In 2023, we requested several grants that would be matched by the Friends of Lapham Peak, to replace a wooden walkway to the Nemahbin Spring at Lapham Peak with Ice Age Trail style elevated boardwalk.
The Nemahbin Spring and trail are on the west side of Lapham Peak, on the far north end of the Park, on a spur trail off the Ice Age Trail. This Spring is a historical feature at the Park, that once provided the City of Delafield with it's water! The old boardwalk was rotting, had no sides, needed to be removed and replaced with a longer elevated boardwalk -- using the same design that the Ice Age Trail Alliance uses and that we recently built over a marsh (2022) in our Park.
Further, so that maintenance can be performed back at the Spring using equipment (UTVs, Skid-Steers, Mowers, etc.) this project will add a Service Trail around the area through the woods, so that we will no longer be driving on or next to the boardwalk trail, leaving muddy ruts as we perform that maintenance.
In July 2023, we:
- Completed the the ¼ mile Service Trail around the Ice Age Trail spur so that maintenance traffic would no longer use the same route as the boardwalk and Ice Age Trail.
- On one day, we pre-built 28 boardwalk frames and pre-cut most of the decking and other lumber needed for the new boardwalks, and then on 2 consecutive 90 degree hot and humid days, we installed 200 feet of new boardwalk.
- On 4 additional days, we completed mowing down all the buckthorn and thistle that was living between the new boardwalk and the marsh, and then that area was also treated with herbicide appropriate for wet areas.
In September, we’re planning to add a deck to the end of the boardwalk that will overlook the Spring, with a railing, possibly a bench or two built into it, and then steps from the deck going down to the ground for people to walk closer to the Spring and over to a Memorial Bench that is also located there.
Funding provided by:
- Natural Resources Foundation/David & Joyce Weizenicker Fund
- The Greater Delafield Community Fund
- The Friends of Lapham Peak
- The Ice Age Trail Alliance
Construction by:
- Friends of Lapham Peak/Buckthorn Busters
- Ice Age Trail Alliance/Waukesha-Milwaukee Chapter
