Mariners Trail in Manitowoc County is the region's Most Treasured View, reader poll finds
If you're looking for the Most Treasured View in the region, look no further than the more than 5-mile paved Mariners Trail that runs along Lake Michigan between Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
The trail was the top vote-getter in USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's recent Most Treasured View poll, which listed 14 scenic locations across Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Winnebago counties.
See the full list and poll results: Here are 14 of the Most Treasured Views across Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Oshkosh & Winnebago counties
In addition to scenic views of Lake Michigan, Mariners Trail also offers landscaped flower gardens, sculptures, telescopes, picnic areas, lighthouses, natural flora, bridges, beach access and more.
The trail is maintained by the non-profit Friends of Mariners Trail. Find more about the trail at https://marinerstrail.net/.
Mariners Trail can be accessed at various points along Memorial Drive between Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
Access points include waysides on Memorial Drive, the Manitowoc Marina at the southern end and Lighthouse Inn in Two Rivers at the northern end.
Parking is available at both ends of the trail and at waysides.
The trail can also be accessed from Lincoln Park via a new connecting trail system.
The trail is free to use. Restrooms are available just north of the Manitowoc Marina, at the Woodland Drive wayside near the midpoint of the trail and at several restaurants.
The northern end of the trail in Two Rivers connects with the Rawley Point Trail, which takes users through Two Rivers and into Point Beach State Forest. This 7-mile section uses city streets, limestone surfaces and a 5-mile section through the state forest.
At the southern end of the trail, people can continue on a paved path along Lake Michigan, across the Manitowoc River on the Eighth Street bridge, and then follow the trail along the south side of the river, past the car ferry dock for the S.S. Badger Lake Michigan car ferry, and into a residential area.
Read more: SS Badger Lake Michigan car ferry to launch shoreline cruises, overnight crossings & mini cruises
Mariners Trail now connects to a newly created Bayshore Drive Trail System in Manitowoc, which leads to the city's Lincoln Park Zoo.
The Bayshore Drive Trail System includes public paved trails, lighting, a future kayak launch, areas for fishing, benches and a new bridge that connects the trail to the zoo.
Also along Mariners Trail is West of the Lake Gardens, 6 acres of backyard gardens on Lake Michigan on the estate of John and Ruth West and the West Foundation featuring a rose garden, Japanese, sunken and formal gardens, with more than 900 feet of herbaceous borders with colorful annuals.
The gardens are at 915 Memorial Drive in Manitowoc and admission is free.
Read more: Ruth West: How a Manitowoc woman turned 6 acres of quack grass into a renown garden
The most notable sculpture along Mariners Trail is the 'Spirit of the Rivers' bronze monument created by internationally renowned artist and Manitowoc native R.T. 'Skip' Wallen.
The monument depicts an Indigenous man carrying a canoe, a woman and an elder, symbolizing the area's native inhabitants.
The monument can be accessed at the rest stop at 4815 Memorial Drive.
Read more: USA TODAY readers ranked a Sheboygan County lake and beach among the best in the country
Other top vote-getters in our Most Treasured View poll included the following:
Sheboygan's Lake Michigan lakeshore;
Devils River waterfall at Devils River Campground, 16612 County R, Maribel;
Lakeside Park, 555 N. Park Ave., Fond du Lac;
Kohler-Andrae State Park sand dunes and cord walk, 1020 Beach Park Lane, Sheboygan;
Point Beach State Forest, 9400 County O, Two Rivers; and
Parnell Tower, W7876 County U, Plymouth.
Contact Brandon Reid at breid@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Mariners Trail in Manitowoc, Two Rivers is region's Most Treasured View
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