Explore the best rated trails in Monroe, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Bellevue Rivervue Trail and Lower Yahara River Trail. With more than 72 trails covering 598 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Capital City State Trail contributes to the impression that you’re never far from a bike path in the Madison area. The paved trail meanders for 17 miles from the suburb of Fitchburg in the...
Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels through...
Dane County's Lower Yahara River Trail offers an incredibly scenic experience in the Madison area. On its western end, the 2.5-mile paved pathway connects to the Capital City State Trail near the...
The Willow Creek Path is a pleasant, tree-lined trail that follows its namesake creek for most of its journey through the communities of Machesney Park and Loves Park in the Rockford metropolitan...
The Harlem Township Bike Path lies not far from the Rock River in western Machesney Park in the Rockford metropolitan area. The trail consists of a lower (southwest) and an upper (northeast) loop in...
The Rockton Main Street Path is situated off the Rock River on the southern end of downtown Rockton, a charming Midwestern village near the Illinois–Wisconsin border. It begins at Settler's Park,...
The paved Rock River Recreation Trail winds throughout downtown Rockford and environs, following the east bank of the Rock River through Shorewood Park and Martin Memorial Park. Officially, the trail...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
The Galena River Trail is built upon an old railroad spur of the Burlington Railroad main line, constructed in 1886. The spur linked Galena to Galena Junction, where the main railroad linestill...
The US Highway 12 Path offers a convenient, non-motorized alternative to traveling on the highway. The paved pathway begins in Middleton and heads northwest paralleling the roadway, separated from...
The Pine River Trail winds on an abandoned railroad corridor between Richland Center and Lone Rock in scenic Richland County. Trail users are treated to stunning views of river bluffs, marshland and...
Baumann Park is adjacent to the Kishwaukee River in Cherry Valley, a community on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. A paved pathway runs through the park and loops around Baumann Park...
The Great Sauk State Trail spans nearly a dozen miles connecting the communities of Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, and Merrimac. Built along the former Union Pacific Railroad, the smoothly paved...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
The Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor Trail follows a lush wooded creek through Middleton, a northwestern suburb of Wisconsin’s state capital. Its east end is anchored by the beautiful Pheasant Branch...
In south-central Wisconsin, the Upper Yahara River Trail connects the communities of DeForest and Windsor along a beautiful wooded waterway. Buffered by neighborhoods, the trail offers residents an...
The Rock River Parkway Trail in Janesville runs between Rockport Park and S. Jackson Street bridge on the north side of the river. Here, at the trail's eastern terminus, you can easily link to Spring...
This path runs along the north side of Highway 11 and south of the city of Janesville. The eastern end starts about 3/4 of a mile west of I-39 and runs all the way to S County Road D, crossing over...
The Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to the...
The Charles Street Community Path offers a neighborhood route through southeastern Rockford, connecting residents to CherryVale Mall on its eastern end. On its western end, Alpine Park is just north...
If you’re looking for an invigorating motorized-trail experience, the Cheese Country Recreation Trail (aka the Tri-County Trail) won’t disappoint. If you’re on foot, hoof, or self-propelled two...
The North Fork Trail begins beside US-12, intersecting with Middleton's other multiuse trails: specifically the US Highway 12 Path; Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor Trail; and the Deming Way Trail. The...
The Pecatonica State Trail is never far from water as it takes the easygoing Bonner Branch Valley through the rolling hills and rocky bluffs of southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, a region that the...
The Military Ridge State Trail finds the high ground as it rolls across 40 miles of idyllic farmland from the outskirts of Madison to the historic mining town of Dodgeville. It follows an American...
The Great Sauk State Trail spans nearly a dozen miles connecting the communities of Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, and Merrimac. Built along the former Union Pacific Railroad, the smoothly paved...
The Yahara River Bike Path, on the northeastern side of Madison, is anchored by Tenney Park on one end and the 17-mile Capital City Trail on the other. From one recreational amenity to the other, the...
Janesville's Spring Brook Trail provides an important non-motorized route to many of the city's popular recreational amenities. The pathway begins just off the eastern terminus of the Rock River...
The Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail runs for 6 miles along an abandoned railroad corridor, between the towns of Allens Grove and Clinton. The trail is open to snowmobiles, cyclists, horseback riders and...
The Bauer Memorial Path provides a short route through residential and commercial areas of Machesney Park, a northern suburb of Rockford. The trail begins at the Harlem Community Center and travels in...
If you can’t make it to Switzerland, then you can do the next best thing: take the Sugar River State Trail to “America’s Little Switzerland,” New Glarus, Wisconsin. Settled in 1845 by a small group...
Swanson Park Recreation Path is sometimes known as the Cherry Valley Path as it's located in the Village of Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The paved path travels...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
The South Fork Trail is a multipurpose recreation path in the City of Middleton, a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. It winds east to west, from beneath US-12/14 to the Pleasant View Golf Course. The...
The Dorr Road Bike Path begins at South Beloit Municipal Park and parallels the roadway for its entire length. The views are primarily residential. After about three-quarters of a mile (from the...
The southern Wisconsin City of Beloit, located near the Illinois border, boasts over 9 miles of multiuse trail along the Rock River. The river is the centerpiece of downtown, and a system of...
The Starkweather Creek Path traces the waterway north from the Capital City State Trail through Madison’s eastern neighborhoods of Starkweather, Worthington Park, Eken Park and Carpenter-Ridgeway. The...
Just as the charming little city of Bellevue lies nestled against the banks of the Mississippi River, the Bellevue Rivervue Trail lies nestled in the corridor between the active rail line and the...
Baumann Park is adjacent to the Kishwaukee River in Cherry Valley, a community on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. A paved pathway runs through the park and loops around Baumann Park...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
There’s no debating the historical significance of the Jane Addams Trail. Not only is it named for a Nobel Peace Prize-winning social activist who grew up nearby, but the trail also passes the site of...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
Rail-trail fans know that Wisconsin’s Elroy-Sparta State Trail is famous for its three tunnels. The Badger State Trail, which heads south from Madison to the Illinois state line (where it connects...
Dane County's Lower Yahara River Trail offers an incredibly scenic experience in the Madison area. On its western end, the 2.5-mile paved pathway connects to the Capital City State Trail near the...
The Pine River Trail winds on an abandoned railroad corridor between Richland Center and Lone Rock in scenic Richland County. Trail users are treated to stunning views of river bluffs, marshland and...
If you’re looking for an invigorating motorized-trail experience, the Cheese Country Recreation Trail (aka the Tri-County Trail) won’t disappoint. If you’re on foot, hoof, or self-propelled two...
The Capital City State Trail contributes to the impression that you’re never far from a bike path in the Madison area. The paved trail meanders for 17 miles from the suburb of Fitchburg in the...
The Mel Anderson Memorial Path, named for a long-serving alderman of the Seventh Ward, stretches nearly 3 miles, connecting Lockwood Park, Searls Park, Bressler Park and Talcott-Page Park. Mid-way,...
The Long Prairie Trail journeys across the width of agricultural Boone County for nearly 14 miles on the railroad corridor previously used by the Kenosha and Rockford Railroad, later known as the...
The Cannonball Path runs on a railbanked Union Pacific corridor from near downtown Madison to Fitchburg, a southern suburb. A majority of the paved trail is complete between Madison's...
The Galena River Trail is built upon an old railroad spur of the Burlington Railroad main line, constructed in 1886. The spur linked Galena to Galena Junction, where the main railroad linestill...
The paved trail running through Nick Saelens Memorial Park is a pretty one, with a loop around a small pond and much of it following a tree-lined creek. The park is nestled in the Village of Durand in...
The North Fork Trail begins beside US-12, intersecting with Middleton's other multiuse trails: specifically the US Highway 12 Path; Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor Trail; and the Deming Way Trail. The...
The US Highway 12 Path offers a convenient, non-motorized alternative to traveling on the highway. The paved pathway begins in Middleton and heads northwest paralleling the roadway, separated from...
Blackhawk Path offers a convenient way to traverse Shorewood Hills, a western suburb of Madison nestled along Lake Mendota. Increasing its value as a commuting corridor are plans to extend the trail...
