Tucked away in the northwest corner of Wisconsin, Hayward sits just a 15-minute drive from Duluth and a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Twin Cities. Its tourism reach expands much further than a small pocket in the midwest thanks in part to a unique competition that kicks off next week for its 62nd year: The Lumberjack World Championships.
"It's a neat experience because these aren't sports that were just created for fun," says Blair Flickinger, who is the American Birkebiner Foundation. "These are sports that are really rooted in the history of Hayward and Northern Wisconsin. The logging community has been here for generations and all of these competitions reflect actual skills that lumberjacks have to use to do their jobs."
Flickinger says that competitors come from all over the world for the event, including the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Australia. The event includes speed climbing, chopping, axe throwing, log rolling, sawing and boom rolling. The quarterfinals begin Thursday and the finals on Saturday with the competition starting each day at 11am. The event kicks off with a comedy show from Chalie Berens on Wednesday night.
Since starting in 1960, the event has become engrained in the Hayward community. Flickinger says competitors will span multiple generations and that lumberjacking has become a popular sport.
"You know, a lot of towns have soccer and kickball and things like that for kids, here in Hayward we also have lumberjack sports."
The Hayward area is home to about 2500 full-time residences, but with big events like the Lumberjack Festival, it can jump up to 40,000-50,000 in the surrounding area.
"You know, people make vacations of it and sometimes plan their schedules around being here for Lumberjack World Championships," says Chris Ruckdaschel, the Executive Director of the Hayward Chamber of Commerce. "There are many other things during the summer and in fall and other times of the year. It tends to be, frankly, one of our biggest weeks of the year, Lumberjack World Championships week."
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Lumberjack World Championship is just one of several major weeks for Hayward tourism. Ruckdaschel says it's become a year-round destination. In the summer it's a top fishing spot and home to the freshwater fishing hall of fame. Its biggest event of the year is in June, Musky Festival.
Hayward also boasts 125 miles of mountain bike trails, a zoo and several golf courses for which the city is trademarked as the "golf capital of Wisconsin." Hayward's Main Street has also been ranked in the top 25 in the country for five straight years. Ruckdaschel says that the different activities make Hayward a special place.
"We pride ourselves on the fact that there's enjoyment for literally everyone and anyone no matter what your interests. I mean, you could bring a party of ten and you might not all have the same interests, but I feel confident everybody's going to go away having a great time."
For Ruckdaschel, who is a long-time visitor and now resident, it's a place that hasn't worn its welcome.
"I actually wondered once moving here would the luster wear off? Once you become a resident, I'm here to tell you and I'm very glad to say, it really hasn't. I find myself pinching myself that wow, I have all of this in our backyard."