Hayward Wisconsin ATV Trails
A report is probably not necessary, but writing sure beats doing laundry, so here we go.
I finally got out for a couple hours on Sunday, May 4th, 2025 – our ATV trails just opened on May 1, but I’ve been so busy with real estate since then, that I swear, my Wildcat was yelling at me as I left every morning in the car….
Since I didn’t have endless time, I decided to just meander through the Seeley Hills trails, since they are so close to me. I’m up on the north end of Nelson Lake and Trail 8 is like a block away from me so I started there, wrapped around Nelson Lake on Seeley Fire Lane then Tagalder over to Thannum Fire Lane. I continued on Trail 8 up to Rock Lake Rd, then jumped on Trail 77 back to Phipps Fire Lane and around to Trail 31 heading south towards Hayward, where I filled up with gas on my way home. Below I’ve made a few notes:
Trail 8 north of Nelson Lake: This is always a rough trail, always. In all the other years, between the gates- mud and water filled potholes normally grow throughout the season, but they grow deep, not really wide! Some of these holes can reach all the way to molten lava at the Earth’s core – and ripping through this trail at a fast clip will test your equipment and suspension components.
This spring though, the crews have been filling in a lot of wet areas and holes with rock, not gravel. Ugh, I hate these rocks but at least they have smoother edges than some of the jagged breaker rock I’ve seen on other trails, and they only covered sporadic segments with it, leaving the rest of the trail the usual dirt with occasional rocks. Over winter there was a lot of logging in this area too, and many trail areas normally bordered by thickets and trees were pretty bare. There is a tall tree down across the trail at the intersection of 8 and Seeley Fire Lane, but it’s easy to go over. Our Trail Boss just rode through there after I did, so I assume he’ll have it removed soon.
Seeley Fire Lane/Tagalder/Thannum Fire Lane/Phipps Fire Lane: The usual gravel road routes, nothing to really say except they were dry and solid, I was kicking up a lot of dust.
Trail 8 heading north off of Thannum Fire Lane: A good portion of this trail was pretty rough, but I like it – almost all of Seeley HIlls is on a rock and boulder-infested bed and no matter how many times the trails are bulldozed, graded, or rehabbed, the next layer of boulders eventually works its way to the trail surface. This portion of 8, almost all the way to Rock Lake Road, has varied terrain, some fun little hills, and deep valleys you can see through before the trees leaf out. A few shallow water holes here and there with hard bottoms so no one is getting stuck. Further up towards Rock Lake Road, there are several Birkie Ski Trail crossings which are aggravating, but the stops are necessary even during summer, as some bikers/hikers use these trails.
Trail 77 from Rock Lake Road to Phipps Fire Lane: Once I got onto Rock Lake Road (Trail 8), I jumped down onto 77. This portion to Lake Helane Road has had logging activity too, and some logging paths look like riders could accidentally take these thinking they are on the trail – our club will have to get some additional signs up soon. Much of this section is natural dirt, rock, and somewhat rough. Portions of Lake Helane Rd and Lake Helane Trail are sandy and rocky. As I was riding south, back towards Phipps Firel Lane, found that they graveled a lot of this trail Now, a large portion of this trail is all smooth, no rocks, just plain gravel and I made it back to Janet Road in record time without even trying. I hate how boring it is now. I noticed a lot of bike tire tracks in the gravel and I’m sure the bikers love this new ATV Trail base.
Once I got to Phipps Fire Lane, I took that all the way around to Trail 31 heading south towards Hayward, and skipped the Trail 31 segment between Phipps and Thannum.
Trail 31 South: Well, at least this trail wasn’t all graveled. It was still its dirt, rock and areas of sand, so it was interesting at least. This had some heavy grading done to it recently so larger boulders and rock line the trail in many areas. Watch for a few culverts on hills – as the trail edges have a habit of washing away into these culvert areas during heavy storms. There are a few Birkie Trail crossings to watch for on this trail, but not as many as Trail 8 has. From Phipps down to Chippewa Trail Road, Trail 31 is broken into 3 segments, with a road crossing at Mosquito Brook Road, and then a crossing at State Hwy 77. Near the end at Chippewa Trail, a side trail leads to an ATV trailhead with a pit toilet, parking and shelter.
From Chippewa Trail, I went into town for gas, then through town and back to Nelson Lake by road route. I stopped at Park Island for a burger and met up with a large, funny, group of riders out for the day celebrating Cinco De Mayo early – they were ALL dressed in colorful Mexican garb, hats, and some with fake mustaches.
It was a relaxing ride for sure, but I am just a bit ticked about all the gravel on 77. It’s just a personal preference, some like gravel, I don’t. I prefer a rustic, natural surface with some obstacles.
Riding season is here – I can’t wait to get out there again!