LovelyLisa119

Is there a trail between Reedsburg and the Dells, connecting the 400 trail? It sure would be cool to ride to the Dells from La Crosse on trails alone. Sadly, I'm guessing there isn't, because if there were it would be well known and part of the 400. It can't hurt to ask though

jasonsan

Lisa, There isn't a trail, but this website may be helpful:

Bike Winona to Milwaukee

You may also ask the folks at the WI Bike Fed, some of them have been doing a ride that includes a route between Reedsburg and The Dells:
Bike Czar: Biking the Rail Trails - Urban Milwaukee

I am more interested in a southeastern route between Reedsburg and Sauk City, which is how I found your post.
-Jason

LovelyLisa119

Thank you so much Jason! Very useful info!

VegasTriker

I saw your thread by accident while looking at what was up in the Great Lakes regional discussion. It made me curious as I used to ride in Wisconsin when I lived there long ago (Sauk City on US HY 12). Here's a link to google maps for the Reedsburg area https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5322821,-89.8861997,13z

If you expand the map, you can read the names of the local roads that run parallel to the two state routes connecting Reedsburg and Wisconsin Dells - WI-33 and WI-23. For example, 8th Street Reedsburg becomes S Reedsburg Road and then N Reedsburg Road heading east. Then there are a bunch of roads heading north that will get you close to town. It's amazing how much information you can get online these days. You can even use Google maps in satellite mode to see if there are bike paths along any of the larger roads. There is a beautiful one along US HY 12 between the east end of Sauk City to the Madison area. I had to ride the shoulders of HY 12 when I lived there. I took time to look at the old place I lived. It hasn't changed much.

swampboy62

Vegas has a point. You can get tons of info online these days.

I've been using Google maps and Bing maps together to help determine a route for a future tour. Using the aerial photo ('satellite') you can often get a good idea of the road surface, whether it's gravel or paved, and how well. You can zoom out and get a rough idea of the traffic on a road (try using the shadows to determine rough time of day). And using Google street view you can even check on how much of a shoulder is available.

You can use hillmaps as well if you like to see the topo for an area to judge the climbs.

Granted none of this is foolproof, but I've had pretty good luck so far. Just be prepared to be proven wrong on occasion.

Steve Z

jasonsan

Glad to help.

Good info from VegasTriker and Swampboy, too. I also like mapmyride for creating routes. They have a 3D Flyover option which can be useful, and they give you elevation info. I was able to find a relatively flat route from Reedsburg to Sauk City. The last time we rode from LaCrosse to Milwaukee, that portion of the trip near The Dells was too hilly for some, and many of us lost cell phone service in that area. I hope to avoid those problems this year.