-675-4543
Bob and Randy’s Bar
1515 North 6th Street
Wausau, WI 54403
715-845-9079 www.bobandrandys.com
Brews Brothers Pub 4107 Barbican Avenue, #250 Weston, WI 54476 715-298-2231 www.brewsbrothersweston.com
Briq’s Multiple Locations www.briqssoftserve.com
Brokaw Corners T7550 County Road ‘W’ Wausau, WI 54403 715-675-8770
Bunkers Bar & Grill 1001 Golf Club Road Wausau, WI 54403 715-675-3663 www.golfinwausau.com
Campus Pub 1110 West Campus Drive Wausau, WI 54401 715-675-1960 www.campuspubandgrub.com
Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant 149841 County Road NN Wausau, WI 54401 715-845-5570 www.carmeloswausau.com
Cedar Creek Grill House 1000 Imperial Avenue Rothschild, WI 54474 715-355-9200 www.greenmill.com
Chang Garden
4215 Barbican Avenue Weston, WI 54476 715-359-1720 www.changgardenonline.com
Chico’s 5704 State Highway 52 Wausau, WI 54403
715-842-9851 www.chicosrestaurantwausau.com
Chop-Stix
Bourbon Chicken & Sushi 2111 Stewart Avenue, #100 Wausau, WI 54401
715-679-3071
City Grill Bistro 203 Je erson Street Wausau, WI 54403 715-848-2900 www.citygrillbistro.com
Clubhouse Bar & Grill R13085 County Road ‘N’ Ringle, WI 54471 715-842-1913
Dale’s Weston Lanes 5902 Schofield Avenue Weston, WI 54476 715-359-8488 www.westonlanes.com
Day’s Bowl-A-Dome 1715 Stewart Avenue Wausau, WI 54401 715-848-2292 www.daysbowl.com
Day Break Bar & Grill 5307 Westfair Avenue Weston, WI 54476 715-298-1046
