State Trunk Highway 169 (often called Highway 169, STH-169 or WIS 169) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the US state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It runs in north–south in northwest Wisconsin from Mellen to near

Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

. It helps accommodate traffic to the scenic

Copper Falls State Park Copper Falls State Park is a state park in Wisconsin. The park contains a section of the Bad River and its tributary the Tylers Forks, which flow through a gorge and drop over several waterfalls. Old Copper Culture Indians and later European ...

just northeast of its termination in Mellen.

Route description

Wisconsin Highway 169 Looking south at south terminus

The highway starts at its southern terminus on the northeast side of Mellen at

WIS 13 State Trunk Highway 13 (often called Highway 13, STH-13 or WIS 13) is a state highway running north–south across northwest and central Wisconsin. WIS 13 serves as a major north–south route connecting the communities of Wisconsin Del ...

. It follows Copper Drive falls over the Bad River and turn northward along the eastern edge of

. The highway turns eastward to leave the vicinity of the park before alternating east and northward through rural Ashland County. WIS 169 crosses the Tyler Forks on one of these northbound sections before turning east to run along the border of the

Bad River Reservation The Bad River LaPointe Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians or Bad River Tribe for short ( oj, Mashkii ziibii) are a federally recognized tribe of Ojibwe people. The tribe had 6,945 members as of 2010. The Bad River Reservation ...

. The highway curves northeasterly and clips the southeastern corner of the reservation before crossing into

Iron County Iron County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Iron County, Michigan *Iron County, Missouri *Iron County, Utah *Iron County, Wisconsin Iron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, t ...

. The highway continues northward across the Potato River and through the community of

before terminating at US Highway 2 (US 2) northwest of

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

History

The original STH-169 was located in

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and tracked northeast toward

Angelo Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

and then to Fort McCoy. Commissioned in 1940, this original route only lasted seven years before being renumbered to present

WIS 21 State Trunk Highway 21 (often called Highway 21, STH-21 or WIS 21) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west across the center of the state between Sparta and Oshkosh. The route often serves as a direct route for ...

. In 1956, the second STH-169 was commissioned, replacing the original County Trunk Highway K that went from Mellen to US 2 outside of Cedar and also giving easier access to Copper Falls State Park.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Wisconsin Highway 169

169 Year 169 ( CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe co ...

Transportation in Ashland County, Wisconsin Transportation in Iron County, Wisconsin

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links