Pattison State Park Reopens Trails Damaged By 2018 Flood

Visitors to Pattison State Park in Superior can rejoice:  parts of the trail system that were flood-damaged more than two years ago have been rehabilitated and are now reopen to the general public.  About a mile and a half of the popular trail system has been worked on - with new boards and grading ready to welcome outdoor enthusiasts.

The trails were damaged and then closed after the Father's Day flood in June 2018.  Since that time, a lot of hard work and funding has gone into getting the open again.  News sources report that "he State Building Commission in 2019 authorized $1.05 million for the trail reconstruction project".  After the approval of funding, design engineers spent more than a year coming up with a punch-list full of necessary repairs, improvements, and upgrades.

Some parts of the old trail are gone forever - a victim of the flood, which completely washed out some parts of the land around it.  However, there were positives that came out of the flood and the eventual design changes;  Kevin Feind, natural resource property supervisor shared "[o]ne of the really cool features that we added was a 70-foot span pedestrian bridge that goes over a creek that is a tributary to the Black River."  The new pedestrian bridge replaces parts of the old walkway that was lost to the flood.

Included in the upgrades to the trails at Pattison Park - features that should help prevent further damage from flooding in the future.  Source are reporting that "[t]he trail incorporates culverts, grade reversals, new boardwalks, armored embankments and other unique features. The surface is graded with three-eighths inch crushed rock to create a smooth path."