Ice Age Trail itinerary
Every mile marker on the Ice Age Trail route, in order, with the distance and elevation change between each one, and which permit each stretch needs. To set alerts for your dates, go to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail Thru-Hike permit page.
Which permit covers this route
The Ice Age Trail. One reservation is a trailhead or zone plus an entry date; you roam after that, issued by walk-up.
The permit is issued for a named entry point. Interstate State Park (Western Terminus) is the one on this list.
- Stops mapped
- 9
- Across the markers
- 1289.1 mi
- Published route length
- 1200 mi
- Ascent, at least
- 1,060 ft
How long it takes: 2-3 months for a continuous thru-hike. That is the figure the permit publishes. This page does not divide the route into days, because no source records which stop you sleep at.
The stops below are the route's published mile markers, in order, with the elevations recorded against each one.
Distance and elevation change on each leg are the difference between the two published figures either side of it, so the legs are arithmetic on the markers and nothing more.
These two figures disagree. The mile markers run to 1289.1 miles, past the 1200 miles published for the route. Both are printed as recorded.
The Ice Age Trail route, stop by stop
Mile 0.0
719 ft
Interstate State Park (Western Terminus)
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
Western terminus on the St. Croix River, on the Minnesota border.
33.6 miles · 535 ft up to Straight Lake State Park
Mile 33.6
1,254 ft
Straight Lake State Park
Named Ice Age Trail segment park in Polk County.
19.1 miles · 197 ft down to McKenzie Creek segment
Mile 52.7
1,057 ft
McKenzie Creek segment
Named Ice Age Trail segment.
110.0 miles · 78 ft up to Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area
Mile 162.7
1,135 ft
Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area
Glacial moraine and kettle-lake terrain the trail was named for.
649.6 miles · 330 ft up to Devil's Lake State Park
Mile 812.3
1,465 ft
Devil's Lake State Park
One of the trail's best-known landmarks, in Sauk County near Baraboo.
53.7 miles · 588 ft down to Cross Plains (Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters area)
Mile 865.9
877 ft
Cross Plains (Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters area)
Home of the Ice Age Trail Alliance's office and the Glacial Passage segment.
200.0 miles · 54 ft up to Kettle Moraine State Forest -- Loew Lake Unit
Mile 1066.0
931 ft
Kettle Moraine State Forest -- Loew Lake Unit
One of five Kettle Moraine State Forest units named by Wisconsin DNR as part of the route.
9.8 miles · 63 ft up to Kettle Moraine State Forest -- Pike Lake Unit
Mile 1075.8
994 ft
Kettle Moraine State Forest -- Pike Lake Unit
One of five Kettle Moraine State Forest units named by Wisconsin DNR as part of the route.
213.4 miles · 269 ft down to Potawatomi State Park (Eastern Terminus)
Mile 1289.1
725 ft
Potawatomi State Park (Eastern Terminus)
Eastern terminus on the shores of Lake Michigan at Sturgeon Bay, Door County.
Getting a Ice Age Trail for the dates you want
Planning the route is the easy half. Ice Age Trail dates go fast, and the ones that come back are cancellations. They return to the booking system without warning and are gone again quickly. PermitSnag checks Ice Age Trail around the clock and alerts you the moment a date opens.