What is a Rustic Road? - Wisconsin Department of Tourism

The Rustic Roads Program
Goals
♦ Identify and preserve, in a natural and essentially undisturbed condition, certain
designated roads exhibiting unusual or outstanding natural or cultural
beauty. Selection criteria will consider native vegetation or other natural or
man-made features associated with the road.
♦ Produce a linear, park-like system for vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian travel.
Identify roadways for the quiet and leisurely enjoyment of local residents and
the general public.
♦ Maintain and administer these roads for safe public travel while preserving
their rustic and scenic qualities. Establish appropriate maintenance and
design standards. Encourage zoning for land use compatibility, utility regulations
and billboard control.
Qualifications
♦ Rustic Roads should have outstanding natural features along its borders:
rugged terrain, native vegetation or wildlife, or open areas with agricultural
vistas which singly or in combination uniquely set this road apart from other
roads.
♦ Rustic Roads should be lightly traveled, local access roads that serve the adjacent
property owners or those traveling by auto, bicycle or on foot for recreational
enjoyment.
♦ Rustic Roads should not be scheduled for major improvements that would
change their rustic characteristics.
♦ Rustic Roads should have a minimum length of two miles and, where feasible,
provide a completed closure or loop, or connect to major highways at
both ends of the route.
♦ Rustics Roads may be dirt, gravel or paved. They may be one-way or two-way.
They may also have bicycle or hiking paths adjacent to, or incorporated in,
the roadway.
♦ State law calls for a maximum speed limit of 45mph on all Rustic Roads.
However, the local governing authority may establish a speed limit as low as
25 mph.
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