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Trails / Wisconsin / Ice Age Trail

Ice Age Trail: Jerry Lake to Mondeaux Dam

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Medford-Park Falls Ranger District (Taylor County)

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs about 42 miles across the Medford Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, according to Backpacker, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance lists a 42-mile Chequamegon National Forest backpacking segment among its six recommended backpacking trips. Unlike the shelter-only Kettle Moraine sections, camping here is primitive and needs no reservation.

Backpacker’s 2014 “Weekends” guide uses a 21.8-mile piece of it, past Jerry Lake to the Mondeaux Dam, for a weekend backpacking trip.

The hike

Katy Welter’s 2014 route for Backpacker starts at the Sailor Creek Road trailhead. Walk a few hundred feet north and turn east onto the Ice Age Trail, which traces Jerry Lake, a 26-acre kettle lake, through white birch and hemlock forest. Her waypoints: a viewpoint over the national forest at mile 2.9, a glacial esker with a natural bridge at mile 9.5, a kettle lake campsite at mile 13.8, the crossing of Forest Road 106 and the Mondeaux Esker at mile 19, and the Mondeaux Dam, where you leave a shuttle car, at mile 21.8. She recommends mid-September through October, and quotes an Aldo Leopold line on a trailside bench: “To those devoid of imagination, a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.”

The Alliance describes the Jerry Lake Segment as 15.2 miles from County Road E to Sailor Creek Road, featuring “Jerry Lake, the mile-long Hemlock Esker and several crossings of the Yellow River,” plus the Chippewa Lobe Interpretive Loop. The Mondeaux Esker Segment continues 11.7 miles to Shady Drive, past the seasonal Mondeaux Dam Recreation Area with picnic and shelter areas, a sandy beach, and boat rentals.

An older Backpacker story, Eric Hansen’s 2001 “Hiking with Wisconsin’s Wolves,” suggests combining the Jerry Lake Segment with the Chippewa Lobe Loop for “a good 18-mile point-to-point hike,” starting at the North Fork of the Yellow River and heading southwest. He notes that wolves “raise their pups there.” West of Sailor Creek Road, the Alliance calls the 15.5-mile Lake Eleven Segment a “remote and rugged segment” around a clear, deep kettle lake.

Welter’s article suggested contacting the local chapter coordinator for shuttle help and trail conditions, and the Alliance’s interactive map is now its main source for reroutes and alerts.

Farther east on the Ice Age Trail, the Harrison Hills offer a shorter trip with two lakeside campsites. For a reservable shelter trip, see the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit.

Tips

Camping

Backpacker says no permits are required. The Ice Age Trail Alliance says primitive camping is allowed on large public tracts such as national forests, with no facilities, at least 200 feet from water and 200 feet from the Ice Age Trail. Forest Service Order 09-13-25-02, which covers Taylor County, limits dispersed camping in one spot to 21 days in any 28-day period (a later camp in that window must be at least one road mile away) and bans dispersed camping within a quarter mile of a developed recreation site; it sets no distance from water or trails. A Forest Service order (09-13-09-02) restricts bringing firewood from more than 25 miles away.

Inside Intel: Welter describes the established kettle-lake site at mile 13.8 tucked among 60-foot white birches and pines, about 30 feet uphill from the water by a steep footpath. If it’s taken, she suggests refilling water and walking about 200 yards back to dispersed spots in the forest, which also fits the Alliance’s 200-foot guidance better.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Two nights past the Hemlock Esker:

Backpacker's Jerry Lake route runs 21.8 miles between shuttle cars, with one established campsite along the way, so every dinner rides in your pack. See which backpacking meals reviewers say are worth the weight.

Read the full guide →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.