Midwest Adventurers

OVERVIEW Join us for a weekend of late winter backpacking in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Overall distance for the weekend will be about 11 miles over two days on the IAT (portions of the Parnell and Greenbush segments). Overnight we have the option to sleep in a shelter or bring a tent and setup nearby. (Please read the event description completely before signing up.)

DETAILED ITINERARY
FRIDAY MARCH 13, 2026
There won't be a scheduled meeting or start time, instead arrive that afternoon or evening as your schedule permits and hike the 1/4 mile in to shelter 3.

Shelter 3 parking is located on the west side of Division Road about ½ mile south from County Highway F in a small lot. [WINTER INFO: Division Road is plowed to the parking area which can usually accommodate 4 or 5 vehicles providing the snowbanks aren’t too big. Depending on participation and the number of vehicles, we may need to shuttle Friday evening to make room, otherwise, we'll shuttle Saturday morning in the daylight. Please DO NOT BLOCK THE ROAD! It may appear that the road ends where the plowing stops, but it does continue and is used by vehicles or snowmobiles depending on conditions.]

The trail to the shelter starts west up a small hill from the parking area and joins the official shelter access trail (indicated by the dotted blue line on KMSF-NU map) and then continues west to the shelter.

The shelters areas are often picked clean of firewood, and we will want a nice warm fire so I will bring firewood. There isn't potable water near Shelter 3 (although there is a spring) so plan accordingly. Our next potable water source is about 3 miles into the hike on Saturday.

SATURDAY MARCH 14, 2026
In the morning we'll likely get the fire going again to warm up, if necessary, or just warm up some breakfast. Once packed up, our first order of business will be to shuttle a couple vehicles to our ending point. We'll figure out the exact logistics that morning. When that is taken care of, we'll head out hiking east on the shelter spur to the IAT (Ice Age Trail). We'll take the IAT north for about 3 miles to Butler Lake where we can take a short break and replenish our water from the hand pumped well. From there we’ll continue another 4.5 miles to Shelter 4 where we’ll spend the night.

There is a designated potable water source for Shelter 4; however, it is not very close or on our route. The well is located at the Parnell Tower parking area which is about a mile from the shelter making it a 2 mile round trip. I find it easier to just load up at Butler Lake than do the extra distance but it's nice to have options. If the weather is nice and the trails are fast, we may end up at the shelter fairly early. In that case we could head over to the Parnell observation tower to take in the view with the option to grab some water.

I will drop some firewood near Shelter 4 prior to the weekend to ensure we're able to have a nice warm fire without regard to what we may be able to scavenge around the shelter.

SUNDAY MARCH 15, 2026
Again, we'll likely get a brief fire going while we pack up and have breakfast. Once we're packed and fueled, we’ll continue our hike north on the IAT for about 3.5 miles toward the Greenbush Recreational Area. We usually conclude our hike at the parking area for Shelter 5 but occasionally, with snow, that lot can become difficult to access. In that case we'll continue on to the main parking lot adding an additional half mile which would put us at a maximum of 4 miles. We'll know our final destination once we shuttle cars Saturday morning.

Once our hike is complete, we’ll get everyone shuttled back to their vehicle. Optionally, we may want to get second breakfast or lunch somewhere nearby.

GENERAL INFO
The shelters have a pit toilet/outhouse but don't count on there being any toilet paper. Shelters have no heat but with a tarp over the door (which I'll provide) we have good protection from the wind. You’re welcome to sleep inside the shelter; it will cozily accommodate 10 people between the benches and floor or bring a tent and sleep outside. (If you sleep in the shelter, bring earplugs! Between snoring, folks rustling, sleep mats squeaking and the door tarp flapping, there can be quite a bit of noise!)

Participation for this trip will be limited to 10 persons based on the DNR shelter (site) occupancy limit. The parking areas for shelter 3 and shelter 5 do not require a parking sticker, however the main Greenbush lot does. Parking stickers/permits can be purchased there at the self-registration station.

OVERVIEW Join us for a weekend of spring backpacking in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Overall distance for the weekend will be either 11.6 or 13.2 miles on the Milwaukee River IAT Segment while staying two nights at the backpacking shelters. (Please read the event description completely before signing up.)

