State Trunk Highway 13 (often called Highway 13, STH-13 or WIS 13) 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 ...

running north–south across northwest and central

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 ...

. WIS 13 serves as a major north–south route connecting the communities of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield and Ashland. WIS 13 is part of the

Lake Superior Circle Tour The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Great ...

from its northern/western terminus to Ashland at is eastern junction with

U.S. Highway 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, wh ...

(US 2). The road also provides access to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore off the

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

shoreline at Bayfield. The highway is two-lane surface road with the exception of various urban multilane road sections.

Route description

Wisconsin Dells to Marshfield

WIS 13 begins at

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest ...

/ Interstate 94 (I-90/I-94) and passes east through Wisconsin Dells as an urban multilane highway, crossing US 12 and merging with WIS 16 and WIS 23 east through the city. WIS 13 then turns north, while WIS 23 heads east and WIS 16 heads south one mile (1.6 km) east of the city. WIS 13 follows the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskous ...

north through Adams County, passing through Plainville, Adams and

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

. The highway then crosses WIS 21 north of Friendship and finally passes through Cottonville, Big Flats and

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before entering Wood County. In Wood County, WIS 13 crosses WIS 73 east of Nekoosa before entering Wisconsin Rapids. WIS 13 joins WIS 54 south at the Riverview Expressway, a short bypass of the downtown area. The two highways split west of their join point, and WIS 13 merges with WIS 73 north. At the junction with WIS 34, WIS 73 turns westerly via West Grand Ave, and WIS 13 continues due northerly concurrent with WIS 34 for approximately before intersecting the US 10 freeway west of Junction City at exit 204. There, WIS 13 turns to follow US 10 west toward Marshfield, following the US 10 expressway bypassing Milladore, Blenker, and Auburndale. At exit 186 (CTH-A/Veterans Parkway) on the south side of Marshfield, WIS 13 exits the US 10 expressway to head north into Marshfield on Veterans Parkway. WIS 13 enters

Marathon County Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the cou ...

after passing through Marshfield. The four-lane road in Marshfield is also known as Veterans Parkway. This section was built to alleviate congestion in downtown Marshfield along Central Avenue.

Marshfield to Ashland

WIS 13 heads northwest to Spencer where it turns north to follow the Marathon–

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin language, Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone ...

county line, passing through

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, Colby and Abbotsford (where it junctions with WIS 29) and around Dorchester. The highway then enters Taylor County where it passes through Stetsonville and crosses WIS 64 on the east side of Medford. North of Medford, WIS 13 meanders around

Whittlesey Whittlesey (also Whittlesea) is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England. Whittlesey is east of Peterborough. The population of the parish was 16,058 at the 2011 Census. History and architecture ...

, Chelsea and Westboro. The highway enters Price County north of Westboro. In Price County, WIS 13 reaches the WIS 86 terminus at Ogema and crosses US 8 near Prentice. The highway then turns northwest to Phillips. The route turns north again out of Phillips to head into Fifield where WIS 70 crosses. WIS 13 then meets WIS 182 at its terminus in Park Falls before heading northwest out of the county into Ashland County. WIS 13 passes through Butternut and Glidden upon entering the county. northwest of Glidden, the highway joins with WIS 77 north, and the two highways head north, passing through

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada * Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinoi ...

and split with WIS 77 heading east at Mellen and WIS 13 heading northwest, passing through Highbridge, Minersville and Marengo. WIS 13 then heads north to Ashland and joins

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whi ...

west for and then turns north (as US 2 continues west) along the

shoreline in

Bayfield County Bayfield County is the northernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population is 16,220. Its county seat is Washburn, Wisconsin, Washburn. The county was creat ...

Along the Lake Superior shoreline (Ashland to Superior)

WIS 13 closely follows the shore of

Chequamegon Bay Chequamegon Bay ( ) is an inlet of Lake Superior in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. History A Native American village, known as ''Chequamegon'', developed here in the mid-17th century. It was developed b ...

and passes through Barksdale, Washburn and Bayfield. It is at Bayfield where access to Madeline Island and the Apostle Island National Lakeshore is available. WIS 13 turns westward at Red Cliff and follows the shore of Lake Superior, passing through

Cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

Herbster Herbster is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Clover in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States, located on the south shore of Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world b ...

, and Port Wing, before entering Douglas County. One mile after the county line, WIS 13 turns southward to parallel the

Brule River State Forest Brule River State Forest is a state forest located in Douglas County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. that encompasses the Bois Brule River for most of its length from its headwaters to Lake Superior. It is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural ...

for five miles (8 km), then turns west again. The highway ends at US 2 and US 53 southeast of

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

History

With some variation due to realignments over time, the original 1918 routing this highway followed much of today's WIS 13, beginning at what was then Kilbourn (present-day Wisconsin Dells), travelling north through Adams, Grand Rapids (now Wisconsin Rapids), Marshfield, Prentice and Ashland, ending in Bayfield. It was later that STH-13 was routed around the Bayfield Peninsula and westerly to just before Superior. WIS 13 ends in the Town of Parkland at CTH-Z. The route of WIS 13 previously ran the length of the state from Beloit on the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

state line to the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

state line. From Beloit, WIS 13 followed the roads that are now US 51, US 14, US 12 through Janesville and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. Additionally, WIS 13 was extended westerly from Bayfield first to Port Wing, then into Superior then across the border to

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. In the 1920s, the southern end of WIS 13 was realigned from

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

to Beloit along what is now WIS 213 after US 14 was commissioned. WIS 13 was truncated to its present southern terminus in 1961 after I-90 and I-94 were commissioned. As of late August 2012, WIS 13 was removed as a concurrency with WIS 73 between Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield. WIS 13 now departs Wisconsin Rapids concurrent with WIS 34 to the new US 10 expressway west of Junction City, and then follows the new US 10 west to Marshfield.

Major intersections

Special routes

Two

special route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the In ...

s exist for WIS 13. The first, in Wisconsin Rapids, runs downtown from Riverview Expressway (WIS 13 and WIS 54) along North 8th Street, then west along Avon Street, Jackson Street and West Grand Avenue, ending at the junction of WIS 34, WIS 13 and WIS 73. The second, in Marshfield, follows the old alignment of WIS 13 along Central Avenue through downtown.

References

External links