Central Wisconsin Recreation and Natural Assets

The county's official Nine Mile trail mileage and fee schedule are not recorded because marathoncounty.gov refuses automated requests.

The number and total acreage of Marathon County parks are not recorded because the county site refuses automated requests.

Rib Mountain State Park is a day-use property with picnicking, hiking trails, an amphitheater, an indoor gathering space and picnic shelters; Granite Peak Ski Area occupies the mountain's north face.

Rib Mountain State Park's address is 149801 State Park Rd., in Marathon County.

Rib Mountain is a four-mile-long quartzite ridge dating back about 1.7 billion years.

DNR puts Rib Mountain's summit at 1,924 feet above sea level, fourth highest in Wisconsin; Timm's Hill (1,952 feet) in Price County is the highest.

DNR states Rib Mountain rises 670 feet above the surrounding terrain, more than any other hill in the state.

DNR records the Ojibwe name for Rib Mountain as O-pic-wun-a-se-be, the first part meaning rib; the mountain was formerly called Rib Hill.

The Wausau Kiwanis Club bought 120 acres at the top in 1922, the state accepted a 40-acre gift in 1923, and Rib Mountain was officially designated a state park in 1927.

Gifts expanded Rib Mountain State Park to 606 acres in 1970 and to nearly 860 acres by 1982.

A road to the summit, pushed by a Chamber of Commerce committee from 1929, was completed in 1931.

A Civilian Conservation Corps camp opened in July 1935 on the west bank of the Wisconsin River in the town of Rib Mountain; its 250 men built paths, widened the road and built a campground and picnic area.

The first ski event on Rib Mountain, the Central Ski Association Championship on February 24-25, 1938, drew more than 465 participants and 3,000 spectators.

The CCC shelter house opened in December 1939 and is still used by Granite Peak; its upper level was dedicated in 2006 to the 10th Mountain Division.

Rib Mountain quartzite fed sandpaper making from 1893; Wausau Sandpaper and Wausau Quartz merged in 1905 as Wausau Abrasives, which Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing bought in 1929.

Granite Peak Ski Corporation leases 405 acres of Rib Mountain State Park land for downhill skiing and snowboarding.

Rib Mountain State Park has more than 13 miles of hiking trails, over eight miles of them accessible to people with disabilities.

The park's Gray trail reaches its main features, including a 60-foot observation tower; the trail's northern portion closes during downhill ski season.

The Friends Gathering Space, across the entrance road from the amphitheater, can be reserved from May 1 through Sept. 30.

USGS GNIS records Rib Mountain as a named summit in Marathon County at 44.9208015, -89.6945677.

Granite Peak lists 700 feet of vertical drop, 400 combined acres, 68 trails, 7 lifts and 3 terrain parks.

Granite Peak lists a base elevation of 1,242 feet and a top elevation of 1,942 feet, which differs from DNR's 1,924-foot summit figure.

Granite Peak's lifts are a high-speed six-pack, two high-speed quads, two triple chairs and two surface lifts.

Granite Peak lists average annual snowfall of 60 inches and a longest run of 0.8 miles.

Visit Wausau's listing describes Granite Peak with 225 acres of skiable terrain and 55 trails, figures that differ from the resort's own stats page.

Granite Peak's history says the Rib Mountain Ski Area opened in 1937 with 160 acres, six runs and a half-mile lift.

Neal Mix bought the ski area lease in 1986 for $475,000.

In 2022 Granite Peak and its sister resorts launched Midwest Family Ski Resorts.

Granite Peak's history page calls Rib Mountain the second highest point in Wisconsin, which conflicts with DNR's ranking of fourth.

Granite Peak's home page lists fall scenic chairlift rides to the top of Rib Mountain on Fridays through Sundays, September 25 through October 25, 2026.

Lake Wausau (WBIC 1437500) is a 1,851-acre drainage lake in Marathon County with an official maximum depth of 30 feet and mean depth of 7 feet.

DNR lists Lake Wausau with a public landing and a public park, and reports musky, panfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye present.

USGS GNIS classifies Lake Wausau as a named reservoir in Marathon County at 44.9186768, -89.6334654.

Big Eau Pleine Reservoir (WBIC 1427400) covers 6,348 acres in Marathon County, with a maximum depth of 46 feet and mean depth of 16 feet.

Lake Du Bay (WBIC 1412200) covers 4,649 acres across Portage and Marathon counties, with a maximum depth of 30 feet, a public landing, beach and park.

Mosinee Flowage (WBIC 1434900) covers 716 acres in Marathon County, maximum depth 18 feet.

Eau Claire Flowage (WBIC 1437800) covers 184 acres in Marathon County, maximum depth 10 feet.