Built on a former rail bed dating back to the 1850s, the Stone Bridge Trail provides a crushed limestone pathway through rural countryside. A highlight of the trail is passage on Stone Bridge over the...
Just as the charming little city of Bellevue lies nestled against the banks of the Mississippi River, the Bellevue Rivervue Trail lies nestled in the corridor between the active rail line and the...
The Riverside Recreational Path begins as a gravel lane at the base of Riverside Park on the banks of the Rock River in Roscoe. From there, it continues along Rowena Street, paralleling State Route...
This is a newly constructed path that runs between S. Main Street and the Rock River in Rockford. It was built as part of the re-building of S. Main Street and runs from South Park south to the...
The Pecatonica Prairie Trail, formerly known as the Pecatonica Prairie Path, is a 14.3-mile rail-trail extending from the western edge of Rockford to N. Farwell Bridge Road west of Pecatonica. The...
The Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail runs for 6 miles along an abandoned railroad corridor, between the towns of Allens Grove and Clinton. The trail is open to snowmobiles, cyclists, horseback riders and...
Great path to bike for any age or experience level. Great history at the stone bridge.
I rode the whole trail today on my way from Madison to Freeport, Illinois. The trail was great except for two closures. The first one, north of Monticello, must have included the bragged-about tunnel, since I never saw it. This closure was well-marked with bike detour signs. The second closure, just north of Monroe, was marked with a sign that says, “find alternate route.” I chose to ride west here to Highway 69, which was had cars whizzing by at 65. I don’t know why, on a State trail, Wisconsin doesn’t immediately fix this two closures, especially when they want to charge you to use it.
Beautiful ride on the trail. There was a bridge out and we had to take a detour onto country roads, but it was a quiet ride. Trails were great! Mix of sunshine and open air to cooler rides in the trees. Did not make it to Monticello…but next time!
Ride this trail often, today all 20 mikes and back from Rockton Road south to the Long Trail trailhead/end in Capron. There are some rough spots to watch out for between Caledonia and Capron but overall we found it to be in great shape for our bikes with mountain/fat tires. Crushed gravel with blacktop sections, very shady with open farmland areas.
I really enjoyed this trail. It’s easy to find and it’s all paved. Very scenic and the other riders were friendly.
Believe my wife’s description of a snowmobile trail they allow bicycling in the summer is right on! Started out in lone rock. Gave up and turned around about mile 8 as tired of watching and dodging animal holes in trail. Except for the portion along hwy 14, grass and weeds prevail. Suggest anyone challenging the trail to use either a mountain bike or hybrid whoever left the note on my car that it would be towed if I did not ark properly do es not need to worry about Ime returning!
Nice path if you like car noise. All along Hwy 12, thus the name.
My husband and I rode from pecatonica and did 21 miles. My bottom is soooo sore from the bumpy roads. I even just bought a new seat prior to going and now my tailbone hurts so bad I can barely walk or sit. Maybe I’m a baby but I definitely preferred the smoother ride of the Jane Adams trail
Short ride, trail was well maintained and in excellent condition. Most of the ride was under a tree canopy so very nice on a sunny summer day in WI. Also nice lunch at M&M Cafe in Monticello before heading back to New Glarus.
We started our journey just outside of Freeport, IL. Nice flat trail. The gravel/limestone is pretty non existent. Had to watch out for some gopher holes along the way. But was a nice ride to the Wisconsin border.
We rode the Great River Trail from our hotel outside of Thomson, IL and headed south past Fulton (little over 18 mile ride from our hotel). We turned around a little past Fulton because we hit rather large gravel and didn't want to wind up with a flat tire. This area of the trail is about 50-50 road and trail. One section of road that was asphalt was in pretty bad shape. Signage was poor, no place to potty, no place to get water, and not well shaded. While we didn't go on the middle of the trail, we did drive past it. It looks like a lot of that goes along IL84. We did spend another day going from Hampton, IL to Rock Island. Signage was much better, river view most of the way, and plenty of places to stop along the way.
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