I thought this would be a good subject for people who are seeking a good rails to trails bike trail.
I have a couple of places that I enjoy riding.
1. Wild Goose State Trail. I grew up near the trail near Waupun. I can remember it being a railroad when I was a little boy and converted into a bike trail during the late 1980’s. One thing that is really cool about this trail is the Horicon Marsh. You can stop by the Marsh Haven on HWY 49 (there use to be a bike trail that went into the Marsh Haven area, not sure if it’s still there). Anyway, the trail starts in Fond du Lac and ends past Juneau. Around the Juneau area is a camping site where you can camp for the night.
2. Fox River Trail Green Bay Wisconsin. I like this trail because you can ride in Green Bay, Allouez, De Pere (an assume city with some interesting stops), Rockland, Wrightstown, Holland and soon to connect with the CE Trail (I think).
3. One more trail… the Sparta Trail. The only cool thing about this trail is going through the old train tunnels (it’s really nice during the summer).
Let me know other cool rails to trails out there and why.
John Wilke
01-15-07, 11:43 AM
Routes I have ridden in SE Wis:
White River trail - Burlington to Elkhorn.
Greenfield Park to Waukesha (does it have a name?)
Various trails along the old Interurban route from Wind Lake down to Burlington, run along Loomis Rd.
Glacial Drumlin trail - Waukesha to Madison.
Another old Interuban route - St. Martins to Big Bend.
Ozaukee County Bike trail from south county line to the north county line.
Racine County has a trail as well, but with all the railroad construction, I'm not sure how much is open.
Why? Why not?
jw
Jose Perez
01-15-07, 04:56 PM
New Berlin Recreational Trail - Only 6 miles long but is freshly paved ('06) and serves as a connector between the Oak Leaf Trail that goes around Milwaukee and the Glacial Drumlin Trail that will take you most of the way out to Madison
John Wilke
01-16-07, 01:01 PM
That's paved now?
Cool!
jw
megaman
01-16-07, 07:44 PM
There's so many rail/trails in Wisconsin it's hard to talk about all of them. And these are good trails.
1. Not a rail/trail. The Old Plank Road trail. From Sheboygan to Greenbush. Paved with a large hill on the west end.
2. Tomorrow river trail. Crushed limestone from Plover east. Need to take a short detour to reach the east part of the trail. This trail may extend further east than previously, but not sure.
3. 400 Trail. Elroy to Reedsburg. Crushed stone. Pretty flat.
4. Omaha Trail. Camp Douglas to Elroy. Chip seal trail. Can be bumpy in some places. Has a 900 ft tunnel in the middle. Scenic near the tunnel.
5. Great River trail. From LaCrosse to Marshland. Crushed stone. Near the Mississippi for a while. Great bridge crossing about 7 miles north of Onalaska.
6. Old Abe Trail. Paved, but rough in places. Chippewa Falls to Cornell. Very nice ride for a while along Lake Old Abe. Neat bridge crossing over lake Wissota.
7. Chippewa River Trail from Eau Claire to Durand. Paved to chip seal to gravel. Nice at each end, boring in the middle.
8. Red Cedar Trail. Crushed stone. Nice trail near the Red Cedar river. From Menomenie(sp?) to Chippewa Trail.
There are lots more rail/trails in Wisconsin. You can find these and everyother state at www.railtrails.org
There are reviews of many trails on this site. If you've been on one of this trails that doesn't have a review or you found different condtions you should right your own review. Many people read these, as do I and make my decisions on what trails to ride from these.
gui4life
07-20-07, 08:01 PM
6. Old Abe Trail. Paved, but rough in places. Chippewa Falls to Cornell. Very nice ride for a while along Lake Old Abe. Neat bridge crossing over lake Wissota.
7. Chippewa River Trail from Eau Claire to Durand. Paved to chip seal to gravel. Nice at each end, boring in the middle.
8. Red Cedar Trail. Crushed stone. Nice trail near the Red Cedar river. From Menomenie(sp?) to Chippewa Trail.
I live next to these.
Do you think an on-road bike can handle the trail conditions?
Torgrot
07-23-07, 08:45 AM
I have ridden the Red Cedar Trail and my wife's hybrid did it with no problems at all.
torgrot
bike4life
07-23-07, 09:53 AM
I've ridden similar trails with my 25mm road tires and not had problems. However, it does depend on whether we're talking about a state trail vs. a county trail. State bicycle trails are constructed for bicycles (fairly uniform crushed stone or paved). Some county trails allow for ATVs, horses, snowmobiles, and their construction tends to be of a "rougher" quality. Regardless, they're all great and I always enjoys the ride.
