Milwaukee's Havenwoods State Forest Opens a Braille Trail

Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee has a new way for blind and low-vision visitors to enjoy the outdoors. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) celebrated the opening of a Braille Trail with a ribbon-cutting on Saturday, October 17.

What visitors will find

The trail is a loop of about a third of a mile. Along the way, visitors meet audio and tactile elements, with text in Unified English Braille. The tactile features cover the forest's history, habitat, plants and animals.

• 0.33 miles of loop trail.
• Braille and audio stations along the route.
• White canes that visitors can borrow, in limited numbers.

Local broadcaster WISN reported that DNR staff spent about a year developing the trail and did much of the work themselves. DNR Director Steve Schmelzer said the agency strives "to be inclusive of everybody."

Who helped

Supplies and staffing were paid for by the Ford Bronco Wild Fund, the National Association of State Parks Directors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, the Johnson Controls Foundation, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Friends of Havenwoods State Forest. Consultation came from groups including Audio and Braille Literacy Enhancement, the Milwaukee Public Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, Milwaukee Public Schools Specialized Services and the state Department of Health Services' Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Why it matters

Trails without landmarks can be hard to navigate without sight, which often means people who are blind stay away from natural areas altogether. A short, well-marked loop with touch and sound features lowers that barrier, and its location inside a city makes it easy to reach.

The trail is small, and one trail does not make a whole park system accessible. But it shows how a modest project built with local partners can open a forest to people who have often been left out of it.