Explore the best rated trails in Portage, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Elroy-Sparta State Trail and Lower Yahara River Trail. With more than 28 trails covering 412 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...
The Wingra Creek Path—also known as the Wingra Bike Path—runs along the winding waterway in Madison. The trail provides a critical link from the neighborhoods south of downtown Madison to the Capital...
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...
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The Wolf Run Trail supports a wide variety of users on its two miles of crushed gravel, situated on the outskirts of Mazomanie in northwestern Dane County. Heading southeast from the charming...
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...
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...
All it takes is a short ride on Madison’s 5.6-mile South west Commuter Path to understand the critical role it plays in getting people around town. Not only does it pass within a mile of the State...
Madison’s Campus Drive Pedestrian and Bicycle Path is a short trail linking the city’s west side with the University of Wisconsin’s agricultural facilities. Both the heart of the university and 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...
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...
The 12.5-mile Omaha Trail passes through a wonderland of towering buttes, mesas, and pinnacles that seem more at home in an arid desert than in fertile farmland. The steep sandstone formations, some...
The Northwestern Trail begins near the public library in downtown Ripon, a charming small town in eastern Wisconsin. History buffs may want to head a few blocks south from this endpoint to explore the...
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...
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 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...
The Pheasant Branch Conservancy Trail forms a loop within the scenic Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a natural area containing a marsh, meadows, forest and hills. The area is home to a vast array of...
Utter darkness is as much a part of the scenery along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail as the views of the rolling hills and farmland. That’s because visitors pass through three hand-dug railroad tunnels...
The 4.3-mile Hillsboro State Trail will make you feel instantly at home. Easy and flat, this gravel trail will take you on a short excursion from Hillsboro to Union Center. But this trail is more of a...
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...
Traveling the 400 State Trail is a numbers game. The trail’s name refers to the old Chicago and North Western Railway’s “No. 400” passenger train that zoomed through here between Chicago and St....
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 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...
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 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...
The Bannerman Trail is open but largely unimproved between the communities of Redgranite and Neshkoro on a former Chicago and North Western Railway corridor. The dirt, grass and sand surface might...
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...
The Wingra Creek Path—also known as the Wingra Bike Path—runs along the winding waterway in Madison. The trail provides a critical link from the neighborhoods south of downtown Madison to the Capital...
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...
The 4.3-mile Hillsboro State Trail will make you feel instantly at home. Easy and flat, this gravel trail will take you on a short excursion from Hillsboro to Union Center. But this trail is more of a...
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...
The Mascoutin Valley State Trail is divided into two segments along a former corridor of the Chicago and North Western Railway. The eastern section runs 10 miles between Fond du Lac and Rosendale. The...
Madison’s Campus Drive Pedestrian and Bicycle Path is a short trail linking the city’s west side with the University of Wisconsin’s agricultural facilities. Both the heart of the university and the...
The Wolf Run Trail supports a wide variety of users on its two miles of crushed gravel, situated on the outskirts of Mazomanie in northwestern Dane County. Heading southeast from the charming...
Utter darkness is as much a part of the scenery along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail as the views of the rolling hills and farmland. That’s because visitors pass through three hand-dug railroad tunnels...
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...
The 53-mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail between Cottage Grove and Waukesha provides a glimpse into the past when glaciers bore down on southeastern Wisconsin in the last Ice Age. Those gigantic sheets...
The Pheasant Branch Conservancy Trail forms a loop within the scenic Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a natural area containing a marsh, meadows, forest and hills. The area is home to a vast array of...
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 Wild Goose State Trail is a premier rail-trail, spanning approximately 35 miles in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties. If you are looking for a peaceful and beautiful place to visit, this trail has it...
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...
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...
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 Pheasant Branch Conservancy Trail forms a loop within the scenic Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a natural area containing a marsh, meadows, forest and hills. The area is home to a vast array of...
The Wingra Creek Path—also known as the Wingra Bike Path—runs along the winding waterway in Madison. The trail provides a critical link from the neighborhoods south of downtown Madison to the Capital...
The Wolf Run Trail supports a wide variety of users on its two miles of crushed gravel, situated on the outskirts of Mazomanie in northwestern Dane County. Heading southeast from the charming...
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...
Utter darkness is as much a part of the scenery along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail as the views of the rolling hills and farmland. That’s because visitors pass through three hand-dug railroad tunnels...
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 Northwestern Trail begins near the public library in downtown Ripon, a charming small town in eastern Wisconsin. History buffs may want to head a few blocks south from this endpoint to explore the...