DETAILED ITINERARY
FRIDAY APRIL 24, 2026
Our meeting time is set for 6:00pm at the Mauthe Lake entrance station parking lot. This will allow us enough time to shuttle vehicles to the Shelter 1 lot, return to the Mauthe lot and hike in to Shelter 2 as a group before dark. You're welcome to arrive earlier and hike in to the shelter on your own and set up if your schedule permits. However, plan to be back out at the lot to shuttle vehicles with us at 6:00. If you are arriving after the set meeting time, you'll need to hike in to the shelter on your own.

Please drop a comment about a week prior to the event regarding your estimated arrival time and if you are carpooling with someone. This will allow me to confirm that we have enough people/vehicles arriving at or before 6 to meet our shuttling needs or to adjust if necessary.

The Mauthe Lake entrance station parking lot is located off of County Highway GGG just beyond the entrance station booth immediately off to the right side. (Google map & address below under LINKS). This lot does require a parking sticker or pass, a self-registration station is located by the information board behind the entrance booth. The entrance station is also the water source for Shelter 2 with a well box and spigot located to the south side of the booth. Keep in mind there is no potable water source on trail Saturday prior to our arrival at Shelter 1. The trail to Shelter 2 leaves the Mauthe Lake entrance station lot to the south just beyond the turn loop that allows incoming traffic to turn back towards the exit. From the parking area, follow the IAT (Ice Age Trail) for 1.0 miles south. At that point a short spur to the shelter splits off to the right passing the outhouse on the way in to the shelter.

The shelters areas are often picked clean of firewood so I'll drop some firewood ahead of time so we can have a nice warm fire to gather around.

SATURDAY APRIL 25, 2026
In the morning we'll likely get the fire going again, hopefully less to warm ourselves up and more so to warm up some breakfast. There will be plenty of daylight for the miles we have so we don't have to rush to get on the trail. Once everyone is done with breakfast and packed up, we'll take the spur back up the hill to the south to rejoin the IAT. From there we're on the IAT all the way until just before Shelter 1 when another spur will take us along the ridge to the shelter. The published distance from Shelter 2 to Shelter 1 is 7.7 miles, we can stop as needed and maybe do a bit of a break for lunch. Shelter 1 has more room to spread out our tents and has water nearby. There is a well with hand pump located to the east, down the hill from the shelter. We will also be close to the vehicles that we shuttle the previous evening.

I'll either drop some firewood near the shelter ahead of time or possibly plan to leave wood in a vehicle in the parking lot so we can enjoy another evening around the fire.

SUNDAY APRIL 26, 2026
In the morning we'll likely have a brief fire again as we have breakfast and pack up.

The primary goal for the day is to hike the remainder of the Milwaukee River IAT Segment; we can do that in one of two ways.
Option 1: Hike out 0.25 miles to the Shelter 1 parking lot. From there we shuttle vehicles to our ending point at the Sunburst Ski Hill parking lot. We'll return to the Shelter 1 parking lot and start hiking from there. The remainder of the Milwaukee River segment is 2.1 miles. Then we'll cross under Highway 45 and hike an additional 0.6 miles of the Kewaskum Segment to get to the Sunburst lot. This option would total 2.9 miles for the day.
Option 2: Hike out 0.25 miles to the Shelter 1 parking lot. From the lot we'll hike an out and back on the IAT. We'll finish out the remaining 2.1 miles of the Milwaukee River Segment and then turn back toward the Shelter 1 parking lot. This option would total 4.45 miles for the day.

Regardless of the option we choose, we'll finish by shuttling everyone back to their vehicles. Following that, we have the option of meeting back up for some lunch somewhere nearby in Kewaskum

GENERAL INFORMATION The shelters have a pit toilet/outhouse but don't count on there being any toilet paper. You’re welcome to sleep inside the shelter; it will cozily accommodate 10 people between the benches and floor. However, with the warmer weather folks tend to choose setting up a tent near the shelter. For that reason, I won't plan on bringing a tarp to cover the shelter door as I do for winter trips. (If you do sleep in the shelter, earplugs are a good option! Between snoring, folks rustling, sleep mats squeaking, etc., there can be quite a bit of noise!)

Participation for this trip will be limited to 10 persons based on the DNR shelter (site) occupancy limit. The parking area for Shelter 2 at the Mauthe Lake entrance station requires a parking sticker but the parking area for Shelter 1 does not. Parking stickers/permits can be purchased there at the self-registration station at the Mauthe Lake entrance station.