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SHAWANO COUNTY – For years, Janis “Matty” Mathison said cyclists riding Wisconsin’s 83-mile Mountain-Bay State Trail often shared the same advice: skip Shawano County.
Downed trees, aging bridges and overgrown stretches of trail, Mathison – who has been involved with the trail since its earliest days – said, earned the county an unfortunate reputation among trail enthusiasts, even though more than half of the state trail winds through that county.
But today, she said the message is different thanks to volunteers who have:
- Repaired bridges
- Restored shelters
- Created trail amenities
- Developed a downtown information center
- Organized maintenance teams for every mile of the trail
- Launched a growing collection of events designed to attract everyone from cyclists and hikers to poets, photographers, artists, homeschool families and history buffs
Mathison said the transformation reflects a broader vision for the Mountain-Bay State Trail – one that serves not only as an outdoor recreation corridor, but also as a tourism asset that encourages visitors to spend more time in Shawano County while enhancing residents’ quality of life.
Stretching 83 miles between the Green Bay area and the Wausau region, Mathison said the trail winds through Brown, Shawano and Marathon counties along a former railroad corridor.
More than half of the trail’s mileage, she said, lies within Shawano County, making it the longest county segment of one of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trails.
As the trail marks its 30th anniversary this year, Mathison said Friends of the Mountain-Bay State Trail-Shawano County volunteers hope the celebration will shine a spotlight on both the trail’s history and the momentum building around its future.
Mathison said she has watched the former railroad corridor evolve into a recreational destination and has helped lead growing volunteer efforts in recent years.
Formed around 2011, she said the Friends group set out to preserve, improve and promote the trail.
Since then, Mathison said volunteers have moved beyond basic maintenance to creating experiences that encourage new ways of exploring it – calling the trail a “diamond in the rough.”
The past year, she said, marked one of the organization’s most ambitious yet, with volunteers repairing 11 of the trail’s 21 bridges in Shawano County, upgrading four shelters and installing bicycle repair stations with tire pumps, maps and other amenities.
Mathison said some shelters now offer enough protection that trail users facing mechanical issues or severe weather have a safe place to wait or even spend the night.
“Last year was a big year of fixing things, and this is our year to celebrate,” she said.
Perhaps just as significant, Mathison said, is what visitors never see.
Every mile of the Shawano County portion of the trail, she said, now has its own volunteer “trail tender” – trained individuals who inspect conditions following storms, identify fallen trees and communicate maintenance needs to county parks staff.
Mathison said several volunteers have also become certified to safely remove fallen trees themselves, allowing problems to be addressed much more quickly.
The improvements, she said, reflect thousands of hours donated by community members who believe the trail deserves greater recognition.
Building destinations, not simply maintaining a trail
Mathison said the Friends’ ambitions extend well beyond keeping the trail clear.
She said its volunteers have deliberately created reasons for visitors to experience it and to experience it in a variety of ways.
“Goal No. 1 is to create awareness, as so many people have no idea we have it,” she said. “And then, we have come up with all these creative things people can do.”
Mathison said that includes broadening the trail’s appeal well beyond cyclists.
Horseback riders, she said, use portions of the Shawano County trail unavailable elsewhere along the route.
Walkers, runners, families pushing strollers, dog owners and Amish residents, Mathison said, all make regular use of the corridor.
Within the City of Shawano, she said the paved trail has become part of everyday life, connecting neighborhoods with shopping destinations, parks and downtown.
Mathison said usage varies by community, pointing to a daily walking group in Gresham as one example of how residents have incorporated the trail into their routines.
That local use, she said, is complemented by growing efforts to attract visitors from outside the county – thereby supporting the economy.
Mathison said one notable addition is the Midday on the Mountain-Bay information center.
Working alongside the City of Shawano and Shawano County Parks, she said volunteers transformed an unused room in the historic depot into a welcoming stop for trail users.
Mathison said the renovation included about $50,000 in grant-funded improvements, such as new flooring and windows, historical and interpretive displays, Wi-Fi, security cameras, bicycle repair equipment and, for long-distance trail users, restroom facilities.
“That room has bathrooms, and that’s golden on a trail,” she said. “It’s the only functional bathroom between Pulaski and Eland.”
Mathison said high school students contributed handcrafted figures depicting recreational activities along the trail, while historical displays highlight the railroad heritage that once connected communities across Northeastern Wisconsin.
She said the project reflects the collaborative approach the Friends group has taken across many of its initiatives.
