The Manitowoc Segment of the Ice Age Trail is a 7.3-mile multi-use trail in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Most of this trail is paved, and the full length is very easy to walk. A multi-use trail is a trail hikers share with bikes, scooters, and skateboards.
The Manitowoc Segment is separated from the Walla Hi segment heading westbound. At its East trailhead, this segment connects directly to the Dunes Segment.
Parking, potable water, restrooms, picnic shelters, and access to lodging are easy to find throughout this segment. Manitowoc is one of many trail towns on the Ice Age Trail, and this is one that you can visit for a full weekend getaway with activities centered around hiking the IAT. The Wisconsin Maritime Museum, one of the best museums in Wisconsin, is an exciting diversion from the hike and is located directly trailside. There are plenty of dining opportunities as well as beaches and parks trailside as well.
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| Viewing platform along the Ice Age Trail in Schuette Park |
I took a couple days to hike this segment, and I was surprised by the variety of natural landscapes along this trail. Imagining the route beforehand, I expected a lot of industrial scenes and walking along streets and sidewalks. To some degree, this is true, but I was surprised by the out-in-nature feeling of this trail.
Manitowoc is a Great Lake port city, a port of entry to the United States. Its history is built around its natural harbor at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. Shipbuilding was one of the major industries here, with the Manitowoc Dry Dock Company producing ships from wood schooners to World War II submarines. This heavy industry spawned other supporting supply enterprises, such as aluminum and metal stamping factories. These early 20th-century factories and the railroads and yards that served them were built along the river. The route of the Ice Age Trail generally cuts through these historic industrial sites.
I started from the southwest trailhead at Schuette Park beside the Manitowoc River. Seagulls and sandhill cranes greeted me with the clatter of their calls as I stepped out of my car. The steep river banks are forested and green. Manitowoc has revitalized its riverfront by converting former industrial land into a beautiful parkway. The parkway had a botanical gardens feel, with side trails merging and diverging from the IAT mainline. Elevated decks provided overviews of dry and rocky flats planted with shrubs.
The trail cut over to the edge of the river banks and rolled over long boardwalks. What I thought would be my least favorite part of the trail turned out to be my favorite. The trail crossed a railroad and headed into Riverview Park before using the Revere Drive bridge to cross the river. I caught some views of today’s remaining heavy industry before the trail turns down leafy residential avenues. The path cut right through downtown, past retail and restaurants, before reaching the mouth of the river and the Great Lake Michigan shoreline.
For my weekend trip to Manitowoc, I stayed overnight at the Inn on Maritime Bay Hotel, which is on the trail and at the mouth of the river. So, that is where my first day of hiking ended. Next door to the hotel is the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. This museum is filled with delights and presents the story of maritime trade in Wisconsin with outstanding exhibits. The most memorable part of a visit to the museum is taking a tour of the USS Cobia, a decommissioned WWII submarine.
On my next day of hiking, I followed the IAT along the Lake Michigan shore up to the Dunes Segment and back. This section of the trail uses the asphalt-paved multi-use Mariners Trail. For a diversion from the IAT mainline, head out on the breakwater trail to the Dridge disposal facility. The name doesn’t really do this park on the water justice. The trail here is wide, easy, busy with foot traffic, and scenic. It ends at Manitowoc’s picture-perfect North breakwater lighthouse.
The paved multi-use trail on the IAT follows the picturesque shoreline along a parkway. The parkway connecting Manitowoc to Two Rivers is the American Legion Memorial Drive, which was constructed in 1928 to honor fallen WWI soldiers. The original avenue was planted with elm trees lining both sides of the roadway.
Along the Memorial Drive, at the Aurora hospital, hikers cut across the highway and back into the hospital parking lots, where the Manitowoc Segment joins the Dunes Segment.
Manitowoc has a story rich in history and culture that is told along this segment of the Ice Age Trail.
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| Manitowoc in the distance from The Mariners Trail - Also the route of the Ice Age Trail |
Ice Age National Trail Manitowoc Segment
COUNTY
MANITOWOC
COMMUNITIES
MANITOWOC
TOTAL MILES
7.3-MILES POINT-TO-POINT
DIFFICULTY
EASY
LOWEST ELEVATION
575 AMSL
HIGHEST ELEVATION
650 AMSL
TOTAL CUMMULATIVE ELEVATION GAIN
400 FT
NEXT IAT SEGMENT HEADING EASTBOUND
DUNES SEGMENT
NEXT IAT SEGMENT HEADING WESTBOUND
WALLA HI SEGMENT
Directions and Trail Map
If viewing on a mobile device, open the trail map above to load into Google Maps App by touching the expand rectangle in the upper right corner.
Address for your GPS: 3800 Broadway St, Manitowoc, WI 54220
| coordinates: 44.098085705465564, -87.69204753022049 |
| From Milwaukee | 1 Hours |
| From Madison | 2 Hours |
| From Green Bay | 1/2 Hour |
| From Wausau | 2 Hours |
| From Minneapolis | 5 Hours |
| From Chicago | 3 Hours |
Photos
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| West trailhead of the Ice Age Trail Manitowoc Segment in Schette Park |
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| Along the Ice Age Trail in Schette Park |
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| Along the Ice Age Trail in Schette Park |
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| Along the Ice Age Trail in Schette Park |
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| Along the Ice Age Trail in Schette Park |
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| Along the Ice Age Trail in Schette Park |
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| Entering Riverview Park on the Ice Age Trail |
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| Manitowoc Harbor from the Ice Age Trail Manitowoc Segment |
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| Manitowoc Harbor from the Ice Age Trail Manitowoc Segment |
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| The Mariners Trail is also the route of the Ice Age Trail |
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| View of Lake Michigan from the Ice Age Trail |
PHOTOS FROM THE WISCONSIN MARITIME MUSEUM - ALONG THE ICE AGE TRAIL
