Annual average temperature runs from 50 degrees in the south to 39 in the north
When a guide is worth it
The case for local knowledge in Wisconsin is legal and seasonal rather than technical. Thirty counties run their own forests under the County Forest Law, and each county board sets its own rules for use, so the terms change at a county line that is not signed. WisDOT posts weight limits on state highways from mid-December into May, while towns and counties post their own roads on their own schedule.
A guide who works a district knows which gravel is open after a thaw and which is not, and that is the question that decides a trip here.
A guide earns the fee in the places where the map runs out of detail. They know which wash flooded last week, which gate is locked, where the fuel is, and how long the hard section really takes with a group.
A guided trip usually brings
01Route knowledge and current conditions
02Permits and access already arranged
03Recovery skill and equipment
04A pace that suits the group
05The history and natural history of the place
How to choose a guide
Ask the questions a land manager would.
01Ask whether they hold the permits and insurance required to operate commercially on the land they use.
02Ask about group size and the minimum vehicle requirements.
03Ask what is included: meals, camping gear, communications, a support vehicle.
04Ask about first-aid training and the plan for emergencies.
What to tell a guide
Honesty about experience makes for a better trip.
01Your vehicle and what has been done to it
02Your experience off pavement
03Who is coming, including children and dogs
04Your dates, and what you most want to see
Questions people ask
Do I need a guide?
Not for most travel. A guide earns the fee on routes that are remote, technical or hard to get permits for, and on first trips where you would rather learn than guess.
Can I join a guided trip in my own vehicle?
That is how most overland guiding works. The guide leads in their vehicle, you drive yours, and the trip sets minimum requirements for the vehicles that come.
How high is Wisconsin?
From Sturgeon Bay at 603 feet to Timms Hill at 1,951.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
Three LakesEnd of the auto tour and the town the 15-mile Heritage Drive Scenic Byway runs east of.1,665 ft
Boulder JunctionVilas County, in the northern part of the Northern Highland-American Legion, close to its rustic campgrounds and boat landings.1,651 ft
Eagle RiverEagle River-Florence Ranger District office. The forest’s Natural History Auto Tour starts here and runs north on US 45.1,647 ft
MinocquaOne of the two towns the DNR names as the heart of the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, with Woodruff.1,602 ft
RhinelanderSupervisor’s office for the whole Chequamegon-Nicolet, and the practical service town for the Nicolet side.1,548 ft
GliddenEast end of the Great Divide Scenic Byway, with the Great Divide district’s other office.1,520 ft
Park FallsMedford-Park Falls Ranger District office and the base for the Flambeau Motorized Trail system.1,516 ft
MedfordSouthern gateway to the Chequamegon side, on WIS 13 and WIS 64. Both Perkinstown trailheads are reached from here.1,474 ft
FlorenceNortheast corner of the state, with a ranger district office and the forest’s Wild Rivers Interpretive Center.1,301 ft
HaywardWest end of the Great Divide Scenic Byway and one of the two Great Divide Ranger District offices.1,193 ft
St. Croix FallsOn the St. Croix at the Minnesota line, by the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Governor Knowles State Forest.923 ft
Black River FallsBeside I-94 at the Black River State Forest, where 34 miles of state forest ATV trail join the Jackson and Clark county systems.794 ft
BayfieldHeadquarters of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, on the Lake Superior byway. The islands themselves are reachable only by water.656 ft
AshlandThe Lake Superior byway leaves US 2 near here and runs up WIS 13. Home of the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center on the national forest.648 ft
Prairie du ChienWhere the Great River Road meets the west end of the Lower Wisconsin River Road, on the Mississippi.641 ft
Sturgeon BayStart of the Door County Coastal Byway, which splits north of town onto WIS 42 and WIS 57.603 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Timms HillThe highest point in Wisconsin, in Price County. The USGS publishes 1,951 feet; our own reading of the elevation surface gives 1,9521,951 ft
Sugarbush HillA named summit in Forest County, on the Nicolet side. Measured here from the national elevation surface at the summit’s map coordinates1,936 ft
Rib MountainThe high ridge above Wausau in Marathon County. Measured from the national elevation surface1,917 ft
Mount WhittleseyA named summit in Ashland County, in the high country south of Lake Superior. Measured from the national elevation surface1,873 ft
Saint Peters DomeA named summit in Ashland County, on the Chequamegon side. Measured from the national elevation surface1,561 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
