re:TH!NK Increases Access to Recreation Opportunities in Winnebago County

(Oshkosh, WI) 02/21/2011 – re:TH!NK, Winnebago County’s Healthy Living Partnership, organized a successful volunteer day to establish a new snowshoe trail at Lakeshore Golf Course. The coalition is in the process of expanding is focus and will be working towards increasing recreational opportunities in Winnebago County.


Under beautiful blue skies, local volunteers gathered at Lakeshore Golf Course on Saturday February 12 to mark out and place signs along the new Lakeshore Snowshoe Trail. After five hours of hiking through knee-deep snow, the trails were marked and ready for public use.

The new trail system begins at the Lakeshore Golf Course Clubhouse located on Punhoqua Avenue. Snowshoe participants can choose to hike the entire two mile outer loop or take the cut-off trail and make it a one mile loop. Whether hiking one or two miles, users will enjoy hiking through trees, out in the open and along beautiful Lake Buttes Des Mortes.

“Winter in Wisconsin can make it tough to get outside and be active,” said Matthew Madsen AmeriCorps Member serving at the Winnebago County Health Department. “By providing residents of Winnebago County with increased options for recreation, we can increase the amount residents who are out and active.” The Centers for Disease Control state that an increase in physical activity will lead to better health and an overall better quality of life.

For those who do not have access to snowshoes, rentals are available from local Oshkosh businesses. Contact information for those businesses can be found by logging on to the re:TH!NK website http://www.rethinkwinnebago.org/.

Volunteers for the day came from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Fox Valley Backpackers, the Fox River Runners and the Winnebago County Health Department. The new trail was also made possible by the generous support from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Xpeditions program, Hergerts Sport Center and the Oshkosh Park’s Department.

For more information about re:TH!NK and its’ efforts to create an environment that enables healthy lifestyle choices in Winnebago County, please contact the Winnebago County Health Department at 232-3000, the Oshkosh Health Services Division at 236-5030, or email re:TH!NK@co.winnebago.wi.us.