Welcome to Friendly Algoma, Wisconsin, an official Ice Age Trail Community!
Already home to the Crescent Beach Boardwalk, Historic Steele Street, and part of the Ahnapee State Trail, in 2024 Algoma became the 22nd community to receive the official designation as an Ice Age Trail Community. Portions of each are now officially part of the newly blazed Algoma Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The Algoma segment is also part of the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail.
About the Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Contained entirely in the state of Wisconsin, the Ice Age Trail is a 1,000-mile footpath carved by ancient glaciers through rocky terrain, open prairies, and forests. The glaciers left behind a variety of unique landscape features that are now considered among the world’s finest examples of how continental glaciation sculpts our planet.
One of only 11 National Scenic Trails, the Ice Age Trail offers a place for rejuvenation, a place to unwind and enjoy the landscape of Wisconsin. More than 2.3 million people use the Ice Age Trail each year to hike and snowshoe, to backpack, to disconnect, and to reconnect.
Algoma looks forward to welcoming you to the Lake Michigan shore on your trail journey.
The Algoma Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs from the Forestville Segment located on County M to the north, connecting to the Ahnapee State Trail Trailhead on the corner of 6th and Perry Streets, then through downtown Algoma and follows the scenic Crescent Beach Boardwalk right along Lake Michigan to the Algoma Visitor Center to the south.
If you come from the north (the eastern terminus is in Sturgeon Bay!), you will travel alongside the Ahnapee River through Blahnik Park and then next to Ahnapee Shores Camping Resort. When reaching the trailhead at the County M next to Timber Trail Campground (that also connects to the trail), you can view one of the 17+ murals featured on the self-guided Algoma mural tour.
The next short section bursts with beautiful birch trees and a quiet that just calms the soul. When you emerge, the next section brings you to a residential and industrial area that is still quite quiet most of the time. When you reach the trailhead, you are just steps away from Algoma’s charming downtown.
This newly blazed section of the trail will bring you to a historic downtown made up of small shops, art galleries, and dining establishments. You also find more murals that help tell the story of Algoma, WI, then and now.
Hover over each photo for a description.
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth visits Ahnapee Shores Camping Resort that sits along the Ice Age Trail, and poses with Marley (the fire pit) and campground owners Joe and David.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth visits Timber Trail Campground which sits along the Ice Age Trail and poses with campground owners Jen and Eddie.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth stops at the Forestville Segment’s southern Trailhead located on County M in Algoma.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Beautiful birch trees reach for the sky on the Ice Age Trail just south of the Forestville Segment’s southern Trailhead located on County M in Algoma.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Then, take to the beach like you’ve never done before as you glide along the Crescent Beach Boardwalk. The sandy beach and the gentle (or sometimes crashing) waves of Lake Michigan will have you feeling refreshed. At the end of the boardwalk, stop in the Algona Visitor Center, enjoy the million-dollar view, and learn more about the community we call home.
Hover over each photo for a description.
The Ahnapee State Trailhead in Algoma, WI, located at the corner of 6th and Perry Streets, has plenty of parking.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth takes a stroll along Algoma’s newly blazed trail and visits Yardstick Books at 317 Steele St., where you will find the Ice Age National Scenic Trail Official Guidebook and other titles.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth takes a stroll along Algoma’s newly blazed trail, relaxing in front of Three Eleven Bistro located at 311 Steele St. Here you can enjoy a delightful meal and tasty beverages.
© Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Ice Age Trail’s Monty the Mammoth takes a stroll along Algoma’s newly blazed trail, posing for a photo with Steele Street Trading Co. & Gallery’s ‘The Boys’, located at 300 Steele St. © Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce
Algoma Becomes An Official Ice Age Trail Community!
On August 25, 2024, an Ice Age Trail Community designation celebration was held at the Algoma Boat Club, next to the Ahnapee State Trail Trailhead.
Many thanks to the Ice Age Trail Alliance, City of Algoma, Algoma Community Development Committee, Ice Age Trail Community Ad Hoc Committee, Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce, and the many volunteers who made this great designation happen!
In the photo from left: Gail Rueckl (Chamber Board Director), Mark Kunkel (Chamber Board Director), Monty the Mammoth, Amy Lord (Ice Age Trail Alliance Outreach and Education Manager), Renee Ebert (Chamber Board Director), Kim Lyon (Chamber Board Director), Rosemary Paladini (Chamber Executive Director), Paula Levy (Algoma Community Development Committee), John Pabich, (Algoma Community Development Committee, Chair Ice Age Trail Community Ad Hoc Committee), Luke Kloberdanz (Ice Age Trail Alliance Executive Director/CEO), Steve Lautenbach (Mayor of Algoma), Matt Murphy (Algoma City Administrator), Mark Shuster (Ice Age Trail Community Ad Hoc Committee member), Chad DuChateau (Ice Age Trail Alliance Director of Trail Operations), Cathy Pabich (Ice Age Trail Community Ad Hoc), Deb Kiedrowski (Ice Age Trail Community Ad Hoc Committee).
A Few Ice Age Trail Quick Facts:
- Traveling through 30 counties, the Ice Age Trail hosts hikers, backpackers, and snowshoers, with many segments supporting cross-country skiers.
- The Ice Age Trail is built and maintained largely by volunteers and managed by a partnership among the National Park Service, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance.
- The Trail’s eastern terminus is in Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay, Door County, and the western terminus is in Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls, Polk County. It overlooks the St. Croix River and our neighbors in Minnesota.
- Most of the blazed Ice Age Trail Segments fit hikers’ ideas of a traditional, off-road hiking experience. Some segments, however, lead hikers right down the main streets of Wisconsin communities. This is by design – the Ice Age Trail is meant to connect people and communities.
- The Ice Age Trail began in the 1950s as the dream of Milwaukeean Ray Zillmer, who had a vision of a long, linear park winding through Wisconsin along the glacier’s terminal moraine.
