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 Levee Trail (Portage). With more than 34 trails covering 423 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.
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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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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...
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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 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...
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 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...
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....
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As is apparent from the name, the trail sits atop a beside along the Wisconsin River. The trail is asphalt and easy to use for people of all ages and abilities. The trail begins in Edgewater Street in...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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 Deming Way Trail is a recreational path along Pheasant Branch in Middleton, Wisconsin. The two-lane trail accommodates walkers, joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists. Though short, the trail connects...
The Baraboo Riverwalk occupies nearly 3 miles of the Baraboo River's east bank. The shared use path brings residents to nature not just by bringing them closer to the river, but also by threading...
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...
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 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...
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 Hidden Oaks Trail is a piece of Middleton's expanding shared use path system. It peels off from the North Fork Trail and heads east, passing the Capitol Ice Arena, into the Hinrich's Family Farm...
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 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 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 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 Hidden Oaks Trail is a piece of Middleton's expanding shared use path system. It peels off from the North Fork Trail and heads east, passing the Capitol Ice Arena, into the Hinrich's Family Farm...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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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 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 Baraboo Riverwalk occupies nearly 3 miles of the Baraboo River's east bank. The shared use path brings residents to nature not just by bringing them closer to the river, but also by threading...
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 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 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 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...
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 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 Deming Way Trail is a recreational path along Pheasant Branch in Middleton, Wisconsin. The two-lane trail accommodates walkers, joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists. Though short, the trail connects...
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 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...
Rode south to north (elroy to camp Douglas) and back on our fat tire e-bikes. Good scenery, lots of bridges, super tunnel , beautiful weather. Yes there are potholes and even with the fatties, some holes were rough. The asphalt should be milled back to crushed gravel imo. However snowmobile tread and use during the breakup season may be why the surfaced was asphaulted.
I returned on one of those great Midwestern fall days to complete the portion of the Glacial River Trail south of Jefferson. I found the few miles that were in-fact a former railroad. The rest of the trail is in the WI-26 freeway corridor or on rural roads and city streets, but the trail is all paved.
The city of Fort Atkinson is very attractive with trail amenities including public art. I again found that the TrailLink map was a necessity as the signage on the tail is sparse.
My only negative is there is no need to do the on-highway portion south of N Wright Rd unless you want to continue to the connection to the Spring Brook Trail that will take you into Janesville.
For an out and back trip consider places where you can use the parallel old WI-26 for a different landscape view.
We got on the trail at Lacy Street in Verona/Fitchburg WI. The trail was paved and in great shape at that point. Cyclists were using it as a commuter trail and there were several people out walking and running. The trail turned into non-paved surface and that is where we dismounted to pay the fee of $5. Oh my, what can I say. The trail is NOT crushed limestone. At places it appeared to be an abandoned trail except for the path made by a bicycle tire. It was a muddy, sticky mess. I had checked ahead of time and found out the Stewart Tunnel was closed, which saved us back tracking since there wasn't a sign indicating the tunnel was closed. We detoured onto Tunnel Rd and took various paved roads into New Glarus. The best part of the trail was the Monroe WI segment. There was a detour off of the trail as we were coming into town. Very good signage directing us through the road construction area. There was a very nice trailhead with a drinking fountain and restrooms as you came into town from the north. We continued to the downtown area and decided to take a break and headed to the Dairy Queen by exiting the trail at 5th Street and riding to 8th Street. It was a challenge to cross the street but it was during lunch hour. As we headed out of Monroe there was an area of very loose gravel vs crushed limestone. An inexperienced rider might have wrecked. The rest of the trail was not maintained until it connected with the Jane Adams Trail. It was is good shape into Freeport IL.
Parked at Cottage Grove today and biked out 23 miles and then back to car. It was annoying that we both paid our 5 dollars and then visited the rest room. No toilet paper in mens or women's and both stalls in women's were smeared with feces. Nice surface on trail. Not enough benches. This trail would definitely not qualify as a national rail trail.