The Bannerman Trail is open but largely unimproved between the communities of Redgranite and Neshkoro on a former Chicago and North Western Railway corridor. The dirt, grass and sand surface might...
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 Glacial River Trail provides bikers, pedestrians, and in-line skaters with a 55.8-mile off-road/on-road rural route winding through farmland, prairie, wetlands, and woodlands as it passes through...
Madison’s Campus Drive Pedestrian and Bicycle Path is a short trail linking the city’s west side with the University of Wisconsin’s agricultural facilities. Both the heart of the university and the...
The Mascoutin Valley State Trail is divided into two segments along a former corridor of the Chicago and North Western Railway. The eastern section runs 10 miles between Fond du Lac and Rosendale. The...
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...
The 53-mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail between Cottage Grove and Waukesha provides a glimpse into the past when glaciers bore down on southeastern Wisconsin in the last Ice Age. Those gigantic sheets...
Traveling the 400 State Trail is a numbers game. The trail’s name refers to the old Chicago and North Western Railway’s “No. 400” passenger train that zoomed through here between Chicago and St....
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...
All it takes is a short ride on Madison’s 5.6-mile South west Commuter Path to understand the critical role it plays in getting people around town. Not only does it pass within a mile of the State...
The boardwalk along the lake extends for about a mile. After that is park space that has side trails for hikers, picnic spots,horseshoe pits and more.
For bikers this connects with bike paths that lead into Madison for extra mileage as the trail is fairly short for a bike ride.
Nice trail along the river with grades and curves to keep it interesting. Popular with dog walkers. Only downside is the ever present noise from the expressway.
As of Friday, September 28, the Sparta to Norwalk portion of the Elroy/Sparta Trail, including the excellent tunnel #3, has reopened.
This trail was closed in September by the Wisconsin DNR, due to mudslides and other trail conditions caused by heavy rains.
This trail was closed in September by the Wisconsin DNR, due to mudslides and other trail conditions caused by heavy rains
In September 2018 a friend and I biked north from Elroy to the tunnel, about 6 miles. The first mile was bumpy old asphalt, for which a hybrid or mountain bike would be more comfortable than our road bikes using 35mm tires. Then the trail surface became smoother with crushed limestone. Quiet ride, pleasant views. South of the tunnel was a "Trail Closed" sign due to mudslides from heavy rains. Dirt and gravel were over 3 feet high in places, with 2-inch-deep mud. We walked around these to the tunnel, which is clear. Due to time constraints, we didn't go further. Bottom line: if you're willing to get muddy and have 35mm or wider tires, it's a pleasant ride at this time. Also, the trail is maintained by Juneau County, not the state.
We rode this trail in August, after discovering the trail around the city was closed. Turned out to be one of the highlights in our week long vacation of riding in the area. Walk, run, bike, etc. do not miss this very scenic experience. You won't be disappointed, I promise. Pa. Tandem Team (72 & 69 yrs. old)
Being a Chicago &Northwestern railfan I enjoyed walking from county V to the town of Lavalle and seeing the bridges and scenery and the next day walking from County V two miles south on the trail had a beautiful time.
About 1/2 of this trail is being repaved and some of it was puddled from the recent storms (see picture I loaded on this site for details). Wish there was someplace we would have known to look ahead of time we now know Dane county parks is the place to go for questions/updates. We bypassed “trail closed” signs where paving was was complete or not being worked on (ok’d by trail ranger) . Once paving is done it will be an even nicer trail to ride. Lake, forested, prairie, pretty easy ride with some minor uphill sections, lots of surrounding trails. Used google maps to get back home quicker.
Walked from County V to Lavalle very nice walk enjoyed the walk took photos of the bridges and Lavalle nice small town very friendly people on trail. Next day walked from County V two miles south on trail had a ball saw 4 deer.
Took a road bike from Dawley's Sanctuary on the Capital City Trail east. Took several tries to find the right path through Chicory Hills and I stumbled onto the Cannonball Path at the southeast corner of the Arboretum. Signage is indeed awful here. So many trails and offshoots and no idea where to go! But I headed west on Cannonball until I got the to hub where all the trails come together. I decided to keep going west and did the Military Ridge Trail. It's lovely and paved the first 3 miles, as noted, and the next crushed gravel part is fine for a road bike in dry weather... until about 2 miles past Verona when it becomes much more sandy at Sugar River Wetlands, where I turned around. Next time I will take a hybrid!
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