About WinMan Trails
WinMan Trails is a network of mountain biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, winter fat tire biking, and snowshoeing trails in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Serving as a year-round adventure park and community gathering space, our trail system provides residents and visitors an opportunity to experience outstanding trails that inspire an active, outdoor lifestyle.
WinMan Trails began in 2011 as family mountain bike trails on private land owned by the Gering family. Over the last 11 years, the system has grown and evolved into a destination trail system attracting users from throughout the upper Midwest, and beyond. Currently WinMan Trails offers:
- 22+ miles of purpose-built mountain bike trails
- 22 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails
- over 8 miles of groomed and backcountry snowshoeing
- 10 miles of groomed fat tire biking
- over 6 miles of running and hiking trails
- a pump track for riders of all ages to develop fundamental skills
The Story of WinMan begins with a common dream of many Wisconsin families: Purchase some land for the family to enjoy together in the Northwoods. The plot twist is what Susie and Rick Gering did with their humble parcel, which was to build a 40-mile, 4-season system with an arms-wide-open invitation for the community to come out and play.
The Gerings’ daughter, Elizabeth, laughs as she recalls the memories from those early days at the property:
“Our family would go out there to snowshoe and my dad would say, ‘Hey, we’re looking at putting in a new trail out here.’ We’d get to the spot and there’d be absolutely nothing. I’m so impressed that he had the vision to see it before it was a reality. But I was too busy trying to avoid getting slapped in the face by a random tree branch to see the trail that wasn’t there yet.”
As the trail system has grown and become a larger part of the community, it is time for our organization to evolve as well. We are currently in the process of applying for public, non-profit status. This will allow us more opportunities for funding and grants; allowing us to continue to build on the vision originally conceived by Rick and Susie.
Our core mission is offering an incredible trail related experience. Our trail design allows for the entire family to enjoy themselves, while still offering challenges for more advanced users.
We offer excellently maintained trails that are well marked and mapped. This allows new users a chance to feel confident and comfortable when mountain biking or cross-country skiing here for the first time. Our location benefits from soil conditions that allow for excellent trail design and sustainability, scenery and forests that stimulate the user, and topography that packs in fun for every level of user.
Offering more than just an incredible trail experience, WinMan Trails focuses on the entire user experience. We offer amenities including a chalet with indoor restrooms, changing rooms, free public wi-fi, a wood burning masonry fireplace as well as multiple indoor and outdoor gathering spaces.
We believe the best way for WinMan to succeed is continuing to strengthen our core competencies of quality, year-round trails and adding amenities that enhance our users experience. Benefiting from an authentically developed and well established user base, overall industry growth in mountain biking and cross-country skiing, along with the vast benefits of our location, WinMan Trails is in a unique position to strengthen itself as a destination trail system and premier asset for the community.