Photos: You can glide through the woods on this ice skating trail in Boulder Junction
The 0.8-mile trail built on a former cross-country ski trail is in its first season and turning into a big draw.
Dennis Duke, left, a member of the town of Boulder Junction Park Board, and Boulder Junction Town Chair Dennis Reuss, center, speak with former Madison residents Dan O'Rourke and Marilyn Larsen, who now live near Rhinelander. The couple had driven over for the day to skate the Glide.
Jeff Steltz drove three hours from Chippewa Falls to spend part of a day skating a 26.2-mile marathon on the Glide. Steltz, who does the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race each year, averaged about 4 minutes per lap on the 0.8-mile Glide.Â
Kathy Kohlhofer, left, and friend Kathleeen Watson drove from Niellsville in central Wisconsin to skate the Glide.
The warming house at Winter Park in Boulder Junction can buzz with activity. The park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and admission is free. Activities include a small sledding hill, an ice skating rink and the 0.8-mile Glide trail.
A large group of family and friends starts out on a 0.8-mile ice skating loop in Boulder Junction. The Glide is helping to diversify the North Woods economy beyond snowmobiling.
A pair of skaters make their way along the Glide, an ice-covered trail at Winter Park in Boulder Junction.Â
The Glide offers up a curves, hair pin turns and slight inclines and declines. It can take inexperienced skaters 10 to 15 minutes to complete a lap, but some skilled skaters can complete the loop in four minutes or less.
Jake Angove, of the Waukesha County village of Dousman, pulls his daughter, Iris, on a sled as Angove does a lap on the Glide, the 0.8-mile ice skating trail through the woods in Boulder Junction. The loop opened in December and has drawn thousands of people.
Anna Allen, a manager at Coontail, a silent sports shop in Boulder Junction, shows off the rental skates the shop now offers. The rentals were added to coincide with the Dec. 23 opening of the nearby Glide. In January, the shop started selling ice skates.
A 0.8-mile ice skating trail in Vilas County is drawing ice skaters from around the Midwest and helping to cushion the blow of another year with little snow for snowmobiling.
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In a bankruptcy filing this week, the company said it would close about 500 of its more than 800 stores, including 16 in Wisconsin.Â
