Report compiled by the North Country Trail Association, a proud partner NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL of the National Park Service in building, maintaining, protecting and promoting the North Country National Scenic Trail. 2020 PROGRESS REPORT northcountrytrail.org
2020 WAS A YEAR LIKE Volunteer hours annual activity report We did it together! NO OTHER North Country Trail Association volunteers in all eight states faced restrictions on travel, events, group projects and trail construction. With extra time on their hands, resilient 91,086 Photo: Mary Coffin Chapters and Affiliates still managed to get out on the NCT in record numbers. We saw HOURS IN 2020, NCTA CHAPTERS AND a shift to individual trail maintainers and AFFILIATES HELPED TO CARRY OUT OUR Adopters, families working together on the MISSION WITH THESE EFFORTS: Trail and small groups doing socially distant projects. We may have hosted fewer group Photo: Bobby Koepplin DEVELOP Photo: Bobbi Walters • Installed 3,247 feet of boardwalk and hikes this year; but we painted thousands puncheon of blue blazes, attended hundreds of virtual NCTA Chapters and Affiliates had71 meetings with agency partners; including the U.S. Forest Service, • Built 40 new bridges meetings and events and stayed connected National Park Service, State DNR offices, and county and local land managers. • Installed 38 new signs and kiosks to the North Country Trail. Photo: Dave Brewer MAINTAIN • Maintained 3,171* miles of NCT In 2020 we built • Blazed 275 miles of NCT 51 miles of new trail • Repaired 19 bridges and eliminated PROTECT 20 miles of road walk • Secured 17 new permanent easements • Connected with over 100 private landowners who host the NCT on their property
988 Volunteers PROMOTE contributed • Hosted 135 events, hikes and meetings 91,086 hours virtually to remain connected while a total donated Photo: Kevin Russell socially distancing • Over 2,500 participants finished the 2020 value of $2,477,539 The mission of the North Country Trail Association Hike 100 Challenge is to develop, maintain, protect and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail as the premier *includes maintenance on some of the same mileage more hiking path across the northern United States. than once, and some blazing on roadwalk sections Photo: NORTA Photo: Tom Moberg North Country Trail Association (616) 897-5987 NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL 229 East Main Street northcountrytrail.org 2020 PROGRESS REPORT Lowell, MI 49331 @northcountrytrail.org
STATE HIGHLIGHTS NORTH DAKOTA MINNESOTA WISCONSIN MICHIGAN OHIO PENNSYLVANIA NEW YORK VERMONT • The newly designated • Partnered with Pheasants • The WI Rovers crew • Constructed over three • The Northwestern • 2.5 miles of new Trail was • Finalized a Trail • Added official North Central Flyway Chapter Forever and Carlton and Heritage Chapter miles of new Trail and Ohio Rails-to-Trails constructed in the Enon Access Easement in Country Trail signage to brought NCTA to 29 total County, MN to acquire continued work on the 775 feet of boardwalk Association formed a Valley area, eliminating Oak Mountain Ski and the 16 miles of shared Chapters. The Chapter will a 242-acre property on Wren West segment in within the Manistee NF NCT Committee, who a critical road walk. Recreation Area and NCT/Trail around maintain approximately the Minnesota-Wisconsin Iron County, utilizing the to eliminate a dangerous hosted their inaugural Volunteers built 10 new began to flag, establish Middlebury (TAM). 135 miles of the NCT, border, permanently new Bill Thomas bridge 3/4-mile road walk and project; reblazing and unique bridges along trail and mark a one-mile between the Western protecting one mile of to cross Tyler Forks River. move the NCT to a six miles of Trail and this segment of Trail. new section of NCT. This Terminus within Lake NCNST on the MN/WI The crew constructed permanently protected reopening 1.5 miles of • 75 of the 97 miles of key parcel completes Sakakawea State Park, border. 72 feet of puncheon, a location. Trail in Maumee State NCT in the Allegheny a four-mile new Trail and the east end of • Worked with the 20-foot bridge and a new Forest that had been National Forest were section, connecting two the Lonetree Wildlife Arrowhead Regional campsite. abandoned from lack maintained with the DR other wilderness areas Management Area. Development of maintenance. mower or brush cutter, (West Canada Lakes and Commission to begin • The Buckeye Trail making future years of Siamese Ponds). public outreach efforts Association acquired maintenance easier by • Built over 100 feet of to designate potential a 16-acre property reducing the seedlings puncheon in five different routes for the NCT in in Shelby County, growing in the Trail locations on the 42 the newly designated connecting the historic corridor. miles of off-road Trail in Arrowhead reroute area. Lockington Locks to Central New York. Lockington Reserve and Photo: Becky Heise protecting five miles of
Photo: Bill Menke the shared Buckeye and CURRENT TRAIL MILES North Country Trail. Off-Road GIS Miles On-Road GIS Miles Totals NORTH DAKOTA 262.53 186.77 449.3 MINNESOTA 690.16 160.71 850.9 WISCONSIN 134.82 76.29 211.1 MICHIGAN 861.86 299.88 1,161.7 Photo: Wampum Chapter Photo: Matt Davis OHIO 506.38 556.40 1,062.8 PENNSYLVANIA 233.88 48.55 282.4 NEW YORK 430.45 241.59 672.0 VERMONT 39.57 29.73 69.3 TOTALS 3,160 1,600 4,760 Develop Maintain Protect Promote
3,160 miles of off-road trail
Photo: Kate Lemon Photo: Sarah Collier