FKT: Emily Neumeier Arkens - Wiouwash State Trail, Southern Segment (WI) - 2025-08-17

This was a great training run for a rail trail race I have coming up in September. Being August, I knew it would be tough to find a day with cooler temps to make this long run more enjoyable. I picked a day that was promising and thankfully I lucked out with a decent day out there. Started the morning out early around 7 AM at the Hortonville trailhead with about 62° and a nice sunrise. The trailhead there is secluded and not too far from the lake. There was a porta potty there. The route, as others have said, is a classic rail to trail. Tree lined and wooded at times and open farmland at other times. Biting flies were pretty bad the first 5 miles or so. I stashed some water about half way near the Larsen trailhead. Saw a few people out on their Sunday bike ride and walking the dogs. Even though it rained heavily the night before the trails stayed dry enough. That’s that rail trail magic for you! Towards the end, I got a little confused whether to go down to the right and follow the highway along HWY 41 or to continue into the woods on the gravel path straight ahead. I knew from other reports to expect some pavement, but I thought that was going to be in the neighborhood so I continued on. That’s why my mileage is over by a little bit. I went down a little bit to investigate and then continued on the gravel path.Thankfully, there were signs to reassure me. It was nice to have my mother and daughter at the end after I finished in Oshkosh to shuttle me back to my stash in Larsen and back to my car in Hortonville. I went through four water bottles and I mean, down to the very last drop so I finished just in time! Glad to have had salt chews towards the end when it got hot and exposed. Overall, it’s a nice trail. There were no opportunities for bathrooms or water along the route so keep that in mind