Project: Langlade County Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Trail Signage
Location: Wisconsin
Description: Over the course of three weekends, one in late fall of 2024 and two in the spring of 2025, volunteers from Four Lakes Four wheelers installed directional and informational trail signage at 30 locations on the perimeter of the newly opened Langlade County Off-Highway Motor Vehicle (OHMV) Trails. In cooperation with the 4 Lakes 4 Wheelers (a four wheel drive club based in Madison Wisconsin), 11 miles of trails were developed in an area of Langlade County utilizing environmentally sustainable management practice standards to allow official use.
The trails consist of three classification being easiest, more difficult, and most difficult. To help fund future improvements and development of these new full-size trails, all vehicles are required to have an annual permit which costs $50 per year and each operator must possess an operator permit which costs $10 per year.
Thank you to the BFGoodrich Tires Outstanding Trails Grant program for helping to fund signage for these new trails. Future project work is planned in conjunction with Tread Lightly! to add trailhead kiosks and additional informational signs for responsible off-road behavior so that these trails can be accessible for generations to come.
Thank you to the partners who made this possible:
“Thank you to our partners, BFGoodrich Tires and Tread Lightly! for helping to fund trail signs to provide trail segment names and directional signage to the newly developed Evergreen West OHMV trails here in Langlade County. This project has been three years in the making in cooperation with the 4 Lakes 4 Wheelers Inc. Langlade County now has the first of its kind Off Highway Motor Vehicle trails on County Forest lands. The utmost goal of the project is to demonstrate the ability to provide sustainable trail development and use while still protecting the forest and environment and providing positive economic impacts to our tourism dependent businesses. This has been accomplished in Langlade County, “Wisconsin’s County of Trails” due mostly to our partnerships with excellent organizations and people.”- Al Murray, Langlade County Forest, Parks and Recreation Administrator
“Thank you to our partner BFGoodrich Tires Outstanding Trails Grant program to help fund directional and location signs along the trail system. It is rare that new OHMV trails become available, but thanks to the Langlade County Forest and the multi-year effort of 4 Lakes 4 Wheelers, this new OHV trail system is open and active. Thanks to all of the volunteers who have helped to make this happen and for the collaborative effort of all those involved to help not only Protect the Adventure, but to also help create new Adventures!”- Lowell Eckart, Southeast Program Manager, Tread Lightly!
“Thank you BFGoodrich Tires Outstanding Trails Grant program and Tread Lightly! for your support in helping us create a first of its kind public trail system for full size four wheel drive recreation in the state of Wisconsin. We look forward to working with you both in continuing the development of this new and exciting trail system for Langlade County, the state of Wisconsin, and the whole four wheel drive community. So many people in the four wheel drive community have been working so hard for so long to make something like this happen. This has truly been an honor to be an instrumental part of seeing a project like this come to fruition.” James Baker, Four Lakes Four Wheelers, President
Want to get involved in your own Tread Lightly! project? Find upcoming activities, events and grant opportunities at treadlightly.org.