CmpsdNoMore
07-23-07, 08:59 PM
I frequently ride the Chippewa River Trail from Short Street in Eau Claire to the Caryville rest stop. The trail gets kind of rough from about 2 miles before Caryville and proceeds after that (not sure how far). It's rough, but not too bad.
That is using my Giant OCR2, not sure of the tire size but they're skinny.
I've been thinking about riding the trail from Pheonix Park up to chippewa and maybe even to Lake Wissota. I'm worried I won't be able to find where the trail connects when it gets to Chippewa.
Does anyone have a map, directions or is it easy enough to find?
I've been thinking about doing the Elroy-Sparta Trail later this year.
The website for it says it has "limestone screenings". Is the trail paved/covered well for skinny tired bikes?
dannwilliams
07-24-07, 06:59 AM
Not sure where it comes in but the trail runs along Duncan Creek from Irvine Park past Leinenkugels to the Chippewa River. Then follows the River to the Old Abe Trail near Lake Wissota. All paved and a fantastic ride.
CmpsdNoMore
07-24-07, 10:12 AM
I remembered to look at the wisconsin DOT county maps and it has it list well.
tunnel rider
07-24-07, 08:40 PM
The Badger State Trail with the historic train tunnel has been opened for less than a month and I am seeing about 25 bikers coming into Monticello each weekday. Sorry, haven't been around on weekends so have no idea how busy it is. Check out Wisconsin's newest trail at www.badger-trail.com
jbmadtown
07-24-07, 09:07 PM
I've ridden sections of the Military Ridge State Trail that runs from Dodgeville to Madison via Blue Mounds, Mt. Horeb and Verona. It's quite flat despite the hilly terrain that it cuts through- I think it continues East and connects with the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Eventually the new Badger trail will connect with the Military Ridge Trail in the Madison area, but it doesn't yet. The Military Ridge Trail currently connects with the Capital City Trail around Madison as well as numerous commuter paths and marked routes through the city- all paved paths or bike lanes.
Surfaces on the Military Ridge trail are hard packed dirt/crushed limestone- ok on a road bike for shorter sections, but ideally some wider tires would be nice.
hypercube33
08-08-07, 07:29 AM
also note that the chippewa river trail has been recently paved near durand. the surface sucks about midway (resurfaced but not the good kind - they put some stuff down in mondovi on HW37 that is slick and nice, wish they had put that on the trail!!)
going north from eau claire, you get lost and hope you end up on summer st. so you can take the bridge accross, or else you'll be biking up next to banberry place and get lost trying to find the trail again (its up the hill right before HW53 ...kindof.)
from there, the trail ends by hardees (unless you want to bike through grass) or goes west and ends abruptly no matter what direction you take (south, north, or further west.) somehow it ends up on madison (I think) and loops back through carson park.
Supposedly they are to finish it this year. Ha.
CmpsdNoMore
08-08-07, 09:27 PM
I rode up to Lake Wissota from Eau Claire last week.
I am really surprised with how bad the directions for getting in between the sections of the path go (Eddy Rd-Melby Ln, by those big white tanks near 53 to the bridge going to chippewa).
If I had not known the layout of the streets, I would have been completely lost.
I hope they fix this when they pave the rest of the trail, if they're ever going to.
If anyone is interested in riding on this trail but doesn't know the area, I'm planning on marking a route for it in Google earth. Let me know if you want it.
dannwilliams
08-09-07, 04:26 AM
If anyone is interested in riding on this trail but doesn't know the area, I'm planning on marking a route for it in Google earth. Let me know if you want it.
Post the link here. I would like it and I am sure it would be helpful to others as well. Thanks. Dann
no motor?
08-09-07, 06:45 AM
The Badger State Trail with the historic train tunnel has been opened for less than a month and I am seeing about 25 bikers coming into Monticello each weekday. Sorry, haven't been around on weekends so have no idea how busy it is. Check out Wisconsin's newest trail at www.badger-trail.com
We did part of the Badger State Trail in late June and had it to ourselves. It was great change of pace coming from the Chicago suburbs and all that congestion. Don't forget to bring your light if you go through the tunnel, you're going to need it.
voldemort
08-09-07, 11:36 AM
On a slight change, I'm going rafting up near Athelstane, WI, (on the Peshtigo). Any good riding in that area?
hypercube33
08-09-07, 04:27 PM
I rode up to Lake Wissota from Eau Claire last week.
I am really surprised with how bad the directions for getting in between the sections of the path go (Eddy Rd-Melby Ln, by those big white tanks near 53 to the bridge going to chippewa).
If I had not known the layout of the streets, I would have been completely lost.
