Photo by Paulette Walker Smith
There can be a lot of details to navigate when you hike the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin’s fall and winter seasons: hunting season dates, trail closures on private property, and public lands where the Trail is open and hunting is also allowed.
Visit our Hunting Season and the Ice Age Trail page to get a full breakdown of all the things to consider.
Here are the main things you’ll want to remember:
- WEAR BLAZE ORANGE or other bright colors. This applies to you and your pet. We consider October through April as Blaze Orange Season on the Trail.
- The Hunting Season Schedule is available from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
- THE NINE-DAY GUN-DEER SEASON is from November 19–November 27, 2022. This is the most popular season and the time you’re most likely to see your hiking options limited.
- View the Hunting on Ice Age Trail Alliance Properties map to learn which properties do (or do not) allow hunting and where hikers may encounter hunters.
- View the Hunting Closures map listing segments closed (or partially closed) for hunting, especially during nine-day gun-deer season.
- Download the Hunting Closures spreadsheet. It’s a handy list of segments (or portions of segments) closed to hikers during certain hunting seasons (especially gun-deer season).
- THE TRAIL CLOSES IN SOME AREAS WHERE IT CROSSES PRIVATE PROPERTY. Please respect signage announcing the details of the closure.