Overview

Straight Lake State Park is a pristine natural area and place of quiet beauty in northwest Wisconsin. The park is open to foot traffic only. Lake views and glacial features provide great vistas on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail within the park. Straight Lake State Park contains an 850-acre block of mature forest with some trees approaching 100 years old. The rest of the area contains marsh, bog and grassland complexes. Straight Lake is fed and drained by the Straight River, and has been nominated as an important bird area by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative. The birds include eagles and a pair of nesting trumpeter swans. There also are bears and river otters in the area.

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Straight Lake is the newest State Park in Wisconsin, founded in 2002, and one of MNOC's favorite maps. The complex glacial moraine terrain, open woods, and minimal trail system lends itself to challenging and enjoyable orienteering.

 

Saturday - Middle Distance Meet

Middle courses emphasize technical orienteering. Courses should involve intensive navigation and use technically difficult, but fair, control sites. Variety in the terrain conditions, leg lengths, and changes in direction are desirable. Route choice is desirable, but not at the expense of reducing the technical challenge. There will be a variety of courses, varying in length and difficulty.

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1:00-2:30 pm - registration/check-in/starts

4:30 pm - courses close

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Potluck will follow the meet at Big Butternut Lake Campground in Luck. MNOC will provide grilled meat & lemondade. Please bring a dish to share.

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Camping Saturday Night

We have the Big Butternut Lake Campground reserved for Saturday night. The cost is $20/tent.

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Sunday - Minnegoat and Mini-Goat

The Minnegoat is a mass-start long-distance event that tests both endurance and orienteering skills, with intermediate to advanced navigation level. The Minnegoat may include special rules, such as permission to skip a control, an option to select which of two equivalent controls to visit, or a group of controls to visit in any order.

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The Mini-Goat is a shorter version of the full Minnegoat.

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9:00-9:45 am - registration/check-in

9:50 am - pre-race meeting

10:00 am - mass start

2:30 pm - courses close

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Sunday - Regular Courses

For those not interested in the Minnegoat challenge, there will be a selection of regular orienteering courses, from beginner to advanced.

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10:00 am-12:30 pm - registration/check-in/starts

2:30 pm - courses close

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Pricing (per event) - save $5 by signing up for both Saturday and Sunday

Pre-registered Pricing:*

• $11: Adults

• $10: Juniors**

 

Day-Of Pricing:*

• $15: Adults

• $13: Juniors**

 

*$3 discount for orienteering club members

**Juniors are 19 years old and under

 

Location

Straight Lake Park is located about 12 miles northeast of St. Croix Falls WI. After crossing into WI through Taylors Falls, take Hwy 35 north through Luck, and take a right onto 280th Ave. The start location is located 3.0 miles east of Hwy 35 at the end of 280th Ave (Google Map).
NOTE: This is a change from our traditional start location for Straight Lake.

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Volunteer

It takes a handful of volunteers to make each of our events successful.  If you would like to learn more about volunteering, please see our Volunteering page.  And as a reward, you'll get a free race entry the next Regular event you choose.

 

Race Results

Race results are usually published within 24 hours of the event.  View our Race Results page to see the results.

 

Race Management

• Race Director: TBA

• Course design: Peter Wentzel / Peter Daniels

 

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this event, please feel free to Contact Us.