Pedal and paddle. Snowshoe and snowmobile. If there’s any bright side to the pandemic, it was a collective surge of interest in getting outside to enjoy our green spaces.
Nationwide reports show that trail usage last year was up 200% across the country. Bicycle sales exploded last spring. Canoe and kayak rentals spiked in summer. And as the snow piled up, hardy Wisconsinites embraced the season by strapping on snowshoes and cross country skis.
Green Space. Green County has plenty of it, and Green County Tourism is on board to promote it with a new set of five “Embrace the Green Space” maps showcasing outdoor places and spaces. Grant funding from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism supported the map design.
The five featured map locations are Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area — Browntown, Lake Montesian and Montesian Gardens — Monticello, New Glarus Woods State Park, Pearl Island Recreational Corridor — Brodhead, and a “Trails & Natural Areas” map with a county-wide overview.
The Green Space maps are a matched set, consistent in design and color. Icons show how the areas can be enjoyed — for example — fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, etc.
Longtime local residents are most likely already familiar with the green spaces in the area. But one map that will be particularly helpful for both locals and visitors showcases a more recent development on Green County’s list of green space assets: Pearl Island Recreational Corridor.
Brodhead has an island? Yes! Pearl Island is a long and somewhat narrow section of land that was formed in 1863, when Brodhead created a “mill race” to divert some water from the Sugar River. Water moving through the newly dug channel was used to power mills and generate electricity on the east side of the island. But while the island has been around for years, development of the recreational corridor itself began just ten years ago.
Pearl Island is a fun spot to take a walk or a bike ride. You can go all the way from downtown Brodhead to Decatur Dam. Bring your dog. Bring your kids. Along the way, you can wave to kayakers who have paddled over from Headgates Park, located south of Golf Course Road. When things dry out and warm up, you should explore the nature trails that have been added on the north part of the island.
When fielding questions about Pearl Island in the past, I’ve usually done a screen print from Google Maps to show people the area, and to explain where the path is located in relation to the island and the city of Brodhead. The new map that has been created offers a better understanding of the topography of the area, along with pinpointing details like where you can park or where you can put in a canoe.
Green County Tourism’s “Embrace the Green Space” maps are featured in the 2021 Visitor and Activity Guide, and will also eventually be on a new tourism website currently in progress. If you’re eager to get out there, I can provide a pdf by email. Send your request to tourism@greencounty.org.
— Noreen Rueckert is director for Green County Tourism and Green County Cheese Days. Her favorite cheese is rumored to be Feta. She has the best office in the county — overlooking Monroe’s Square from the tower of the Historic Green County Courthouse. She dabbles in photography and graphic design, adores cats and iced coffee, and secretly loves the Cheese Days Song. She can be reached at noreen@tds.net.
