Great Lakes - recommened wooded forest midwest ride?

I did a 33 mile ride in jefferson co. Wisconsin, the rural setting was a great break from riding in the city. However i want my next ride to be in a wooded area. can anybody recommend a route in southern wisconsin that goes through forests? or for that matter anything within a 3 hour drive of chicago?

I did a 33 mile ride in jefferson co. Wisconsin, the rural setting was a great break from riding in the city. However i want my next ride to be in a wooded area. can anybody recommend a route in southern wisconsin that goes through forests? or for that matter anything within a 3 hour drive of chicago?
I've been on both the Sugar River and Badger State Trails lately. They aren't that far away, and are built over the old railroad right of ways that have a lot of trees by them. The tress provide plenty of shade and make it look like you're in a forest if you look straight ahead, but you're out in the country going past fields and small towns. The Des Plaines River Trail goes through some forests, and parts of that are just outside Chicago.

You missed a big ride a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.horriblyhilly.com/home.html

Read ride reports about it here.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=310318

A very hilly ride but thats why there is forest, it is hard to farm on the steep hills.

Southern Wisconsin is flat and is mostly farmland. If you don't mind a weekend trip (4-8 hour drive) northern Wisconsin has all the woods. I'm going to Chequamegon National Forest, I'll post pictures if I remember a camera. Door County is also very nice.

Check out the Kettle Moraine. The south unit in Walworth county is pretty wooded and not too hilly. The north unit in Sheboygan is heavily wooded with lots of roller hills. Both make for great riding.

If you need more woods than that, you'll need to head north to the Chequamegon.

Michael

The "400" is fairly woodedalso, not too far away. Here are some others. To be really wooded you'll have to go Up Nort with the rest of the FIB's :)

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/trails/tbike.html

If you're looking for road routes, try the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Eagle, WI. You'll find detailed route maps here: http://www.backyardbikes.com/Routes.asp

If you're looking for road routes, try the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Eagle, WI. You'll find detailed route maps here: http://www.backyardbikes.com/Routes.asp Backyard bikes is one of the businesses (all owned by the same guy) in that building. They've also got great sandwiches and drinks there, it's worth seeing even if you're not out exercising that day.

A little further west, outside of Platteville, is the Pecatonica River Trail. There are portions that traverse wooded areas, many bridges over the river, and be sure to watch out for wildlife. On my last ride, I chose to yield the right of way to a pair of badgers.

Southern Kettle Moraine!

Check out the towns of Eagle and Palmyra !!

Twisty, rolling back roads, but not too harsh. P E R F E C T.

I did a 33 mile ride in jefferson co. Wisconsin, the rural setting was a great break from riding in the city. However i want my next ride to be in a wooded area. can anybody recommend a route in southern wisconsin that goes through forests? or for that matter anything within a 3 hour drive of chicago?
Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village is a favorite of mine - a 8 mile loop filled with woods and lakes within 2 miles of home. It's hard to believe you're so close to the worlds biggest mall and the worlds second busiest airport when you're in there.

Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village is a favorite of mine - a 8 mile loop filled with woods and lakes within 2 miles of home. It's hard to believe you're so close to the worlds biggest mall and the worlds second busiest airport when you're in there.

It is closed July 5 - Aug 3rd

I found a lot of Chicago trails here:
http://members.aol.com/cmorhiker/backpack/index.html

Many trails along Fox River, Chicago River, Des Plaines River...

Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village is a favorite of mine - a 8 mile loop filled with woods and lakes within 2 miles of home. It's hard to believe you're so close to the worlds biggest mall and the worlds second busiest airport when you're in there.

I grew up in Elk Grove, less than 2 miles from Busse Woods, and although I miss that, you want to get up to Wisconsin and ride the Kettle Moraine. If you want road riding in a wooded area, get thee to Backyard Bikes. Great place, nice folks - quality bike rentals, too. Hike the Ice Age trail while you're at it.

It is closed July 5 - Aug 3rd
Do you know why it's going to be closed? I haven't seen what they're going to be doing in there for a whole month, and didn't see any of the signs I'd seen before that said it was gong to be closed when I was there last week.

Do you know why it's going to be closed? I haven't seen what they're going to be doing in there for a whole month, and didn't see any of the signs I'd seen before that said it was gong to be closed when I was there last week.

Trail work. Nobody likes they closing it during peak month. Last year they did maintenance later and only closed parts of the trail.

Here is the link to the article in Daily Herald on the subject:

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=326953

Trail work. Nobody likes they closing it during peak month. Last year they did maintenance later and only closed parts of the trail.

Here is the link to the article in Daily Herald on the subject:

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=326953
Thanks. The work they did last fall didn't interrupt much of the trail, you didn't notice it except for a few spots. Let's hope they finish early.

I'm going to Chequamegon National Forest, I'll post pictures if I remember a camera. Door County is also very nice.
I remembered the camera. See my post in the road forum. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=321006

Also, the Dells is mostly forest with a lot of other things to do. I have never stayed there but I have driven through.

Here are a few pictures from the road forum thread.
http://www.h3odesign.com/Misc_Images/Namekagon%20013.jpg

Excellent post on the road forum !

http://www.freedomcrowsnest.org/forum/images/smiles/nibble.gif