Friends of the Kettle Moraine State Forest- Northern Unit

08/04/2026

Your Input Is Needed!

Do you camp at a State Park, traverse a State Trail, play at a State Recreation Area, or just love all the Wisconsin State Parks System properties? Then Wisconsin State Parks System staff needs your input for their 10-year strategic plan. This is your chance to share your thoughts about the future of the State Parks System.

Take five to 15 minutes to complete the online survey by tomorrow, August 5. Check out the flyer for more details and the link. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and ideas.

07/22/2026

Summer Sunset Concert with the Band Paddygrass

The Friends of the Kettle Moraine invite you and your entire family for the next Summer Sunset Concert with the band Paddygrass on Saturday, July 25, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The event will be held outdoors at the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area picnic shelter of the Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit. Mauthe Lake is located at N1490 County Road GGG, Campbellsport which is south of County Road SS near New Prospect. A Wisconsin State Parks System vehicle admission sticker is required for parking which can be purchased at the entrance to Mauthe Lake. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be moved inside the picnic shelter.

The evening starts at 5:30 p.m. with a meal plate special offered at the Mauthe Lake Concession Stand operated by 3 Sweets Bakery and Café. The menu will include a variety of items, so there is sure to be something to please everyone’s appetite. Bring extra cash to buy tasty, sweet treats at the Friends of the Kettle Moraine bake sale.

At 7:00 p.m., Paddygrass will kick off a toe-tapping concert of Celtic, bluegrass, and sea shanty music. This band hails from the Milwaukee area and is a favorite with all ages.

The cost is a freewill donation with a suggested contribution of $5/person. Remember your lawn chairs and/or blankets. Dogs are not allowed in the area around the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area picnic shelter.

The Friends of the Kettle Moraine will use the proceeds to support a variety of projects to enhance the offerings at the Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit. The group’s current project is the Ice Age Visitor Center Vegetation Rehabilitation Project. This project involves opening up the overlooks, burning the prairie, and knocking back non-native invasive plants.

For more information about this fun-filled family evening, email the Friends at [email protected] or call/text 920-313-1566. For information about the Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit, contact the staff at the Ice Age Visitor Center (920-533-8322). The center is open Thursday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

07/07/2026

Lots of great opportunities!!!!

Summer is running past us! Better catch up by registering for one of the many amazing Friends run/walks taking place between now and October.

These offerings provide opportunities to recreate and support your local Friends groups.

🥾July 11: Friends of Lapham peak Feel the Burn 5k Run/Walk
🥾July 25-26: Friends of WI Interstate State Park and Straight Lake State Park Ice to Water 2026 5k/10k/Kids' Trail Run
🥾August 8: Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail 26th Annual Hank Aaron State Trail Run/Walk
🥾August 15: Friends of New Glarus Woods State Park Trail Run
🥾October 3: Friends of Mirror Lake State Park S'more Trail Fun Run
🥾October 10: Friends of the Kettle Moraine State Forest- Northern Unit Leaf Stomp Hike
🥾October 10: Friends of Potawatomi State Park Run Wild

Grab a friend, register for one (or all), and enjoy the trails this summer and fall.

06/26/2026

MammothMarch Returns to the Northern Unit

After selling out the past three years, this year MammothMarch added a second day to their Wisconsin event at the Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit. Both Saturday and Sunday, June 27 & 28, are sold out with 1000 participants registered for each day! Hikers come from all over the state and country to challenge themselves.

The event utilizes Long Lake Recreation Area as the staging area, Long Lake shelter, and Zillmer shelter. The participants will hike either a 20-mile loop or a 30-mile loop along routes between County Road V north of Long Lake south to the Forest Headquarters entrance road. Trails included as part of the routes are the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Bridle, Summit, Zillmer Yellow Loop, Lake to Lake, and Tamarack. The event routes will be marked Thursday through Sunday.

MammothMarch started as a virtual hiking challenge during the coronavirus pandemic. This for-profit organization now coordinates about 22 unique long-distance hiking events around the country.

06/23/2026

Summer Sunset Concert with Lucky Pickers
Saturday, June 27

Mauthe Lake Recreation Area Picnic Shelter
N1490 County Road GGG, Campbellsport

5:30-7:30 pm – Purchase a meal from the Mauthe Lake Concession Stand
5:30-8:15 pm – Bring cash to buy homemade baked goods
7:00-8:45 pm – Concert with Lucky Pickers

Cost: freewill donation and WI State Park System vehicle admission sticker for parking.

Savor a delicious alfresco meal from the Mauthe Lake Concession Stand (operated by 3 Sweets Bakery and Café) followed by a sweet treat from the Friends of the Kettle Moraine Bake Sale. Lucky Pickers will share their brand of energic, toe-tapping bluegrass/folk music beginning at 7:00 pm as the sun begins to set over Mauthe Lake. The funds raised will be used to support a variety of Friends of the Kettle Moraine projects including the Ice Age Visitor Center Complex enhancements. This is family-friendly event. In the event of rain, the concert will move to inside the shelter. For more information, call/text (920) 313-1566.

