Current Activities
Opening of Masākāēw Trail Bike Route
(pronounced Ma’-sa-ca [‘a’ as in ‘cat’])
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Masākāēw Trail Bike Route
We will have the Masākāēw Trail finished with all directional route signs before the Spring Ride this year. This will be a fundraising event for our 2023-24 Waupa-Wega Trail, a 21-mile loop from Waupaca to Weyauwega and back.
Masākāēw is a Menominee word for “crossing over water” which it does ten times. We named it this to acknowledge the original land of the Menominees through which the trail runs.
Waupa-Wega Trail name is self-explanatory!
This route can be ridden in pieces for younger or less hardy riders. We will point these out at the time of registration at South Park Upper Shelter.
Waup-Wega Bike Route
Waupa-Wega Route is a loop from Riverside Park in Waupaca going across Hwy 10 and
then south of Hwy 10 to a yet to be specified spot in Weyauwega and returning to
Riverside Park along the north side of Hwy 10.
We have received a grant from the Waupaca Community Foundation and also from
Farmers State Bank and the Woodpile Foundation. We are in the process of applying for
other grants to construct a couple of off road sections still in the planning and negotiating
stage with the County Highway Department.
All our sponsors are shown here.
This route has a budget of $10,885, of which $4730 is in-kind. We need to raise the rest
mostly for signage, posts, brochure, construction, etc. We appreciate ANY size donation.
We will be ordering signs in compliance with what the County wants throughout. A sign
can be sponsored for $25. We are looking for volunteers for our fundraising event at the
Opening of the Masākāēw Trail on May 13, 2023, and also for installing the
signage from April 20 th to May 7 th .. We have almost obtained the approval of all
the municipalities through which the route runs:
Cities of Waupaca and Weyauwega and Townships of Lind, Weyauwega,
Royalton, and Waupaca. Any encouragement of town boards by residents is
appreciated.
We ask that you consider donating any amount for this project as soon as possible.
Waup-Wega Route Map
Support this Project
Here is the information you would need:
Make checks out to WCNRF (Waupaca County Natural Resources Foundation – our fiscal sponsor) and put GWAPT in the memo line.
These can be mailed to:
GWAPT,
C/o Rural Access to Justice,
PO Box 126,
Waupaca, WI 54981
All donations are tax-deductible.
We welcome donations of absolutely any amount! You can also contribute through PayPal
Sponsor a sign for $25
Tune in and Listen
On Wednesday, May 3rd , we will be doing an interview to be aired on 99.1FM
and 96.3FM Good News Waupaca at 9:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
Opening of the Masākāēw Trail Spring Ride
May 13th, 2023
This ride will be a fundraising event for the Waupa-Wega Trail. Each time we open a
trail, we will be celebrating the beginning of the next trail planned, too. Our future trails
are:
- 2023-24: Waupa-Wega Trail
- 2024-25: Hartman Creek to Waupaca (Need to find the contact in Chain to Main.
Apparently they are talking about the same thing. We need to coordinate with them. - 2025-26: Red Mill to Waupaca including an off road to the high school and an underpass
at the Crystal River to Nelson County Park. Cty K scheduled for work in 2025.
The registration fee of $50 includes a T-shirt, decal and lunch the day of the ride. Fee is $75 for a couple with children and includes two T-shirts and lunch ($5 lunch for each child payable at lunch). Adults not riding may buy lunch for $10 payable at lunch.
To register for the ride, do the following:
Pay the $50 registration fee using the DONATE button above or follow directions
for sending a check below. In the submission box of “Get Trail Connected!” below
please put the following information:
- Name
- Address
- City, State, Zip
- Cell Phone
- Desired T-Shirt size: S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X
- State if you are vegetarian
Make checks out to GWAPT and mail to:
GWAPT,
C/o Rural Access to Justice,
PO Box 126,
Waupaca, WI 54981
Shirt is 100% pre-shrunk cotton – 6.1 oz.
Get Trail Connected!
T-shirts are available to purchase apart from the ride. We will be selling them at the
Waupaca Farmers Market once a month this summer. You can also order online with
directions below. Pay the $20 on the DONATE button or by mail with directions above.
To buy a T-shirt outright, do the following:
In the submission box of Get Trail Connected! Please put the following information
to order a T-shirt:
- Name
- Address
- City, State, Zip
- Cell Phone
- Desired T-Shirt size: S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X
Greater Waupaca Area Parks and Trails welcomes your support. Get in touch with us and let’s talk. We are looking for more people to get involved. You do not have to live in the Waupaca area.
About
More than ten years ago, a group of Town of Dayton citizens were concerned about the eventual improvement on the safety of County K to include an off-road bike trail. This group held together to become the Town of Dayton Trails Committee in 2015.
Greater Waupaca Area Parks & Trails was established in May of 2018 with the non-profit, Waupaca County Natural Resources Foundation, as our fiscal sponsor to replace the Dayton Trails Committee. We wanted to expand to include the four townships around the City of Waupaca and the City itself because many of the initial biking/hiking trails we were looking at crossed over townships borders. Thus, our small logo symbolizing the four townships surrounding the City of Waupaca.
Greater Waupaca Parks and Trails led an effort a few years ago to create a new County Park to be called Golding Park after the Goldings who took care of the dam in the Red Mill area for 70 years. A good many people helped with this effort. In the end we were unsuccessful with the park, but we are still working on improvements for that area when County K is redone which is now scheduled for 2023. We hold some seed money for that project from donors who chose to allow that.
We have discussed a design for a new bridge with on foot and by bike access to Nelson County Park and safer travel along County K with the Waupaca County Highway Commissioner, repeatedly. We have been assured that we will be kept in the loop going forward. Our plan includes an off road trail all the way to the high school. This plan is very important in that if the public’s input is not kept in the forefront on projects, often the engineering is done before the people who will actually use the route hear about the actual engineering. It is too late at that point to have public input. We would gladly share our plans about this area with anyone interested in getting involved.
Mission
The Greater Waupaca Area Parks & Trails exists to identify on and off-road biking and walking routes, river routes, and parks both linear and neighborhood throughout the Townships of Dayton, Farmington, Lind, Waupaca, and the City of Waupaca and beyond where beneficial. Where appropriate GWAPT will apply for private funding and solicit matching funding from residents where needed. GWAPT will work with citizens and governmental bodies to bring these ideas to fruition.
Vision Statement
Since there is great overlap of desired recreational routes and parks in the Greater Waupaca Area, GWAPT wants to be seen as a coordinating group between towns surrounding Waupaca and the City and beyond where appropriate to encourage cooperation and enhance recreational enjoyment and the economy of the Greater Waupaca Area.
Projects in Development
Masākāēw Trail Bike Route – 29 mile route from Waupaca to Ogdensburg on the Tomorrow River Trail to Scandinavia and back to Waupaca. – 2022
Brochure on Masākāēw Trail Bike Route – 2022
Development GWAPT materials for distribution at the August Triathlon – 2022
Waupaca to Weyauwega Biking/Hiking Route – 2023 Project
Hartman Creek State Park to Waupaca – 2024
Off-road trail from the Red Mill area to Waupaca High School – 2025
Coordination with County Highway Dept for improvements on County K near the Red Mill for access under a new bridge to Nelson Park and to continue eventually with an off-road trail to Hartman Creek State Park.