Registration open now for Oneida County culvert tour

As part of the Spring Into Summer Series of events being hosted by Oneida County Land and Water, a Highway 47 tour is scheduled for July 31 to learn about culverts that have been replaced in recent years.

The free tour will take registered participants to a variety of sites that have already been restored, are in the planning phase or ones the county hopes to help restore.

Tours will begin at the Courthouse Pollinator Garden on Baird Avenue in Rhinelander at 8 a.m. with a brief welcome and announcements before leading participants throughout the county in their own vehicles. The tour will continue to a stream crossing (culvert) at Tom Doyle Creek at River Road in Rhinelander showing multiple areas of concern and which was recently surveyed for replacement.

From there, the tour will proceed to a completed Wisconsin River Project on Riverview Drive in Rhinelander and then to a restored shoreline on Two Sisters Lake on Wendt Road in Lake Tomahawk.

Attendees should bring their own lunch to enjoy at Newbold Memorial Park at 11:30 a.m., after which the tour continues to the final destination, a second town of Newbold stream crossing (culvert) near 6069 Muskellunge Lake Road that was restored in late 2025. Tours are expected to end at about 1:30 p.m.

To see more details about each stop on the tour, click on the Highway 47 tour schedule and map at oclw.org/special-projects.html.

Participants are asked to register in advance, bring their own sack lunch, dress appropriately for the weather, and wear comfortable, sturdy shoes. The tour will take place rain or shine.

In case of severe weather, cancellation e-mails will be sent directly to registrants only.

Interested people may come to as many or as few locations as they want. Tour directors will do their best to arrive at each site at the times stated on the tour schedule and will not start earlier than what is posted. People are urged to register early at the website listed above, as space is limited. Registration closes Wednesday, July 29. Specific site locations and addresses will be sent directly to tour registrants by e-mail prior to the tour.

For more information, call the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department at 715-369-7835.