06/20/2026

Fighting Back Japanese Hedge Parsley

Join the Stewards of the Kettle Moraine for their next battle – Fighting Back Japanese Hedge Parsley along the Zillmer Trails. This fairly new non-native invasive plant is quickly spreading along the trails, but with diligent, quick action it can be contained and even eradicated from the forest.

For each workday come dressed for the weather, wear sturdy shoes, and bring work/garden gloves, drinking water, pruners, and insect spray. For more information contact Connie Ramthun at [email protected].

Meet at the Zillmer Shelter located at W833 County Road SS, Campbellsport near New Prospect. Listed below are the scheduled workdays. If severe weather occurs, that workday will be canceled.

Tuesdays, June 23, 30
Thursday, June 25
5:00-7:00 pm

Saturday, June 27
9:00 am-12;00 pm

06/19/2026

Native Niche is hiring!

Native Niche, LLC (Friends of the Kettle Moraine Business Member) is a small and growing company founded in 2017 that provides services to preserve and restore natural areas. Our mission is to preserve and repair plant communities in honor of Wisconsin’s natural heritage. We work for land conservancies, governmental & non-profit organizations, and private landowners. We work to enhance prairies, woodlands, wetlands, and residential landscapes in southeastern & southcentral Wisconsin. We specialize in plant identification, invasive plant removal, and designing sustainable native plantings to improve biodiversity.

Native Niche LLC is looking for energetic and motivated people who are seeking careers in ecology or land restoration. We hope you share our concern for the health of our local ecosystems, that you love ecology, and want to make a difference in our natural areas. We are especially looking for employees with experience in this field. Hourly rate is determined by your experience.

The positions we need to fill are listed below. For more detailed information about the positions, email [email protected].

Restoration Ecologist/Crew Lead ($21-$25/hour)

Restoration Field Technician ($21-$25/hour; part-time and full-time)

06/09/2026

Reed Canary Grass Removal
Spruce Lake Bog State Natural Area

The Stewards of the Kettle Moraine volunteers completed work at Haskell Noyes State Natural Area this past Saturday. It was wonderful to have twelve people helping on the last day. An area of garlic mustard remains in the southwestern section near the Horse Camp, but we did the best we could!

This week, we will start work on the reed canary grass at Spruce Lake Bog State Natural Area. The days include Tuesday (tomorrow), June 9, from 5 to 7 pm, Thursday, June 11, from 5 to 7 pm, and Saturday, June 13, from 9 am to noon. After walking the boardwalk yesterday, it is great to see that there isn’t much reed canary grass along the boardwalk anymore! We will first concentrate on what remains that we can see from the boardwalk and then walk into the bog. For those willing to venture off the boardwalk, please bring knee high waterproof boots.

If we finish what we can of the reed canary grass by Thursday, we will move back to Haskell Noyes to catch the last of the garlic mustard. Since some people may come to the bog first, I will go there and wait until 9:15 am and then drive over to Haskell Noyes to begin garlic mustard pulling at 9:30 am.

For Spruce Lake Bog, wear a hat and long pants and shirt and bring along insect repellant, work gloves, and clippers. I will bring garbage bags for the tops of the reed canary grass and ribbon to tie it up.

Spruce Lake Bog is located off Airport Road just west of Dundee. Take County Road F west to Vista Drive, turn right and after a few miles, turn left onto Airport Road. There is a small parking lot and a sign on the right.

Please email me at [email protected] if you have questions. Thanks very much for your help and support.

~Connie Ramthun, Organizer, Stewards of the Kettle Moraine

06/01/2026

Leaf Stomp 2026 Registration Is Live!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 10 , for Leaf Stomp 2026 - the third annual!. Registration is now live through RaceRoster. Use this link (https://raceroster.com/events/2026/119606/leaf-stomp-2026 ) to go directly to the Leaf Stomp site to register or the attached QR code. The early bird discount ends on June 30!

This is a non-competive hike along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail through the Kettle Morane State Forest - Northern Unit. Participants check in at the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area and then are bussed to their starting points to hike back to Mauthe Lake. Folks can choose to hike 22+, 15, 10, or 5 miles. The registration fee includes an event T-shirt.

Leaf Stomp is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Kettle Moraine. Currently, the Friends are supporting the multiple-year Ice Age Visitor Center Vegetation Rehabiliation Project.

Questions? Contact Jackie Scharfenberg, Administrative Assistant, at (920)) 313-1566 or via email at [email protected]

05/31/2026

Summer Hours!