Welcome To
Friends of the Mountain-Bay State Trail - Shawano County
Mission & Vision
Mission: To maintain, promote and sustain the trail for current and future generations. To promote healthy activities. To share culture and ecological knowledge. To enhance the local economies of interest.
Vision: Obtain more resources to maintain and beautify the trail through interpretive signage and community partners. This will highlight our state trail’s usability for all local citizens and tourists.
Friends of the Mountain-Bay State Trail – Shawano County
- A 501(c)(3) non-profit community service organization.
- Started as a Leadership Shawano County project in 2019
- Part of a network of Friends groups that provide support to Wisconsin state parks and trails
The Mountain-Bay State Trail is one of the longest rail-trails in Wisconsin at 83 miles between the Weston and Howard trailheads. It crosses Marathon, Shawano, and Brown counties. The trail is all on an abandoned rail bed except for about 4 miles in Town of Richmond, Shawano County, where local roads are used. Shawano County has the most mileage – 53 miles!
Walking and bicycling are growing national trends for recreation, health, fitness, and transportation. Walking and biking trails are beneficial for attracting businesses and recruiting employees and building tourism and the economies of municipalities along the trail.
Shawano County is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the trend. The City of Shawano is halfway between Wausau and Green Bay. Wausau has been rated the 2nd best small town for biking in the U.S. and Green Bay has the Fox River Trails, which is Wisconsin’s busiest trail.
