Whisker Lake Wilderness Area Trail, Florence County, WI, US - eBird Hotspot
Habitats: Northern Hardwood Forest, Sedge Meadow, Open Water.
Best Birds: Common Loon nest on the remote lakes. Broad-winged Hawk inhabit the forest along with Yellow-throated and Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit and Wood Thrush, White-throated Sparrow and warbler including Northern Parula, Nashville and Blackburnian Warbler.
Directions: 24 miles SE of Iron River, MI/on the Michigan-Wisconsin border 11 miles west of Florence. The eastern side of the wilderness is reached by way of Hwy 70 to Goodman Grade Road to Edith Lake Road at the end of which is parking (45.94214, -88.42234) then follow the old roadway west across Montagne Creek into the wilderness. For Fox Maple Woods SNA there is a trailhead with parking on the north side of Hwy 70 (45.91509, -88.46334) about 10.5 miles from the intersection of Highways 2/141 and Hwy 70 in Florence. Walk the trail to the northwest for about 0.5 miles and reverse your path to the car. Access to the west side of the wilderness is 1.5 miles further west to Forest Road 2150 which forms the western boundary of the wilderness as it winds north for 7.5 miles to the Brule River/Michigan border. There are several trailheads with parking, first about 1.3 miles north (45.93679, -88.48685), another at 4.3 miles near the intersection with FR2154 (45.95449, -88.46641) and last at about the 4.8 mile point (45.96192, -88.46632). There are loop trails of varying length at each trailhead.
Site Address and Additional Information:
Forest Road 2150, Florence, WI
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest - Whisker Lake Wilderness (usda.gov)
Fox Maple Woods State Natural Area - Wisconsin DNR
Map: stelprdb5176631.pdf (usda.gov)
Carl Schroeder