“The city has an agreement: you fix [the building], and we’ll approve it and maintain it,” she said.
Mathison said the nonprofit has also successfully pursued grants to support larger projects, most recently receiving a $12,000 grant through 100 Women.
She said the funding will help advance planning to eliminate one of the trail’s few remaining gaps in Shawano County.
Today, Mathison said approximately 4.5 miles require users to leave the trail and travel local roads because abandoned railroad property was never acquired.
Those road sections, she said, create safety concerns, particularly amid increasing agricultural traffic.
“Those roads are dangerous, especially now that we have a farming community there,” she said. “One of our big goals is to fix that gap.”
Mathison said the grant will fund environmental studies and soil borings necessary before construction can move forward.
The project, she said, represents perhaps the organization’s most significant long-term goal: creating a continuous off-road experience.
Broadening interest
Mathison said the group has also broadened its vision of who the trail is for, moving beyond cyclists and runners to develop programming that appeals to people interested in creativity, wellness, history and education.
Rosie Rey, who recently moved to Shawano and serves on the Friends board, said she quickly saw opportunities to connect the arts with the outdoors.
One of those initiatives, she said, debuts this year with the inaugural Poetry Walk – an outdoor exhibit featuring poetry and photography installed along roughly six miles of trail between west Shawano and Thornton.
Rey, who teaches writing, said the project stems from a belief that trails can inspire creativity as much as they support physical activity.
“A lot of us aren’t wandering-off-into-the-woods-type of folks, and having the trail… and getting to experience nature and enjoy that rejuvenation is a big deal for artistic folk,” she said.
Organizers said they hope the initiative becomes an annual tradition while introducing visitors to portions of the trail they might not otherwise explore.
Rey said the arts initiative is complemented by an Enchanted Trail Student Artwork Project, which will feature artwork created by local students along sections of the trail.
Teachers, she said, are integrating the project into classroom activities, with homeschool students also participating.
Rey said the effort goes beyond simply displaying artwork and reflects a broader goal of encouraging families to spend time outdoors together, giving children another opportunity to engage with nature away from phones and computer screens.
Other educational programs, Mathison said, highlight native plants, pollinator habitats and the traditional medicinal uses of regional flora.
Mathison said a Friends member – who also belongs to the Wolf River chapter of Wild Ones – said the trail is already home to hundreds of native plants established through a partnership between the organizations.
Geocaching, she said, is another example of efforts to engage a wider range of trail users.
“There are geocaching sites on the trail right now that we didn’t even know about,” she said.
Mathison said the Friends organization plans to establish additional locations and host educational programs to introduce newcomers to the activity.
Rather than asking one audience to use the trail more often, she said the organization is focused on inviting new audiences to discover it.
Partnerships strengthen the trail
Mathison said the organization’s success has relied heavily on community partnerships, including with members of the Amish community who use the trail as an alternate route into Shawano.
She said those residents also help maintain sections of the surface regularly traveled by horse-drawn buggies.
Mathison said the organization also partners with Shawano County Parks, the City of Shawano, local schools, historical organizations, conservation groups and numerous volunteers whose individual skills continue expanding what the organization can accomplish.
“When we develop these organizations and somebody like Kay [Rankel, Friends member] or Rosie walks in the door, if I weren’t so old I’d be doing cartwheels,” she laughed.
Mathison said she credits newer volunteers with bringing fresh expertise to the organization, while Rankel said Mathison’s leadership has played a key role in driving that momentum.
“Our Matty just won the Wisconsin Volunteer of the Year award through AARP,” Rankel said. “She is an integral part of our organization, and there’s no one in Shawano who doesn’t know Matty.”
Preserving history while looking ahead
Though much of the current attention centers on recreation and tourism, Mathison said she enjoys pointing visitors toward reminders of that history, from the covered bridges with remnants of the original infrastructure underneath to photographs displayed inside the information center that document stations that once lined the route.
After contributing more than 1,000 volunteer hours toward improving the trail, Mathison said members believe they are beginning to see that vision take shape and hope visitors realize what the trail has to offer.
“It’s an exciting time to be a [Friends] member with an anniversary; an exciting time to get involved,” she said. “We have this trail through our backyard that should be as popular as Shawano Lake.”
Mathison said the trail’s 30th anniversary celebration will culminate Sept. 26 with a Family Fun Walk, Run and Ride event recognizing three decades of recreation, education, tourism and community engagement along the Mountain-Bay State Trail.