I grabbed the trail north of Janesville on my road bike. Crossed the bridge over the highway and did about a mile on the county road before winding through a new housing development and finding the actual trail. It's in great shape, lots of gentle rolling hills and a couple of roundabouts but not a single person anywhere along the trail. I rode to Milton and most of the trail parallels the highway so it's loud on one side but beautiful and agricultural on the other side. I saw hawks and finches and no humans of any kind. It was pretty sweet. I only gave it 4 stars because of the highway driving . Otherwise it's a 5-star paved trail.
My husband and I rode the Military Ridge Trail from Dodgeville to Fitchburg on Saturday of Labor day weekend. We connected the Military Ridge Trail to Cannonball path to Capital City Path and stayed overnight at the Wyndam Garden Madison Fitchburg (total of 45 miles) . We enjoyed the Great Dane Pub and Brewery that is within walking distance from the hotel. Then we rode the trail back to Dodgeville on Sunday. We stopped in Mt Horeb for lunch both days. There are several shops and resturants so it was a nice break to get something to eat and walk around a while. The Military Ridge Trail is nice with varied scenery between rolling farms, wooded areas and marshland. There are a few places where it runs along the highway but overall I thought it was a scenic trail. Most of the trail is in good condition for a hybrid bike but there are a couple sections where there is grass growing in the middle of the path. It didn't cause any problems, but wasn't a well maintained as the other sectins. Overall for a rail trail, I thought it was in good condition. The most scenic part is through the Blue Mound State Park area and the Quarry Ridge Recreation area just west of Fitchburg. The section of the Capital City Trail across Fitchburg is very pretty with lots of wildflowers, but is has a few hills.
Rode the Omaha Trail as an evening ride on our way to Madison. Interesting ride with a nice climb from Hustler WI to the tunnel. If you don’t want to ride the whole trail and just want to see the tunnel, park in Hustler for a quick ride. The surface is an odd chip and seal type pavement but generally in good shape. Quite a bit of surface maintenance is taking place near the tunnel with a new layer of gravel.
Paved and scenic trail
Just rode the trail and enjoyed the tree cover on the south part of trail on a hot and humid day. The trail is smooth with some gently rolling hills and some good views of the Wisconsin river. A gate stops the trail about 3 miles before Halweg Road so I had to improvise to find a different road to Hwy 78 or Hwy 113.
I've been riding this and Sugar River Trails since 1986. I purchase the trail passes every year. This year, I have had to crawl over and under trees. The weeds have been so high, all kinds of wild grass brushes against your legs to your knees.
Jane Adams trail is perfect. The first foot onto the Badger, north of Orangeville is really unenjoyable hell. It has not been mowed regularly, so I can't tell you if and when they mow it. But it's no fun. I called and left a message at the local DNR office responsible. Let's see what happens.
Gorgeous trail but be aware that the section of the trail that courses through Lake Farm Park has occasional automobile/truck/camper traffic for a group camp located within Lake Farm Park. Motorists are instructed to stay as far to the right as possible, have to yield to pedestrians and bikes and cannot pass vulnerable users. Other than that enjoy!
Had the pleasure to ride this trail from the Sugar River Trail junction to Monroe, returning North to the Stewart Tunnel, then returning to New Glarus. The section we rode was compact dirt but very smooth as we turned off the Sugar River trail headed to Monroe. Grass was not cut in this section of trail and 2 tire tracks make up most of the trail. Gentle uphill most the distance to Monroe. There is a detour entering Monroe that is well marked with signage and only several blocks on road before rejoining the trail. You'll appreciate the gentle downhill as you depart Monroe headed back North. We rode through the Stewart Tunnel which made the gentle uphill trek as you approach the tunnel worth while. Once past the tunnel we rode county roads back to the Sugar River Trail to take us back to New Glarus. I cannot attest to the condition of the trail outside of the 20 mile section we rode but recommend this trail for those who are looking for the casual ride and to enjoy the beautiful scenery Wisconsin has to offer!
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