Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry contributed a record-breaking $11.2 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2023.
We’re now getting a better idea of some of the local impacts of the outdoor industry.
WinMan Trails in Vilas County was one of five outdoor recreation sites in the state selected for the DIY Economic Impact Report Program through the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s Office of Outdoor Recreation.
WinMan Community Engagement Director Sam Wolter said they used things like trail and car trackers to get numbers on usage last year. The most important part was the survey given to people who visited WinMan.
“We thought that was really important just to kind of do a deep dive on who our visitors are, and what are they doing during their time in the Northwoods, and how is that kind of rippling out and affecting our community at large,” said Wolter.
WinMan Trails is a network of more than 30 miles of trails with opportunities for biking and hiking in the summer and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat tire biking in the winter.
The trails are free to use.
The report found WinMan brought in more than 55,000 visitors last year that added roughly $4.3 million to the local economy.
About half of the out-of-town visitors either camped or stayed at a hotel or some other lodging.
They typically stay in the area for about four days, with about half the time spent at WinMan trails and the others exploring other outdoor offerings in the areas like kayaking the lakes or biking the paved Heart of Vilas County Trails.
Wolter says one of the more interesting things to come out of the report was that 86% of the visitors were not from the area and three-quarters of them came to the Northwoods specifically for WinMan.
“What that gets me kind of thinking of is like, there would be a whole lot less visitors to the Northwoods if WinMan didn't exist, right? Without public spaces like this in our community, that makes it a lot harder for all the businesses to survive, the grocery stores, the outfitters, the restaurants, the hotels,” said Wolter. “A lot of that wouldn't be here and wouldn't be possible and viable long term if we didn't have all of these public resources available to our visitors and to our local community too.”
While the report found majority of users coming from outside the area, Wolter says the trails and events are offered are important for the local community as well.
“We see so many people coming to visit WinMan for the day when they to get together with their loved ones and have a good time and just relax. I think that just makes our overall community so much healthier, mentally, physically, you know, all of the above. I just think that that's really important,” said Wolter.
Wolter says knowing this information will help them better serve visitors. They’ll also be able to use this report to pursue different funding opportunities.
She says as a nonprofit, they’re always looking to sustain their services and keep the public trail system going.
The other recreation sites chosen for the DIY Economic Report Program were:
· City of Eau Claire paved trail system: $4.1 million
· Dodge County Parks/Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center: $8.4 million
· Lafayette County’s Cheese Country Trails: $7.2 million
· Marathon County’s Nine Mile County Forest: $3.3 million
You can view all the reports on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism website.