Wausau Dam Lake (WBIC 1469700) covers 152 acres in Marathon County, maximum depth 28 feet.

Alexander Lake (WBIC 1494600) in Lincoln County covers 618 acres with a maximum depth of 36 feet.

Petenwell Lake (WBIC 1377100), 23,173 acres, is listed by DNR in Juneau, Adams and Wood counties.

The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway is a 108-mile navigable water trail on the Wisconsin River and its tributaries in north central Wisconsin.

Visit Wausau reports the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway received National Recreation Trail recognition in 2025.

Visit Wausau lists Isle of Ferns Park, Riverside Park with a bridge to Picnic Island, and Barker-Stewart Island and Big Bull Falls parks among Wausau's riverfront parks, and describes the River Path following the river on both sides of downtown.

The Wausau Whitewater Park course runs 1/3 mile through downtown Wausau and has more than twelve whitewater features.

Dam releases during events produce features from Class II to III+ on the course, with flatwater and Class I at the top and bottom.

Wausau Whitewater says the park has hosted multiple national, North American and world championship events.

Wausau Whitewater is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; its mission statement is published under the name Wausau Kayak/Canoe Corporation.

Visit Wausau lists Wausau Whitewater at 200 River Drive.

Nine Mile County Forest covers just over 4,900 acres and is managed for timber, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, hiking, snowmobiling and snowshoeing.

Visit Wausau lists Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area at 221700 Red Bud Road, Wausau.

Visit Wausau describes more than 30 km of cross-country ski trails at Nine Mile, marked in 6K, 10K and 20K loops.

USGS GNIS records Nine Mile Forest as a named woods in Marathon County at 44.8980236, -89.705679.

Dells of the Eau Claire County Park (P2150 County Road Y, Marathon County) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a district on July 5, 2016.

Dells of the Eau Claire Park is a 190-acre park bisected by the Eau Claire River, with 27 campsites, a swimming beach on an impoundment and the adjacent Ice Age Trail.

The park's gorge features volcanic rock palisades and potholes carved by falling water.

Marathon Park, at 1201 Stewart Avenue in Wausau, covers 78 acres and holds an amphitheater with seating for nearly 10,000.

Big Eau Pleine Park covers 1,450 acres on a two-mile peninsula in the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir, with two campgrounds totaling 106 sites and 12 miles of trails.

Most of Big Eau Pleine Park was given to Marathon County in 1937 by Consolidated Water Power Company.

The Mountain-Bay State Trail runs 83 miles from Weston, just east of Wausau, to Howard Memorial Park near Green Bay.

Marathon, Shawano and Brown counties operate and maintain the Mountain-Bay State Trail.

The trail's western terminus is beside the Weston Municipal Center at 5550 Municipal Street, with more parking in Ringle, Hatley and Norrie.

Communities along the trail include Wausau, Weston, Hatley, Norrie, Eland, Bowler, Shawano, Bonduel, Pulaski, Anston, Howard and Green Bay.

The trail has a short gap in the city of Shawano near the Wolf River, bridged by local roads.

Horseback riding is allowed only in Shawano County; snowmobiles are allowed in Marathon and Shawano counties and on six miles in Brown County.

The Mountain-Bay connects to the Wiouwash State Trail in Eland, and the Ice Age Trail shares its corridor for about two miles between Ringle and Hatley.

The Marathon County portion carries a series of twelve interpretive signs on the county's early history and the former rail line.

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail spans about 1,200 miles, entirely within Wisconsin, and is one of 11 National Scenic Trails.

NPS reports nearly 700 miles of the Ice Age Trail blazed and open, while DNR's page says more than 600 miles are open.

DNR says the Ice Age Trail is one of 44 designated Wisconsin state trails and the only one designated a State Scenic Trail.

Visit Wausau says the Wausau area holds more than 44 miles of the Ice Age Trail.

Merrill gave the original 278 acres of Council Grounds to the state in 1938; the property became a state park in 1978 and has grown to 508 acres.

Council Grounds State Park, on the Wisconsin River, has a boat landing to Lake Alexander and the Wisconsin River, a beach area and an accessible fishing pier.

The Mondeaux Dam Recreation Area near Westboro in Taylor County was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 21, 1984.

Recreation.gov lists federal campgrounds in Taylor County including Eastwood, Picnic Point, Spearhead Point, Chippewa, North Twin Lake and West Point.

Recreation.gov lists the Wisconsin River islands in Wisconsin Rapids as a federal recreation area in Wood County.

Thirty Wisconsin counties enroll land under the County Forest Law, totaling more than 2.4 million acres, the largest public land ownership in the state.