About our small town of Hayward, Wisconsin
Hayward, located in northern Wisconsin is located near the Namekagon River and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, making it the perfect vacation spot for people from all over the country, every season of the year.
We are right next to The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which contains over 2000 miles of streams (nearly 1400 miles are classified as trout water), 607 lakes greater than ten acres in size, over 400 spring ponds, and 324,000 acres of wetlands, making Hayward a great spot in the summer for fishing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and mountain biking--with some of the most beautiful trails in the northern USA. Many lakes around the area are known for yielding trophy-sized Muskies, and we currently hold the world record for the largest Mucky ever caught in history. Check out our World Record Muskie Hall of Fame, where you can see the whole town from inside a giant Muskies mouth!
Hayward, WI was named after a lumberjack, Anthony Judson Hayward, who opened a sawmill in the late 1850's. People from the eastern side of the United States soon started coming our way looking for job opportunities in the logging industry. Three decades later, people immigrated to Hayward, WI from countries including (but not limited to) Germany, Norway, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden. This is a large part of our history--and thats why we are the destination spot for the World Lumberjack Championship that is held every summer.
In the winter, the Great American Birkebeiner, which is the longest cross country ski marathon in North America with over 13,000 skiers participating, bringing people from all over the world to our small little town. Those same trails are used in the summer for our yearly Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival; the largest mass-start mountain bike race in the United States.
In Sawyer County, where Hayward is located, we also has over 600 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, along with other fall/winter popular activities in the area include deer hunting and ice-fishing.
Our historic Main Street is always booming with lots of popular shops and lined with original buildings to really take you back in time.
Hayward, WI is truly Vacation Land.