National Scenic Trails · Wisconsin
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
National Park Service source material · single source. Source dates and reuse information are available beside each field.
Check the official park website for current access, conditions and visitor information.
Introduction
Background: 1
The Ice Age National Scenic Trail spans 1,200 miles, traverses some of Wisconsin's finest geologic and glacial features, and passes through the ancestral lands of 15 Tribes. The Trail is built, managed and maintained by dedicated volunteers, Ice Age Trail Alliance, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, local partners, and the National Park Service.
Geography
Nature
Ecology: 5
The Ice Age Trail began with the idea of an Ice Age Glacier National Forest Park to be established along the entire length of the moraines marking the edge of the last glacier in Wisconsin. This original concept eventually led to the creation of the nine unit Ice Age National Scientific Reserve through Federal legislation in 1964 and 1970. The reserve units, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources , were created to protect, preserve, and interpret the outstanding examples of glaciation in Wisconsin.
Though work on the trail itself was begun by volunteers in the 1950's, it was not designated a National Scenic Trail until 1980. Today, the Ice Age Trail links together six of the nine units of the reserve.
Detailed information about the geology of the Scientific Reserve Units can be found in "Geology of Ice Age National Scientific Reserve" of Wisconsin" by Robert F. Black. Please note that the names of some of the units referred to in the book have changed in the years since it was originally published.
Nature & Science: 6
Two Creeks Buried Forest * Kettle Moraine * Campbellsport Drumlins Horicon Marsh Cross Plains * Cross Plains Interpretive site Devil's Lake * Mill Bluff Chippewa Moraine * Interstate State Park *
Trails and walks
Trail Safe! Series: 7
Ice Age Trail Volunteers, please follow these instructions to receive credit: After viewing each individual lesson, return to the Trail Safe! main page and scroll down to learn how to get credit. The Training Verification Roster is in email format, with several standard data questions for you to answer (where you volunteer, your mailing address, etc.). Register yourself (and others if you are watching as a group) to receive credit for participation. When you have viewed and registered for all eight individual lessons, each volunteer will receive a Trail Safe! pin and a SPE/GAR card in the mail for your use in the field. Not sure what a SPE/GAR card is? You will after viewing the Trail Safe! series! Thank you for helping to make the Ice Age National Scenic Trail one of the safest work environments for NPS Trail Volunteers like yourself. OTHER VIEWERS: Due to the increased popularity of Trail Safe! , completion materials supplied to Ice Age Trail volunteers can no longer be offered to other viewers. Please enjoy the videos and report your completion to your park supervisor for any local credit or participation tracking that may be available.
Thank you for your participation in the Trail Safe! video training series. Ice Age Trail Volunteers: In order to receive credit for your participation, please fill in your answers to the following questions (copy and paste the following template questions in your return email message): 1.Which video lesson did you just complete viewing (i.e. : #1, #2, #3…)? 2.Name of the Trail where you volunteer (i.e.: Ice Age NST, or specify if other). 3.Name of the Trail Chapter (i.e.: Indian Head, Dane County, Trail Wide, etc.). 4.Your name and full mailing address, so we may send your course completion materials to you (i.e.: Jane Smith, 123 Maple Street, Anywhere, USA 12345). 5.Names and addresses of others if you are viewing this lesson in a group setting. 6.Optional: Please let us know what you found most useful about this lesson. 7.Optional: Please let us know any comments or suggestions you have about this lesson. Please email your responses to the above questions to: daniel_watson@nps.gov (please include underscore between first and last name). Please title your email: " Trail Safe Training Reply " Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the video series. Upon registering your completion for the entire eight lesson series, you'll receive your Trail Safe! pin and risk assessment card via mail.
TRAIL SAFE! is a unique safety training program designed specifically for National Park Service (NPS) Trail Volunteers but is useful to everyone! It's based upon NPS Operational Leadership Training, where the Human Factor of safety is explored. Trail Safe! captures the core learning objectives of the 16 hour Operational Leadership course while allowing volunteers to learn from their own homes on-line. The Trail Safe! series is found below in eight video lessons, each ranging in length from 18 to 40 minutes long. Viewing the entire eight lesson series will take approximately three hours. Watch them over the course of multiple days, or "binge watch" the entire series in three hours—it's up to you—but please watch them in numeric order from Lesson 1 through Lesson 8. Ice Age Trail Volunteers, please follow these instructions to receive credit:
OTHER VIEWERS: Due to the increased popularity of Trail Safe! , completion materials supplied to Ice Age Trail volunteers can no longer be offered to other viewers. Please enjoy the videos and report your completion to your park supervisor for any local credit or participation tracking that may be available. Ready to start? Simply select which lesson you want to watch from the choices below. Click the "play" arrow and in just a few moments your Trail Safe! lesson will play automatically. To turn Closed Captioning on or off, click the CC button on the video. Audio Description versions are available. Please be sure you are selecting the appropriate version for your needs.
Visitor information
Visitation
Sources & field notes
Source records (11)
Select a numbered reference to open a source card. Retrieval dates describe this edition’s source capture, rather than an independent verification or the date of the underlying information.
Background · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail · NPS / Victoria Stauffenberg. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Catalog image date
- 02/26/2023
- Source scope
- Ice Age National Scenic Trail
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
- Rights
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
Designation · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
State or territory · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
Ecology · Nature & Science — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- September 15, 2026
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS webpage text; U.S. government work generally public domain. Third-party material may have separate rights.
Nature & Science · National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party material may have separate rights. No images copied.
Trail Safe! Series · National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored U.S. government work is generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Physical Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Mailing Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Telephone · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Recreation visits · National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics. Open source ↗
- Information date
- 2025
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Methodology
- NPS reporting unit; annual total is the sum of 12 monthly recreation visit estimates.
- Reporting unit
- Ice Age NST
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.