STATE & NATION TRAVEL · news
Havenwoods adds a Braille trail, with an October 17 celebration in Milwaukee
By Bob LePage · Published October 12, 2026
A new one-third-mile loop uses sound, touch and Braille to explain the forest; visitors can join the opening celebration from 10 a.m. to noon.
Official announcement: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources · October 8, 2026
Source: complete original release and event details
Wisconsin DNR has announced an October 17 opening celebration for the Braille Trail at Havenwoods State Forest. The Milwaukee event runs from 10 a.m. to noon, with the ribbon cutting at 11 a.m.
The 0.33-mile circuit pairs audio features and tactile objects with Unified English Braille. Its interpretation covers the property's past, habitats, plants and wildlife. The design gives visitors ways to learn along the route beyond reading conventional signs.
Organizations serving people who are blind or have visual impairments will participate with interactive activities. DNR says a small supply of white canes can be borrowed. If weather is poor, the activities and information tables will shift to the nature center.
What Travelers Need to Know
For the October 17 celebration, go to 6141 N. Hopkins St. in Milwaukee. Plan around the 11 a.m. ribbon cutting if that is the part you want to attend.
The official visitor page says the forest is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; nature-center hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. A vehicle admission sticker is not required. Check the official page before leaving and call 414-527-0232 ahead of time for specific accommodation or equipment questions.
About the Location
Havenwoods occupies 237 acres on Milwaukee's northwest side, combining woods, wetlands and grasslands within the city. DNR identifies it as Wisconsin's only urban state forest. More than six miles of trails and a nature center offer places to learn about wildlife without leaving Milwaukee.
The landscape has a history beyond conservation. It held Milwaukee County's House of Correction, opened in 1917, and later served military purposes, including a Nike Ajax missile installation. Citizen efforts helped secure its designation as a state forest in 1980. The new trail gives that layered past, as well as the living landscape, another interpretive route.