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Claude Ebling, it was with his vision that Trail’s End Camp became a reality. Trail’s End Camp Making Memories Since 1933 Trail’s End Camp is a 149 acre property owned by Rusk County located 2 miles northeast of Bruce located along the Chippewa River. The facility consists of 8 cabins, dining hall, assembly room, infirmary and restroom/shower house. Numerous recreational facilities exist, including a softball field, archery range, volleyball and basketball courts, swimming area, horseshoe pitch and challenge course. There are hiking trails that can be used for cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. The facility is a licensed recreational/educational camp that is used extensively by county and out-of-county groups both youth and adult. Rusk County schools use Trail’s End as an outdoor laboratory for environmental education in spring and fall with its undeveloped natural setting. When the camp is not being used as a Rec/Ed camp, it is available for private use including reunions, graduation parties, weddings, and more. Overnight private use is also allowed with some restrictions. Although there is ½ mile of river frontage, access to the river for boats is limited. Trail’s End is largely unheated, limiting use primarily to warmer seasons. Occasionally the Boy Scouts will brave the elements and stay overnight in the winter. No matter what the season is, Trail’s End is a beautiful gem where memories can be made that will last a life time. The history of Trail’s End started hundreds of years ago as Native Americans made a trail along the west side of the Chippewa River through today’s Trail’s End Camp. With the Homestead Act of 1862 settlers traveling along the old native trails would improve the road width to accommodate wagons and teams. This improved trail was known as the “Chippewa Trail”. In 1881 the Big Bend Stage Line was built for people to travel from Chippewa Falls to a trading post 88 miles north. The line passed through Trail’s End Camp and is still partially visible today. In 1886 the Arpin Hardwood Lumber Company purchased the land for logging and used the river to move them. By 1900 all of the trees had been cut down and the land remained empty and unused. In 1928 the County of Rusk purchased the land. In 1933, Claude Ebling, Rusk County Agent, took a plan to the Rusk County Commissioners to deed 86.1 acres of the land to the Rusk County 4-H Club Committee for use by Rusk County 4-H Clubs and Chapters of Future Farmers of America. The first members of the committee were A.G. Krause, Mrs. T.Hiffernen and Fred Magnus. The resolution passed unanimously and the County was instrumental in having a lot of work done by relief workers. A stretch of road into the site was made, rustic bridges built, baseball, tennis and volleyball grounds leveled off and a headquarters cabin erected. The summer of 1934 marked the beginning of camp activities and nearly 600 people attended this first official club outing. Tents were put up all over and plans were made for the building of cabins in the flats by the river with one club building theirs up on high ground. The cabins were built, but the spring floods wiped out all except the Onaway (Oak) Cabin built on high ground. As the years went on each individual 4- H group re-built their own cabin on higher ground. A daily newspaper called the “Trail’s End Echoes” was printed daily to report the camp activities. In 1963 the County voted to accept a federal grant to make improvements to Trail’s End including a new kitchen and rest room. In 1974 Ebling Hall was built that is used mainly for educational purposes. Our current Caretaker, Jim Moore had his graduation party in it in 1975. In 1977 the camp expanded from 86 acres to 149.22 acres. The boathouse/canoe shed was built in 1982 and in 2002 a new bathroom and shower house was built to the delight of all campers. General upkeep and improvements continue to be made at camp. In 1967, written policies were established as to who should govern the operation of Trail’s End. The Rusk County Agriculture Committee was given the authority to appoint six trustees to administer the camp. These trustees are known as the Trail’s End Trustees and there are currently nine trustees representing the public, 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Kinship, local schools, DNR and the UW Extension Education & Recycling Committee. In 2009 a 75 th anniversary of camping celebration was held at Trail’s End with a whole day of activities including camp history, nature hikes, canoe trip and French voyagers. We welcome anyone who has knowledge of camp history to share their information and stories with us so we can add it to our files and share it with others. A slide show was shown of pictures from the early days of camping. Maybe you or your relatives are in these pictures? Copies of the “Trail’s End Echoes” are available in the UW Extension office for reading. If you would like to hold an event at Trail’s End, call Charmaine Johnson, Trail’s End Coordinator, at the UW Extension office at 715-532-2151 to check availability or to schedule a tour. Priority is given to youth and adult groups up to March 1 st and then the rest of the dates not booked become available. More information can also be found at http://rusk.uwex.edu/trails-end-youth-camp/. .
