Hi, Looking for some trail recommendations for WI. We are looking to avoid roads but paved trails are acceptable.
Thanks!

If you go to Google maps and click on the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left corner - and then click on 'bicycling' the map will highlight bicycle trails in green. Zoom in close enough and it will say the name of the trail (usually).

Great resource to start your research.

Good luck.

Steve Z

WOW! There goes google once again making my life easier

The Interurban Trail is great. It's a 30 mile rail trail that starts in Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee County and runs north through Ozaukee County and into southern Sheboygan County. It's paved the entire way. The southern part of the trail is a mix of suburban, rural, and charming small towns; the northern section is more farms and woods.

The Red Cedar trail near Menominee is quite pretty. It is packed limestone. The Chippewa Trail near Eau Claire is paved. There is also the Old Abe Trail near Chippewa Falls and the Sparta- Elroy Trail a little farther south which has nice tunnels. Just across the River in MN. we have The Root River Trial near Lanesboro and the Cannon Valley Trail near Red Wing, which are both paved and very nice.

The Sugar River Trail is pretty great.

This site lists and lets you find the state trails:


Bicycle trails - Wisconsin DNR

Oshkosh Cycling Club has some suggested routes here:
Group Rides and Routes ? Oshkosh Cycling Club

The Wiouwash Trail might be what you're after:
https://www.co.winnebago.wi.us/parks...rails/wiouwash

Any specific recommendations in regards to a small loop:
considering Military Ridge State Trail, then down Badger State Trail; will be sure to detour to New Glarus, and understand there are some other good little places along the route (Mt. Horeb).

I'm deciding between riding these two trails out and back (with an overnight or two on the route); or to connect and finish the loop with the Cheese Country Trail. That trail has me a bit worried, however, seeing as it gets pretty mixed reviews from cyclists regarding the condition and the presence of motorized users...

Specific recommendations? Events, attractions, restaurants, trails? Military Ridge with a stop in Mt. Horeb. A lot of cyclists will either have lunch at the Grumpy Troll or the Kwik Trip for a snack and something to drink. From Mt. Horeb to Madison (Badger State Trail) there are a good number of places, one before Verona is the Riley Tap in the Town of Riley. Real easy to miss but there is a trail head there. Badger State Trail—New Glarus. The Sugar River Trail runs right into the Badger State Trail and you can go into New Glarus from there. Continue on and you'll find that the New Glarus by road is easy to get to from Badger State Trail as well. There is a helluva downhill into town. I’ve never been on the Cheese Country Trail but you’re right about the reviews. I’ve been on some of the ATV trails and they can get rather rough. By road might be a lot more fun given the rural areas. Here is a good site for county maps with suggested bike routes:

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/bike/bike

Probably one of the nicest paved trails in the state.

https://biketheheart.org/

We rode the Old Abe Trail, yesterday, from Chippewa Falls to Cornell and back, about 37 miles. It was in excellent condition. Also, quite scenic, especially near the Cornell Trail head. The Trail head at Chippewa Falls was a little hard to find. Be sure to stop at Dylan's Dairy in Cornell for something to eat. Great food and it has a wonderful story. Just GOOGLE "Dylan's Dairy, Cornell WI." and read the story from the Agri View newspaper.

I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet but my family tries to get to elroy sparta once every couple years. The tunnels are just awesome. If you go make sure you hit one of the small tunnels first. otherwise they may not seem as awesome when you go through it.

Is anyone here familiar with the northern 'half' of Gandy Dancer trail; i.e. the supposed mountain-bike-only half? I want to do a short tour of the area and wonder if my road (maybe some could call it road-plus) bike could handle it.

This should show all of Wisconsin Trails, if no..register and it will.

https://www.traillink.com/trailsearch/?mmloc=wisconsin