Shiocton, Wisconsin
1 mile
Navarino Grace Trail®
Where Nature, Culture, and Community Come Together
Navarino Grace Trail®
A one-mile Grace Trail woven through the extraordinary landscape of Navarino Nature Center—where bridges, streams, woodland, and the five questions create an experience rooted in reflection, belonging, and shared stewardship.
About This Trail
Every Grace Trail shares the same five questions, yet no two are exactly alike. Discover the landscape, stories, and community that shape this one.
The Navarino Grace Trail® winds through one of Wisconsin’s most remarkable natural settings—a 15,000-acre preserve alive with woods, water, wildlife, bridges, changing seasons, and wide-open views.
Families, students, elders, school groups, retreat participants, and visitors experience the five questions in a setting that naturally invites curiosity and discovery.
The Trail also honors the people and histories connected to this land through signage in English, Spanish, and Menominee, welcoming more of the surrounding community into the experience.
Here, Grace Trail is not simply placed in nature. It becomes part of the landscape—and part of the way people experience it.
Trail Features
Every community is different. Grace Trail is designed to adapt to the people, places, and purpose of each one.
Accessibility
• One-mile groomed loop
• Natural walking surfaces
• On-site parking
• All ages + abilities
• Easy Nature Center access
Landscape
• Woodlands, streams + bridges
• Varied natural terrain
• Changing seasonal views
• Diverse wildlife + habitats
• 15,000-acre preserve
Along the Way
• Five Grace Trail questions
• Engraved boulders
• Trilingual signage
• Handcrafted Leopold benches
• Interactive QR codes
• Interpretive kiosks
How to Experience
• Individual + group walks
• School programs
• Retreats + gatherings
• Community events
• Volunteer + service activities
Powered By Community
Every Grace Trail is rooted in its community. From the people who champion it to the stories it reflects, each trail becomes a one-of-a-kind expression of place.
At Navarino, community service is not an occasional event. It is part of the culture.
The Grace Trail was brought to life through grassroots leadership, local fundraising, volunteer labor, civic support, donated expertise, and countless hours of people simply showing up to help.
Students groom trails. Church groups lend a hand. Volunteers care for bridges, benches, boulders, and pathways. Local organizations contribute resources and expertise, while schools bring students to walk, learn, and experience the land.
At Navarino, Grace Trail is not just maintained by the community. It is an expression of the community.
One Person Can Start Something Remarkable
The Navarino Grace Trail® began with the vision and persistence of Janis “Matty” Mathison.
An educator, community leader, and tireless volunteer, Matty did far more than imagine a Trail. She helped rally the people, resources, funding, partnerships, and hands-on work needed to bring it to life—and continued building a community around it after opening day.
Her leadership helped inspire Trail Tenders, ongoing improvements, educational use, community events, and the expansion of Grace Trail within the region.
Every Grace Trail begins the same way: someone sees what is possible—and decides to begin.
Life Along The Trail
Along the way, simple moments begin to stand out— what you notice, what you feel, and what stays with you.
Into the Landscape
The Trail moves through woods, across bridges, and alongside streams, with the surrounding preserve changing from one season to the next. Each stretch offers something different to notice, making the landscape itself part of how people experience the five questions.
Learning Outdoors
Students and school groups experience the Trail in a place already shaped by curiosity and discovery. Walking the questions alongside wildlife, water, and changing terrain creates another way to explore ideas, listen to one another, and engage with the world around them.
Walking Together
Navarino welcomes many ways of experiencing Grace Trail—from a quiet individual walk to families, groups, retreats, and community gatherings. The same five questions can be shared across ages and experiences, giving people a common place to begin.
Tales From The Trail
The story of Navarino is written not only in who walks the Trail, but in the many hands that continue to care for the path beneath them.
At Navarino, stewardship continues long after opening day. Students help groom paths, volunteers tend bridges and benches, and community members contribute their time to caring for the landscape.
That ongoing involvement gives the Trail a life beyond any single walk. The people who use it can also become part of caring for it, strengthening the connection between the Trail, the Nature Center, and the community around them.
Every maintained path, tended bridge, and cared-for detail becomes part of what the next person experiences.
The land has always had something to teach us. The Grace Trail helps us listen.
Nelson H
Nature Center Supporter
The Grace Trail is a natural extension of everything the Nature Center stands for. It encourages curiosity, reflection, and connection while giving children and adults alike an opportunity to slow down, unplug, and engage with the world around them.
Katarina B
Parent & Outdoor Enthusiast
I've walked labyrinths at churches across the country, including the world-famous labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. Yet the Grace Trail experience was far more impactful than any of the others I've walked.
Church board member
Trail Founder (in Progress)
Made Possible Together
Alpine Shores was brought to life with the support of local organizations, businesses, donors, and community members who believed in what this space could become.
With Special Thanks
The generosity behind Grace Trail throughout Shawano County reaches far beyond any one place. With gratitude to Peter Keenan and Mary Lisa Carenza-Keenan, Matty Mathison, the Shawano High School Class of 1970, Nancy Schultz, Lenore Behnke, Sam and Wendy Crawford, Nita Charnon, Heather Zimba, Sharrie Schweitzer, Dale Hutjens, John and Cindy Mathison, Ed and Gloria Grys, Steve Franzoi, and Steve and Paula Landeau, and to Shawano Pathways, Little Rapids of Shawano, Shawano Optimist Club, Sperberg Construction, Torborg’s, Schneider Monument, Dave Koeller, and Otto’s Trucking.
Thank you to all who have given their time, resources, craftsmanship, and care—and to those who continue to walk and care for the Trail today.
From One Trail to Something Larger
Navarino’s story did not end when the Trail opened. The leadership, partnerships, and community support surrounding it helped create momentum for Grace Trail elsewhere in the region—including nearby Alpine Shores Park.
What began with one local vision became proof that a community can contribute funding, skills, time, and care to create something others can experience too.
Sometimes one Trail does more than create a place to walk. It shows what else might be possible.