Sauk Rail Trail
Trail facts:
Length: 33 miles
Surface: Asphalt from Swan Lake to Maple River, limestone on converted railbed from Maple River to Carnarvon, and concrete from Carnarvon to Lake View
Hours: year-round, 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Fees: user fees are required for those ages 18 and up, $1.00/day or $15.00/year; trail passes can be found at the Carroll County Conservation Board, Sac County Conservation Board and trailheads
Counties: Sac and Carroll
Cities: Carnarvon, Breda, Maple River, Lake View and Carroll
Connecting trails: none
Uses: hiking, nature viewing, biking, cross-country skiing, skating, snowmobiling, hunting on some portions of trail
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| Trail description:
This spectacular trail begins and ends at two beautiful state parks, both of which contain lakes with many recreational activities. Traveling its 33-mile length, visitors will see natural prairies, wetlands, rich farmland and timber areas—along with much wildlife.
The part of the trail around Swan Lake is particularly hilly. A more level section of trail runs from Maple River to Carnarvon along an old railbed. This section goes through the Hazelbrush Wildlife Area, an 80-acre county park.
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Trailhead maps on this site:
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Resources from other sites:
- Sac County Conservation Board
This site provides a helpful, lengthy description of the trail. Another link on their site shares fee information. There is no map included, but there are a couple of pictures.
- Trail Resources
The site gives a good, brief description of all the trail basics including services and nearby amenities. Like Sac County’s site for this trail, it doesn’t have a map, but it does include a list of booklets to purchase that include a map and information on the trail.
- Barn Quilts
This site features Sac County’s newest attraction, painted eight-foot wooden blocks on the outside of barns and along roads. The website has a list of locations for the barn quilts, plus photos for each one. There’s also a map visitors can follow to see all the quilts. The eventual plan is to have them all throughout the county, appearing every five to ten miles.
- Sac County
This is the website for Sac County. It has links to county tourism information, county departments, news and seasonal photographs.
- Town of Lake View
Lake View is a community of 1,300 and this website for the quaint town has data on the town, pictures and a community calendar.
- City of Sac City
This site has information on Historic Sac City and links to Chamber-Main Street Sac City. There’s also a link to recreation and community events.
- Town of Wall Lake
Wall Lake, touted as the birthplace of singer Andy Williams, is a small community of about 800 people. This is a nice website with town information and ideas for visitors.
- Town of Odebolt
Though it may seem like there’s not much to do in a town of 1,100, visit the attractions link on the Odebolt website for a lengthy list of ideas. There is also information about places to stay, a community calendar and links to Odebolt history, the school district and genealogy links.
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For local information:
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