Explore the best rated trails in Stoughton, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Levee Trail (Portage) and Lower Yahara River Trail. With more than 74 trails covering 605 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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In the Village of Roscoe, a paved path of just over a mile parallels Main Street (which becomes Frontage Road) and then continues along the south side of McDonald Road, a quiet residential street....
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...
Meadowbrook Trail parallels Meadowbrook Road offering a useful and convenient off-road route through northwest Waukesha. It begins at a connection to Lake Country Recreation Trail, a 15-mile east-west...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
From Main Street and Elevator Road in Roscoe, the scenic Kinstone Recreational Path winds its way northeast through woodlands along the north branch of Kinnikinnick Creek to the Stone Bridge Trail....
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 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...
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 Perryville Path runs nearly 7 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State...
Broad blue skies strung with white cloud wisps; gem-green fields harboring cattails and butterflies; canopied glens giving way to cavernous quarries. It's all part of the ride on the Bugline...
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 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...
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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 Hononegah Recreation Path begins near the State Route 2 bridge over the Rock River in Rockton, a small town about 4 miles south of the Illinois–Wisconsin border. The paved trail follows Hononegah...
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...
The Kiwanis Bike Trail, named for the Kiwanis Club that spearheaded the effort to build the trail, parallels the western bank of the Rock River through the southern Wisconsin community of Janesville....
The Lake Geneva Bike Path runs through the scenic resort city, offering connections to many of the community’s amenities. The trail has five unique, color-coded segments. The Blue Route is 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...
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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...
The Lake Country Recreation Trail runs from the western edge of Waukesha to Oconomowoc in Wisconsin’s Lake Country area. Most of the trail was built on a former Milwaukee-Watertown Interurban Railway...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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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 White River State Trail is composed of two separate segments: a 12-mile stretch that runs between Elkhorn and just west of Burlington in Walworth County, and a 7-mile section that connects 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 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...
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 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 Kishwaukee Riverfront Path winds nearly 7 miles through downtown Belvidere, east of Rockford in northern Illinois. As its name implies, the paved scenic trail follows the waterway for most of its...
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...
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...
In the Village of Roscoe, a paved path of just over a mile parallels Main Street (which becomes Frontage Road) and then continues along the south side of McDonald Road, a quiet residential street....
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...
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 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 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 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...
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 Rote Road Multi-Use Path offers a paved route along the south side of Rote Road in eastern Rockford. It travels for nearly a mile, providing access to neighborhoods, businesses, and the Aldeen...
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 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 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...
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 Perryville Path runs nearly 7 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State...
The Kiwanis Bike Trail, named for the Kiwanis Club that spearheaded the effort to build the trail, parallels the western bank of the Rock River through the southern Wisconsin community of Janesville....
The Kishwaukee Riverfront Path winds nearly 7 miles through downtown Belvidere, east of Rockford in northern Illinois. As its name implies, the paved scenic trail follows the waterway for most of its...
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...
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...
Rode the SRT from Broadhead to New Glarus on Friday 10/25. Great scenic trail but some maintenance is needed, passed four down trees blocking the trail. Also some holes made by some critters you would not want to hit. Most of the mile markers were gone.
This paved trail is a short (3 mile) north-south connector between two more prominent east-west rail trails -- the Lake Country Trail and the Glacial Drumlin State Trail. The route in its entirety parallels Cushing Park Road, running for more than a mile along the western edge of Lapham Peak State Park and Evans Prairie, where views of prairie grasses and wildflowers can be enjoyed by passing bikers and hikers. Elevation changes over the gently rolling terrain are easy to negotiate.
Plenty of space to park stock trailer in gravel lot on Lake Shore Rd Clinton. Cute little covered bridge in small park with picnic tables was the start of my mule ride. There were trash receptacles, handicap accessible restroom & a wood post hitching rail. Many "sponsored" rest spots with wooden benches, picnic tables & some had roofs along the flat trail. Trail bed is wide, flat & firm as small crushed gravel & grass base. Views of plant/tree farm & rural properties after brief bit of SE side of Clinton. Mileage markers. Several blacktop road crossings. Easy, well-groomed trail. Small gravel lot at east end with trail map on kiosk. For lunch at Boar's Nest Bar ride Hill St (right uphill), stay right on Clinton St, quick Left along west side of the Park 1 block to stop sign Cty X. Ride directly across Cty X then straight across grass to cable picket line.
I-43 runs parallel to trail. Loud traffic but distance kept equines from becoming unnerved 🙂 Met a jogger, a hiker with a leashed dog on trail & 2 bicyclists at covered bridge. All were respectful of equines.
If you are looking to take it easy and just go for a nice ride this is it. Smooth and simple. Very well maintained.
The Glacial River Trail in the Rock River valley is untypical for Wisconsin state trails in that it is entirely paved and not a rail-to-trail. It has a great mix of segments in the WI-26 freeway corridor, city streets and rural roads, with some good grades. I did the north part of the trail from Jefferson to the junction with the Wild Goose State Trail. There are no services provided by the trail owner, but the trail is free to use. The signage for the trail-turns is minimal so the Trail-Link map downloaded on your smart phone is a must. I especially enjoyed my ride thru the river towns of Jefferson, Johnson Creek and Watertown, where I took the time to ride around the downtowns. I will come back someday to do the south portion.
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.
It seems to me this should have been called the Hononegah Trail given it passes through the forest preserve and etches the road with the same name. Anyways, the far east part of this path stems off of the Old Bridge Trail which is a great place to bike. When you come off that trail and onto the Kinstone, you go through a small forested area before heading up a hill that starts you along Hononegah Rd. The trail is asphalt/cement and is in pretty good shape. As mentioned, it goes through the front section of the Hononegah FP where they have a bathroom, picnic tables and a water pump all near the trail. The trail ends just east of downtown Rockton but another path picks up that takes you past the Rock River and the downtown area.
There aren't many bells and whistles along this short path but it is a nice continuation to other trails in the area.
A month or so ago I rode the full length of the Long Prairie Trail. When I reached the Ronald Olson FP I realized that the trail continued as the Stone Bridge Trail. Having liked the Long Prairie Trail I marked the path for a future visit. That didn't take long, I was back a month later and ready to tackle the Stone Bridge and four other paths in the area with my son.
The Stone Bridge Trail is a very well kept limestone trail that only spans about 6 miles. Although short it features areas where you are in a gorge, then on a steep hill. In the middle you can get a history lesson by demounting and walking down the hill at the Stone Bridge site. At the base of the hill you can see the preserved site and read about its historic value.
At the northern base of the trail you can see where the train track line continues north. I sincerely hope they turn this into more biking trail that heads into Wisconsin.
I've used this trail for years. The past couple have seen serious decline in the trail's condition. It once was nicely and evenly packed with crushed gravel as recent as three years ago, but now most of it has been overtaken by grass and heavy rains have washed out parts of it. It's still passable on mountain bikes and fat tire bikes, but that's about it. I'm not sure why it has stopped being maintained but at the current rate, in another year or two nature will take it back completely.
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