I've been working on this route for over a year and finally have it all plotted. The route is just over 300 miles and it traverses the northeastern Nicolet National Forest and is open from 4/1-11/30. I've designed this route to start at the same spot as my Up North Overland route and run counterclockwise although it could be run clockwise if you want. It starts off of Logan Road on Pipeline Road just east of Breed, WI and is basically a loop that ends at Highway AA 5 miles from the start point. With it being a loop you could realistically start anywhere on the trail, so you wouldn't have to go the "start point". The route shares some of the same sections as the Up North route and then diverges completely around 90 miles in. I've tried to keep this route off the pavement as much as possible, but it was quite hard as pavement was required to connect a few sections. Most of the paved roads are backroads, but there are a few small sections of highway driving. There are plenty of places to camp along the route. I would recommend you take at least 3 days to do this route completely, but it could be done in 2 if you just drive all day.
The trail is approximately 45% gravel roads, 30% pavement, and 25% dirt roads/trails.
I've also designed this route with roads/trails open for the greatest period 4/1-11/30. There are some roads/trails I'd like to include, but they are only open 9/1-12/31. Also, note that some of these trails are shared with ATV/UTVs.
Overall I'd say this trail is a 3-4/10 difficulty depending on how wet it is. You will want A/T tires, high clearance, and low range. I would not recommend you attempt this with something like a Subaru, but feel free to prove me wrong.
If you have done the 7-Hour Plane Crash trail, this trail has a similar vibe. Originally, I was going to include the gnarly section of the 7-Hour Plane Crash trail in northern Wisconsin as this route goes right past it, but it's so rutted out now that most vehicles cannot pass it; however, if you want to take it, it starts on Kaine Lake road/Forest road 2461 off of highway A.
If you attempt this route, you should have traction boards, a shovel, and a saw/axe at a minimum. An electric chainsaw would be nice to have. I'd recommend the M18 Milwaukee Hatchet. If you are running this trail with one vehicle, I'd also recommend a winch. It may not be necessary, but I used mine to pull trees out of the way and to get unstuck once. I came across many small trees and a few large trees across the trail. If you run this trail in the spring or after a heavy rain use caution with some of the bog holes. The mud in some sections is really nasty.
I'd recommend downloading an offline map as there are many sections on this trail with no cell service. In addition, I'd recommend picking up a paper copy of the MVUM maps at a local forest service office or online.
I'm going to continue to explore and update this route if I find better sections of trail.
Link to Gaia Page - GaiaGPS - Northeast Nicolet National Forest Overland Route V1
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The trail is approximately 45% gravel roads, 30% pavement, and 25% dirt roads/trails.
I've also designed this route with roads/trails open for the greatest period 4/1-11/30. There are some roads/trails I'd like to include, but they are only open 9/1-12/31. Also, note that some of these trails are shared with ATV/UTVs.
Overall I'd say this trail is a 3-4/10 difficulty depending on how wet it is. You will want A/T tires, high clearance, and low range. I would not recommend you attempt this with something like a Subaru, but feel free to prove me wrong.
If you have done the 7-Hour Plane Crash trail, this trail has a similar vibe. Originally, I was going to include the gnarly section of the 7-Hour Plane Crash trail in northern Wisconsin as this route goes right past it, but it's so rutted out now that most vehicles cannot pass it; however, if you want to take it, it starts on Kaine Lake road/Forest road 2461 off of highway A.
If you attempt this route, you should have traction boards, a shovel, and a saw/axe at a minimum. An electric chainsaw would be nice to have. I'd recommend the M18 Milwaukee Hatchet. If you are running this trail with one vehicle, I'd also recommend a winch. It may not be necessary, but I used mine to pull trees out of the way and to get unstuck once. I came across many small trees and a few large trees across the trail. If you run this trail in the spring or after a heavy rain use caution with some of the bog holes. The mud in some sections is really nasty.
I'd recommend downloading an offline map as there are many sections on this trail with no cell service. In addition, I'd recommend picking up a paper copy of the MVUM maps at a local forest service office or online.
I'm going to continue to explore and update this route if I find better sections of trail.
Link to Gaia Page - GaiaGPS - Northeast Nicolet National Forest Overland Route V1
GPX viewer
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