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We welcome donations of absolutely any amount! You can also contribute through PayPal

To pay by check, please make it out to WCNRF with GWAPT in the memo line and mail it to:

GWAPT
C/o RAJ
PO Box 126
Waupaca, WI 54981

Waupaca County Natural Resources Fund (WCNRF) is our fiscal sponsor. Donations are fully tax deductible.

Our History

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

(GWAPT) 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. GWAPT is applying for private funding and will solicit matching funds. GWAPT will work with citizens, and government bodies to bring these goals 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 to encourage cooperation and enhance recreational enjoyment and the economy of the Greater Waupaca Area.

Regular Meetings

GWAPT holds monthly meetings on 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at the Waupaca Library. Please join us!

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. – 2023

Brochure on Masākāēw Trail Bike Route – (PDF link to download)

Waup-Wega Biking/Hiking Route – 2023-2024 Project

Hartman Creek State Park to Waupaca – 2024-2025

Off-road trail from the Red Mill area to Waupaca High School – 2025

County Highway K is on the docket for improvements in 2025.

GWAPT has been working with the County Highway Commissioner for almost 10 years on the safety concerns we have for bikers and hikers in this area.

County K is regularly used by the track team at the high school and would be an excellent trail for walking or biking to the high school. We have contacted the Chamber grant writer who works for the City, the Chamber of Commerce and the schools to see about the possibility of a Safe Routes to Schools grant for part of this project. We currently have $11,000 which was committed by contributors to this area after the Golding Park project did not succeed. $5,000 of this was from John Gusmer, a dedicated contributor to the community who passed away recently. The rest is from donors who offered to allow GWAPT to keep the money they contributed for the park in the pot for the future. Now the future is here.

We will be fundraising for this as soon as we know if we have a grant and how much we need to raise for matching funds. This will be an expensive but very worthwhile and needed project not only for locals but also the many tourists who frequent this area.

Below is a map of the Crystal River near the Red Mill showing our proposal for an off road trail from the high school to the Red Mill. We recommend coming down County K on the side of Faith Community Church. The “bridge” there now is really a culvert. We would need a bridge to replace this with cantilevers and a rail separating the cantilevers from the roadway.

The map indicates cantilevers in red, paved trail sections in green, and a path along the Crystal River under a bridge with a dotted line. Nelson Park is a County Park and could then be accessed on foot or bicycle coming up to another cantilever on the Red Mill side where there is a very steep dropoff. Thus, no bicyclists or pedestrians would ever have to cross County K. The entrance to this park presently is very hazardous and would likely be eliminated. We would appreciate any comments on this plan in CONTACT US. These can be useful in our communication with the Highway Committee who has not yet approved this plan. We are trying to stay ahead of any engineering of the area.

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