Article Source: Wisconsin Outside | March 2023 e-newsletter

Dave Eckmann, Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce CEO and president explained, “A significant component of our plan is to market the greater Wausau region as an outdoor recreation mecca of the Midwest to attract and retain skilled workforce and innovative companies. The GPHW proposal would help contribute to realizing this strategy and  further enable the area to reach full potential as a nationally recognized outdoor hub.”

Article Source: WJFW - News Channel 12

A project in Lincoln and Marathon counties called the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway has recently been listed as the 21st state designated water trail. It runs from Oneida to Portage County. You may have heard of The Ice Age National Scenic Trail, a hiking route throughout the state. Water trails are essentially the same but of course on water designed for kayakers and paddlers.

Article Source: The Lakeland Times, November 4, 2022, Page 11

The Vilas County board’s forestry, recreation, and land committee received a presentation on Tuesday about a statewide paddling trail program on the Wisconsin River…The committee didn’t make a decision, but Tomlanovich said a third-party group could be organized to push for the program and work as a liaison between Bertram’s foundation and the county.

Article Source: Greater Wausau 2022-2023 Recreation Guide, Pages 20-21

The Wausau area features some great opportunities for paddling adventures, including a trio of river trails. The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway is an overarching water trail that consists of three rivers located in Central Wisconsin…Portions of the trail hold scenic wonders as it flows over rapids and rock outcropping, through primeval pine and hardwood forest, and along the Ice Age Trail.

Article Source: Wausau Works For You Summer 2022, Page 4

The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway (GPHW) is an overarching historic river trail system that combines the histories of three rivers that meet in the heart of our city. The trail offers our residents paddling opportunities on the Wisconsin River, the Lower Big Rib River, and the Lower Eau Claire River on branded landings that tell the story of our rivers and the people that lived along their banks.

Article Source: Silent Sports Magazine

The Wausau & Marathon County Parks & Recreation Foundation announces the development of the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway (GPHW) as an overarching paddling trail on the Wisconsin River from Hat Rapids in Oneida County through Wausau to the Lake DuBay Dam in Portage County. The scenic, urban, and historical water trail is 108 miles in length and connects today’s paddler with the history, events and people of the river that runs through Central Wisconsin.

Article Source: WSAW - News Channel 7

The Wausau and Marathon County Parks and Recreation Foundation announced Thursday the creation of a new paddling trail called the ‘Great Pinery Heritage Waterway’. The vision to create water trails along the Wisconsin River traces its way back to the 1980s with former Wausau and Marathon County Parks and Recreation Director Bill Duncanson. Recently, they’ve decided to return to the project.

Article Source: City Pages 2022 Summer Fun Book, Pages 60-61

The Wausau area has lots of outdoor activities, and soon, those looking for one on the water will get access to a new scenic urban and historical paddle trail passing through Central Wisconsin. After two years of talk, the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway is now being developed on the Wisconsin River.

Article Source: Wausau and Marathon County Parks and Recreation Foundation

The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway encompasses three rivers. The Wisconsin River waterway starts at the Hat Rapids Dam in Oneida County and ends at Lake Dubay Dam in Portage County. The Wisconsin River is a historic, scenic, and urban waterway that tells the story of the Pinery and America’s heartland through a series of interpretative signs located at strategic landings along the 101-mile trail length.