1.  The trail admission fee is required by law for bicyclists and other trail users (in-line skates, roller skis, roller blades, cross-country skis, and any other vehicle or means of conveyance) 16 years of age and older.

2.  Trail pass required on all state trails designated for skiing, biking, and horse riding.

3.  Users must pay for and carry with them a trail pass before using the trail.

4.  Bicyclists using the trail prior to obtaining a pass will each be charged an additional $5 service charge, or can be issued a citation for a maximum of $263.50

 

5. EXCEPTIONS that do not need to pay the admission fee:

·     Schools on class outings

·     Physically/mentally handicapped persons and their attendants of nonprofit organizations for rehabilitation purposes.

·     Conservation Patron Card holders

·     Senior Citizen Recreation Card holders

·     Wisconsin Disabled Veteran and former Prisoners Of War.

·     National Trails Day Fee Waiver

National Trails Day is held the first Saturday of every June. All trail fees on all Department owned trails are waived on National Trails Day.

·     Open House Day Fee Waiver

All Department owned properties participate in the statewide open house day to be held each year on the first Sunday of the first full weekend in June. All trail fees on state operated designated state trails are waived statewide open house day.

·     Pedestrians (including disabled persons) are not required to pay the admission fee. The majority of costs involved in trail operation (tread maintenance, vegetation trimming, mowing, sign replacement) is primarily for the benefit and need of bicyclists. Also, pedestrians are a much smaller proportion of users, and travel a much smaller amount of mileage.

·     Snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles do not pay an admission fee, but are required to have a registration sticker. Part of these registration fees are allocated to the trails on a per-mile basis.

6.    The trails are not supported by taxes. The state parks system is 80% self-supporting with fees. The state trails system does not come close to being self-supporting, and must be subsidized through the rest of the park system’s revenue.

7.    All money collected for admission is used to maintain and operate the trails.

8.    Costs involved in operating the trail include: lumber for posts and bridge repairs, hardware, signs, paint, vehicle mileage, electricity, water and sewer costs, tools, gasoline, equipment maintenance and repair, telephone bills, brochures, office supplies.

9.    The trails in Green County costs approximately $800.00 per mile annually to maintain and operate. This does not include employee wages.

10.  Trail employees make $9.00 per hour with no benefits. By law they can only work 6 months per year.

11.  A season trail pass is valid on all Wisconsin State Trails for the calendar year. It expires December 31^st.

12.  A person bicycling on the trail for 2 days requires a season pass or 2 dailies. Example – the person bikes from Brodhead to New Glarus, stays over night then bikes back to Brodhead.

13.  Two people, riding a tandem bicycle, are required to both purchase a trail pass. It is a per person admission fee

14. A daily pass expires at 12:00a.m. that day.

15. The fee for State Trails began in 1978.

16. There are 42 state trails that the trail pass is valid for bicycling on, along with all of the other state park trails that require a trail pass for mountain biking, horse riding, and cross-country skiing.

17. A person may bicycle on the Sugar River or Badger Trails at any time of day or year. Unless there is a specific safety concern, the trails do not close to hiking or bicycling

 

Trail passes are available at:

Sugar River Trail Office (The Depot in New Glarus, staffed by the New Glarus Chamber of Commerce.

New Glarus Woods State Park

Self-registration stations at each rest area along both trails

Many local businesses in each municipality along the trail

Any DNR ALIS license outlet, including all DNR service centers

All State Trails and many State Parks

 

History of the trail fee and surcharge on the Sugar River Trail

·   When the trail fee began, there was not enough funding to patrol the trail, so it became an ‘honor system’ fee. The majority of people using the trail did not pay the fee.

·   Years later, the trail was regularly patrolled, when people were found without a trail pass, they were simply required to purchase one at that point, with no penalty. Many people would simply ride without a pass in the hopes that they would encounter a Ranger to purchase one, or would intentionally ride without paying knowing that they would be paying the same amount if caught.

·   On a 24 or 40-mile trail, most people did not encounter a Ranger, and intentionally or not, paid no fee.

Any revenue brought in did not even pay for the patrol to collect it.

·   When the service charge was implemented, we immediately began taking in thousands of dollars more in admission fees annually through increased compliance (without counting the service charge itself). This paid for bridge decking and replacing all signs, and other improvements.