Half a mile east of the Gunflint Trail Park connector, the Capital City State Trail runs past a stand of white oaks and a wetland that most people riding by have never looked at closely. Artesian springs there flow year-round, and until this summer the public had no way to reach them.
That changed in June. Promega Corporation built and paid for a $1 million, 720-foot boardwalk from the trail into the Nevin Springs wetland, and it opened to the public as a free amenity. The springs it reaches carry the name of the Nevin fish hatchery, which sits on the oldest land the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources manages, and they feed the Yahara River. Because the boardwalk opened in June, this fall is the first time residents can watch the season change from inside that wetland.
Getting There From the Trail You Already Use
The boardwalk sits on the stretch of the Capital City State Trail between Fish Hatchery Road and Syene Road. Promega's announcement lists two practical starting points:
| Starting point | Route to the boardwalk | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gunflint Trail Park, 5420 Gunflint Trail | Take the public path on the west side of the park to the Capital City State Trail, then head east | 0.5 miles |
| Capital City State Trail lot on Syene Road | Head west on the trail | 1.2 miles |
At 0.5 miles each way from the Gunflint Trail Park connector, the round trip is about a mile, short enough for an after-dinner walk or a quick stop partway through a longer ride.
Walkers don't need a pass. Anyone 16 or older who bikes, skates, or roller-skis on this section needs a Wisconsin State Trail Pass, sold online through the DNR and at the kiosk at the Syene Road lot. The boardwalk is fully ADA accessible.
A Name That Goes Back to 1876
The DNR describes the Nevin property as the oldest land it manages. The state acquired it in 1876 for a fish hatchery, and 14 natural springs on the property feed the Yahara River system. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the state bought what was then the privately run Madison Fish Hatchery that year. It later renamed the hatchery for James Nevin, who became its first superintendent in 1882. The historic hatchery stands at 3911 Fish Hatchery Road, so the road many residents drive every day runs right past the site that gave the springs their name.
The wetland's history goes back further than the hatchery. Promega's own account of the 72-acre Nevin Springs parcel says it was mostly treeless prairie and sedge meadow when Wisconsin was first settled in 1833. The land was farmed briefly and then went back to wetland. It is now part of the Nine Springs E-Way, a seven-mile environmental corridor in Dane County that has been protected since 1976.
So the wetland has been protected since 1976, and the springs have been flowing the entire time. The only thing missing was a way to reach them without harming the wetland. Promega founder and CEO Bill Linton became interested in the springs after flying a drone over them, and he proposed the boardwalk so more people could see them in person. At the July 15 dedication, Linton said the idea went back to walks around 1980 with Johan Bjorksten, followed by early talks with the DNR that never came together. It took more than four decades to go from that first idea to a public walk.
Where the Yahara Starts
Standing at the springs lookout, you are looking at the start of a watershed most Dane County residents know from its lakes. At the dedication, Linton described the site this way:
"This is the headwaters of what eventually becomes the Yahara River, goes into a lake and then into Lake Waubesa and then it continues on."
He also pointed out that before the boardwalk, you could only experience the springs "if you were kind of flying over." Now visitors can "actually go out and not just think about it, not just understand it or learn about it, but actually experience it and watch the waters come out of the ground." He added that EAGLE School students had already walked out to see it.
The wetland also does quiet work for the surrounding city. Promega's write-up explains that much of the rain that falls in Fitchburg slows down here, gets filtered, and soaks back toward the aquifer. Some of that groundwater comes back up as the artesian springs. The rest adds to the regional drinking water supply and feeds nearby waterways. Two uncommon habitats sit here. One is a calcareous fen, a rare kind of wetland that depends on a steady supply of groundwater rich in calcium and magnesium. The other is an oak savanna, a habitat that once covered large parts of Wisconsin and is now scarce.
Fitchburg Mayor Julia Arata-Fratta thanked Promega at the dedication and said "the families here in the city of Fitchburg will be able to discover this wonderful ecosystem." A representative speaking for Dane County credited Promega, Linton, and the DNR for working together on the original Capital City Trail and now on public access to the springs.
Built to Touch the Wetland as Little as Possible
Building anything in a fen is delicate work, and the way this boardwalk was built is the reason it could exist at all. It stands on helical piers, which are steel shafts screwed into the ground rather than dug in. That approach keeps soil disturbance to a minimum. The deck is steel and Accoya wood, which is treated with a non-toxic process that makes it more durable than native hardwoods and safer for a fragile ecosystem. Promega's permit application to the City of Fitchburg described a six-foot-wide, unlit walkway raised one to two feet above the wetland. The boardwalk has two lookout points, one of them over the springs.
Linton explained the long-term thinking at the dedication. When Promega builds, he said, "we want them to last at least a couple hundred years." The protection extends to the land itself. Working with local and state officials, Promega and Linton placed a permanent conservation covenant on the parcel's title, so it can never be developed.
For anyone who has built a home or thought about how a site handles water, the approach will make sense. The structure was designed around the ground it sits on, and the legal protection makes sure that ground stays as it is.
A First Fall on the Boardwalk
The boardwalk opened in June, so this is its first autumn. No published account of the wetland in October turned up in the research for this post, so these notes stick to what is documented:
- Look down at the springs lookout. Promega suggests looking for watercress in the water below it. Because the springs run year-round, that open, flowing water will still be there after the surrounding marsh fades for the season.
- Listen in the white oaks. Promega's write-up points to migratory birds stopping in the oaks along the edge of the wetland. The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology's guide to the nearby Nine Springs Natural Area lists migrant Lincoln's, swamp, white-crowned, and vesper sparrows, along with sora, marsh wren, rails, and American bittern. Those records are for the neighboring area, not the boardwalk itself.
- Plan around daylight. The boardwalk has no lights, so the after-work walk that worked in July will need an earlier start as the days get shorter.
- Expect the deck to be slick when wet. The DNR's general guidance notes that boardwalks can get slippery in wet weather.
Winter hasn't been settled yet. The Capital City State Trail is open year-round, and the DNR says the entire trail is plowed in winter. No published source says whether the boardwalk itself will be cleared on the same schedule. Until someone confirms that, the safer assumption is that the trail will be easier to use in January than the spur out to the springs. For birders, the WSO guide notes that northern shrike and snow bunting can show up in the Nine Springs area in winter.
For fall outings, Fitchburg's calendar lists two upcoming events: Oak Bank's Pumpkin Giveaway is October 10, and Delta Beer Lab's sixth annual Deltaween & Makers Market is October 24.
Bringing the Same Care to Your Own Property
New Home Advisory Group works with Fitchburg households on the kind of long-term thinking behind the Nevin Springs boardwalk: how a site handles water, how a structure sits on its ground, and how today's decisions hold up for decades. If you're planning a build, weighing a lot, or considering your next home in Fitchburg, Ben Tourdot can help you think through land, construction, and timing as one plan. Let's Get Started.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
