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Bike riders tried out the new section of the Conover-Phelps trail the same day crew members from Janke General Contractors removed the remaining pieces of equipment they had used to finish the trail. A ribbon-cutting will be held next spring. (submitted photo)
Bike riders tried out the new section of the Conover-Phelps trail the same day crew members from Janke General Contractors removed the remaining pieces of equipment they had used to finish the trail. A ribbon-cutting will be held next spring. (submitted photo)
PHELPS, Wis. — The Phelps Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Conover-Phelps Trail hosted an Open House on Sept. 4 to celebrate the opening of a new biking and walking trail.
The new trail is suitable to people of all ages who can walk or bike the new 1.9 section of trail.
Construction of the section was just completed earlier this month. The final section, much of which is asphalt paved, is the grand finale of the 10.6-mile trail that extends from the Town Park and business district in Conover to the Lakefront Pines Park in downtown Phelps.
For its whole length, the non-motorized trail is away from highways as it lets users walk or bike through wetlands and woodlands north of the two towns.
Much of the trail has a hard aggregate surface and is built on the grade of the Chicago and North Western Railroad and the spur that ran from Conover to Phelps. The new section was specially engineered since it is the trail’s hilliest section and has to transverse the banks along highways K and E at the Phelps end.
Trail construction was funded by donations from over 500 year-round and seasonal residents of Phelps, Conover and eastern Vilas County, as well as by grants from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, and several area banks and businesses.
The trail is the result of a partnership among Great Headwaters Trails, a local nonprofit, and the towns of Phelps and Conover.
A collection of photos of the trail and the new map can be seen at www.ghtrails.org.
A ribbon-cutting to celebrate completion of the entire Conover-Phelps Trail is being planned for next spring or early summer.