I hope they fix this when they pave the rest of the trail, if they're ever going to.
If anyone is interested in riding on this trail but doesn't know the area, I'm planning on marking a route for it in Google earth. Let me know if you want it.
Been there, done that.
hypercube33
08-09-07, 05:12 PM
Hizzah. Here you go. It'll be refined later in the day, so check back with me.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http:%2F%2Fhypercube33.homeip.net:81%2Fchippewa_trails.kmz&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1
CmpsdNoMore
08-09-07, 06:07 PM
That is very nice, indeed!
hypercube33
08-09-07, 06:33 PM
I started mapping stuff out as soon as I moved here. I have the bike freeway and some other stuff in minnesota. some stuff in chicagoland... I love mapping!
skanking biker
08-12-07, 09:06 PM
bear skin trail minoqya to tommahawk. loose crushed pea gravel with many many railroad trusses over lakes, marshes, etc. Great place to go to "get away from civilization" and see nothing but pine trees, glades and lakes in all directions.
hypercube33
08-13-07, 07:50 AM
damn tommahawk! Their 92.5 radio talk station overpowers KQRS from minneapolis, which I can barely pick up already here in Eau Claire. ...
Wiswell
08-20-07, 03:12 PM
Routes I have ridden in SE Wis:
Ozaukee County Bike trail from south county line to the north county line.
jw
Is this a nice trail (ie, interesting), or is just popular because it's asphalt? I'm trying to find an interesting asphalt trail in that's less than 3 hours away from Madison. Minnesota trails that fit that criteria would do too.
On a related topic, Badger State Trail and Sugar River trail are currently closed due to flooding. Military Ridge is partially closed.
hypercube33
08-20-07, 05:17 PM
Woo. Within 3 hours of madison? Well, if you're willing to drive further...go to the Chippewa trail! If you come up let us know, we'll try to bike with you (if thats okay with ya :P)
Its actually good at the end and beggining, but in the middle its rather boring and the asphalt has been resurfaced making for a sucky ride (pavement wise.) Its good, I liked it. Once you hit town (short street coming from durand - where I'd start) you'll quickly get lost without good directions.
RDW3261
08-20-07, 05:29 PM
In northern Boone county in Illinois, north of Belvidere about 5 miles south of the Wisconsin state line is the Long Prairie trail. It is paved for about 15 miles in Boone county and lime stone for maybe 8 miles in Illinois. The Illinois part is called the Stone Bridge trail I beleive. About 60 minutes from Madison at most.
B Piddy
08-20-07, 07:01 PM
Wiswell, Check out the Root River trail starting in Houston, MN. That's right around the 3 hr limit your willing to drive. We're having a little less than ideal weather right now...with the Root flooding and all, but as they say "this too will pass"
hypercube33
08-20-07, 07:52 PM
I heard about the flooding in my 'homeland' - how is it going?
tzanka
08-21-07, 10:19 AM
Any nice trails, preferably paved, within a 100 mile radius of Antigo, WI. Going up there in September
B Piddy
08-21-07, 07:24 PM
(Sorry to get off topic) National Guardsmen are all over SE Minnesota. Luckily the Mississippi was low to begin with. No real flooding there. Lots of mudslides. Rushford, Houston, and money creek are totally swamped. It just seemed like it went from bad to worse really fast and alot people lost everything. The news keeps predicting more rain over the next day or so. People are really crossing their fingers that it passes by.
Wiswell
05-03-08, 06:40 PM
So, reviving an old thread, we've settled on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail for Memorial Day weekend. Coming from Madison, where do you suggest we park? We are tentatively planning to the do the entire out and back length, unless there is a fierce north or south wind. Is it difficult to navigate the on road portions of the trail (ie, are they well-marked)?
For next year, perhaps the Chippewa Trail or Root River, but the gas prices are really constricting travel.
jimbiker
05-13-08, 07:52 PM
Hello,
I thought this would be a good subject for people who are seeking a good rails to trails bike trail.
I have a couple of places that I enjoy riding.
1. Wild Goose State Trail. I grew up near the trail near Waupun. I can remember it being a railroad when I was a little boy and converted into a bike trail during the late 1980’s. One thing that is really cool about this trail is the Horicon Marsh. You can stop by the Marsh Haven on HWY 49 (there use to be a bike trail that went into the Marsh Haven area, not sure if it’s still there). Anyway, the trail starts in Fond du Lac and ends past Juneau. Around the Juneau area is a camping site where you can camp for the night.
