Glacial River Trail:
Wisconsin
Trail Map
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Description:
The Hoard Historical Museum is a good place to kick off a visit to Fort Atkinson. The museum is named after the Hoard family behind the nationally distributed dairy farm magazine Hoard's Dairyman. Exhibits of tools, textiles, and Native American artifacts will get you up to speed on the area's early fort history, European settlers, and American Indian culture.
Then hop on the Glacial River Trail and see the sights. The 6.5-mile rail-trail begins in downtown Fort Atkinson. Travel south a couple of blocks to the beautiful metal archway announcing the trail. A bridge crossing the Rock River will bring you to the River Walk, which is off the trail and under the bridge, and offers quaint shops and restaurants. The trail shoots through the city, crossing busy Janesville Avenue. A low stone wall next to the path marks the Glacial River Rotary Depot, which offers a water fountain and covered picnic area. The paved trail continues through the Fort Atkinson business district and then, at Mile 2, enters quiet woodlands, where the surface changes to crushed stone.
At the intersection with lightly traveled Groeler Road, the path detours from the old rail corridor for about 1.5 miles. Turn right on Groeler Road to head northwest to a long, nearly 1-mile downhill slope that brings you to a T-intersection with an unmarked town road. Follow the town road under the Highway 26 bridge along the Rock River. Immediately after passing under the highway bridge, turn left onto Schwemmer Ln. Follow this quiet, dead-end town road south for about a half mile. The trail has left the railroad grade at this point. It rolls gently downhill between farm fields before joining an unnamed town road for another short on-road section. As the route connects with Old 26 Road, the railroad grade trail picks up again. Take a worthwhile side trip by turning right on Old 26 Road and following it southwest for 1 mile. Here you will find Indian Mounds Park, a collection of 11 Indian mounds and an old Indian trail. The mounds, large earthworks with religious or ceremonial origins, can be seen from the trail. Look closely to see the turtle and bird shapes identified by experts. The mounds are thought to have survived about 1,500 years.
Back on the trail you travel through patches of woods and open areas, with Highway 26 nearby. The trail ends at the Jefferson County and Rock County line.
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Parking & Trail Access:
To reach the Fort Atkinson trailhead from the north, follow State Route 26 south until it turns into North High Street in Fort Atkinson. Turn left on North 4th Street and continue until Main Street. Street parking is available.
To reach the southern trailhead, take Route 26 north, turn left on E County Line Road to a small parking area.
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Seasonal Restrictions:
NONE
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Reviews: [0 trail ratings]
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Real good place to bike
By asinca in June, 2010
The trail is now 8.6 miles long. Over 5 miles of it paved. The crushed stone section is packed hard and in good shape except for the occasional rodent hole. The portion that is on road is on ultra low traffic roads. The northern section is really nice paved offroad town trail. Only the southern section does go right along route 26 and traffic noise is not to bad. You can stay at the Holiday Inn Express which is about 2 miles from the trail and the road to the trail has a wide bike lane. The northern half goes through a city park with nice gardens and statues. The ride from the hotel to the end of the trail and back to town will give you 20 miles or so. It is a good workout as this trail seems like it is slightly uphill in both directions , not steep but very long slight inclines. It will make you work. Fort Atkinson is a great place to stay. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and lots for those antique and boutique do dad stores for the ladies.. The river walk has bars and places to eat. The morning I rode it lots of people were fishing right in downtown. A+
By Paul in July, 2001
"Go south on hwy 26, you will see a sign on the right pointing to the parking lot. Trail is smooth, some road travel but lightly traveled roads. Once you get off the roads look for bird houses on the left, there were bluebirds and swallows in the area. The non-paved portion of the trail is also in good shape. Downside of trail is that it parallels a highway so not the most scenic.
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