ATV Trail Status
7 Apr 2025
** Please be advised that with The Spring Wildfire Season here, The Wild Rivers Trail and Shell Lake Rail Grade are the only two trail sections that remain open during this time. The State has the authority the shut down The Wild Rivers Trail when fire danger reaches Very High or Higher. It is the responsibility of the riders to know if trails are open or closed due to the fire danger for that day. Please see the link at the bottom of this page where you can see the current fire danger on a day to day basis.
**ATTENTION**
ATV Trail Status
April 7, 2025: There are two washout holes on the Wild Rivers Trail (Trail 35). They are located approximately 1.5 miles north of Palmer Drive/3 miles south of Brooklyn Road. Barricades and signage have been put out. Please use caution!
Effective 2/25/2025 ALL ATV trails will be closed, with the exception of the Wild Rivers Trail (Trail 35) and the Shell Lake Rail Grade (Trail 39). This closure will remain in effect until further notice.
January 2025: Trail 25 South off of Birchwood Fire Lane is closed due to a washout. It will remain closed until Spring 2025 when seasonal conditions allow the issue to be resolved.
**ATTENTION**
Washburn County ATV trails are generally closed at this time. The only exceptions to this spring closure are the Wild River Trail and the Railroad Grade to Shell Lake, which remain open unless DNR Fire Danger is rated at Very High or Higher.
Washburn County has significant investments in the development and maintenance of these trails and one of the main reasons that the spring closure is used is to protect trail surfaces during periods of wet, unstable soil conditions. Trails are frozen during winter months and the repeated traffic from groomers and snowmobiles drives frost deep into the underlying soils. These trails generally begin to thaw in mid March and sub-surface remain soft until the thaw is complete and water can filter through the soils normally. In a normal year, trail surfaces dry out and stabilize by mid to late May.
Springtime also brings periods of very high fire danger. ATV/UTV activity, and increased recreational use in general, increases risk of wildfire. Some of the largest and most devastating wildfires in Wisconsin have occurred during mid May.
The Washburn County Code of Ordinances creates closure of ATV trails through the first Friday before Memorial Weekend. This same ordinance does grant our Department the ability to open trails early if conditions permit.
We are monitoring trail conditions and fire danger daily to determine if/when we can allow for an early opener. One rule of thumb that we, and the public can use is the amount of new leaves and vegetation in the wooded areas. This “green up” is generally an indicator of lower fire danger and more stable soil conditions on our trails.
We receive a lot of compliments on the quality of our trail systems here. One of the main reasons that our trails stay in good shape is our ability to close them during muddy and unstable conditions in the spring.
As a reference, you can monitor fire danger conditions at the following link:
https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/wisburn/#/
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Mike Peterson – Washburn County Forest Administrator