2. Fox River Trail Green Bay Wisconsin. I like this trail because you can ride in Green Bay, Allouez, De Pere (an assume city with some interesting stops), Rockland, Wrightstown, Holland and soon to connect with the CE Trail (I think).
3. One more trail… the Sparta Trail. The only cool thing about this trail is going through the old train tunnels (it’s really nice during the summer).
Let me know other cool rails to trails out there and why.
I have ridden the Elroy-Sparta Trail and didn't think it was nearly as great as it's cracked up to be. Believe it or not, the long tunnel was a turnoff since you have to walk through the tunnel -- it's way too dark and too crowded to ride in the dark. Also as the best known trail, it was incredibly crowded when I rode it during the summer. I thought for scenery, the 400 trail mentioned below was far superior. There are 4 trails that all connect with the 400 being the eastern most and both of these two joined at Elroy.
jimbiker
05-13-08, 07:55 PM
Wiswell, Check out the Root River trail starting in Houston, MN. That's right around the 3 hr limit your willing to drive. We're having a little less than ideal weather right now...with the Root flooding and all, but as they say "this too will pass"
Ever since I rode this several years ago, I've been dying to get back and do it again. Besides being a great trail that is paved with interesting towns along the way, it is almost across the river from LaCrosse and the other trails there.
John Wilke
05-13-08, 10:43 PM
So, reviving an old thread, we've settled on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail for Memorial Day weekend. Coming from Madison, where do you suggest we park? We are tentatively planning to the do the entire out and back length, unless there is a fierce north or south wind. Is it difficult to navigate the on road portions of the trail (ie, are they well-marked)?
For next year, perhaps the Chippewa Trail or Root River, but the gas prices are really constricting travel.
I wouldn't say the road sections are 'well marked' but it's not hard to stay on course.
This map has parking marked: http://www.interurbantrail.us/BikeMaps/TrailMaps.pdf
I like to start on the far south end and park at the Lilly Lane Nature Preserve (small parking lot on a dead end road just west of the trail), even better is "River Barn Park" which is on 57 (1/2 mile east of the trail) but has water and restrooms. FYI: The trail is not paved south of the county line, but paved the rest of the way.
patgolem
05-14-08, 03:16 AM
FYI: The trail is not paved south of the county line, but paved the rest of the way.
According to this post on the Milwaukee Bikes to Work yahoo group some or all of it has been paved last year.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milbtw/message/5258
John Wilke
05-14-08, 04:54 AM
According to this post on the Milwaukee Bikes to Work yahoo group some or all of it has been paved last year.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milbtw/message/5258
Fantastic. As posted on that group, then what? 51st goes to where? Brown Deer Rd isn't very good to ride on is it??
patgolem
05-14-08, 03:19 PM
Fantastic. As posted on that group, then what? 51st goes to where? Brown Deer Rd isn't very good to ride on is it??
I don't know much about the roads up there (I live in the Racine area). I did ride the trail back in 2006 though. We parked in Grafton at a park along the river. Plenty of angled street parking and clean rest rooms. Here (http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCC&cp=43.320676%7E-87.948197&style=h&lvl=18&tilt=-39.4058228619178&dir=12.2898064913403&alt=630.14687619824&cam=43.316016%7E-87.949587&scene=9159023&phx=0.152182462766851&phy=-0.0621257692131883&phscl=1.73780082874938&encType=1) is a link to a birds eye view of that area (from Microsoft's Live Search Maps / Virtual Earth). Road the south portion all the way to Brown Deer Road first. Then headed back to eat lunch in Grafton. After lunch we headed north till the end in Cedar Grove. Then it was back to Grafton.
It looks like the extension to the Oak Leaf Trail is going to be started this year.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milbtw/message/5599
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milbtw/message/5571
metzenberg
05-19-08, 01:39 AM
I have marked a lot of Wisconsin trails at http://www.gpsies.com (http://www.gpsies.com/), including the Elroy-Sparta network. You can download from there to a Garmin, to Google Earth, or to most any GPS unit.
The site is set up for Microsoft Virtual Earth, which is good in some places, spotty in others. When it's good, it lets you fly right over the trails and see them for yourself.
Howard
metzenberg
05-19-08, 01:42 AM
In northern Boone county in Illinois, north of Belvidere about 5 miles south of the Wisconsin state line is the Long Prairie trail. It is paved for about 15 miles in Boone county and lime stone for maybe 8 miles in Illinois. The Illinois part is called the Stone Bridge trail I beleive. About 60 minutes from Madison at most.
And by riding a few miles to the west from this area, you can join either Wisconsin's Badger State Trail or the Sugar River Trail. See http://www.gpsies.com, where I have marked a lot of trails in this area for downloading into a GPS.