Bridgewood Trail 2025 03

This week we decided to walk Bridgewood Trail in Neenah WI. This trail is shown to run from Jewelers Park Dr to Harrison Dr. It runs along an tributary of the Neenah Creek between the Bridgewood Resort and the houses to the north. However the loop that we walked also ran along Jewelers Park Dr. and Harrison Dr.

Key Features

• Trail Connectivity: The trails are designed to create a connected loop, linking the Bridgewood Trail, Jewelers Park Drive Trail, and Harrison Trail.
• Improved Safety: A primary goal is to enhance safety for pedestrians, particularly employees accessing Jewelers Mutual Group.
• Recreational Use: The trails cater to recreational activities like walking and biking.
• Community Partnership: Jewelers Mutual Group has played a significant role in funding the Jewelers Park Drive Trail project, demonstrating strong community collaboration.
• Business Connection: The Jewelers Park Drive Trail links businesses along Jewelers Park Drive with commercial areas on Green Bay Road.
• Bridgewood Resort Access: The Bridgewood Resort offers access to these trails, adding to the resort’s recreational amenities.
• Winter Activities: The Bridgewood trails and golf course are utilized for cross-country skiing and other winter activities.
• Loop Creation: The Jewelers park drive trail was designed to finish a trail loop.
• Funding Contribution: Jewelers mutual group provided significant funding for design and construction of the Jewelers park drive trail.
• Enhanced wellness: The trails promote health and wellness within the Neenah community.

Review

We parked at the Bridgewood Resort Parking lot. Which was admittedly not the best place for us to park but the lot was rather empty. We started to walk to the trail and immediately encountered a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Even though the sky was kind of hazy we knew this would be a good walk.

We reached the trail heads and had a decision to make. To our right was the Bridgewood Trail and to the left was the Jewelers Way Trail.

Prior to researching for this blog I thought that our entire path was named the Bridgewood Trail. However as I said before the official trail is only from Jewelers Way Dr to Harrison Dr. The section that runs along Jewelers Way Dr is called the Jewelers Way Trail. And the section along Harrison Dr is unnamed as far as I can find.

If you look into the history of the area up until recently these trails circled a golf course called Bridgewood. And since the inception of the Jewelers Way Trail there has been a trail loop I thought was the Bridgewood Trail.

We decided to use the Bridgewood Trail section first. Neenah parks department has placed several signs marking the trail. Each of these signs have quotes from famous and/or historical figures.

Briefly walking north we pass a bridge crossing the Neenah Slough and connecting the sideways to the Green Bay Rd shopping area. We turn east and start walking past the houses north of the Bridgewood Resort. As we were walking a pond rest to our south fed by a small stream. The trail eventually followed that stream to Harrison Dr.

Red wing black birds hung from the cattails near the pond. The path is mostly blacktop up to this point but as the pond ends and becomes the stream the path becomes a boardwalk bridge. A chain link fence runs along the bridge to separate the path from the Bridgewood Resort grounds.

A Grey Squirrel ran along the fence as we continued. Mallards pair up in the stream as we closed on Harrison Drive. Song birds flew through the bushes.

We turned south as we reached the section of the trail along Harrison Dr. Apartment complexes lined one side of the road and the railroad tracks lined the other. This section of the trail is rather boring but we did see some interesting graffiti on one of the train cars.

So we trudged on until we got to Jewelers Way. Once there we crossed the Neenah Slough. We laughed as we noticed that Neenah had put up a sign for the Neenah Creek. For years we have referred to this water way as the Neenah Slough. Though it seems that Neenah would like to rename the Slough however Google still list it as the Neenah Slough.

This is the start of the Jewelers Way Trail. We started walking past the corporate buildings that make up this section of the trail. One of which is Jewelers Mutual Group the creators of this section trail. Another Mallard pair swam in the puddles under the trees surrounding the buildings.

We eventually reached another bridge crossing the Slough. Another pair of Mallards swam in the stream below this bridge. On the other side of this bridge is a line of town houses. The property that was the Bridgewood Golf Course was sold to a real estate developer.

We continued to the end of the trail where we started again. Walking back to our car we saw a few Killdeer wading in the puddles near the parking lot.

The Bridgewood Trail Loop, as I am calling it, was an enjoyable hike. With varied environments there are lots of places to see animals. Being tucked in the south side of Neenah it is close to most of the residential areas here. Giving the locals a beautiful place to hike.

We are definitely going to return to this hike some day. Let us know if you intend to visit this trail in the comments. Thanks again for reading my blog.