Hiking the Ice Age Trail through Green County

Hiking along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT) through Green County in autumn and winter, the hiker will find icy old railroad beds that have been converted into the multi-use Badger State Trail and Sugar River Trail. Through Green County, the IAT also takes that hiker  through wildlife areas, and down country roads along connecting routes. Views of the Sugar River and plentiful wildlife sightings greet the hiker, with the stretch through the Albany wildlife area providing an opportunity for a particularly large variety of bird sightings.



  

Video of the IAT through Green County

The IAT meanders more than 1,100 miles up, down, and across Wisconsin along trails, sidewalks, and country roads. The portion of the IAT that passes through Green County in Southeastern Wisconsin, carries the hiker down 15.9 miles of trail and 6.9 miles of connecting routes. While the portion of the IAT through Green County that follows bicycle trails gets a high volume of use during the summer, when I hiked it during the winter, I did not run into other people. I did run into hunters along the forested trail in the Brooklyn Wildlife area.

Click the Green County segment and connecting route links for details:

Brooklyn Wildlife Segment
Connecting Route from the Brooklyn Wildlife Segment to the Monticello Segment
Monticello Segment
Albany Segment Part 1
Albany Segment Part 2
Connecting Route from the Albany Segment to Rock County 



One of the best things about the IAT through Green County is the quiet found during late autumn and winter. If you hike these segments during winter, they get very icy and the use of micro-spikes and trekking poles is highly recommended. The Stewart Tunnel is particularly interesting in the winter. If you look into the tunnel at the right time, water forms ice structures from the floor of the tunnel similar to stalagmites found in a cave. The ice is slippery in the tunnel, be sure to wear micro-spikes and use trekking poles!

The Stewart Tunnel in winter.

That's all for now. Let's get out doors and keep our wild places wild!