Explore the best rated trails in Watertown, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Peebles Trail and Brooke Street Trail. With more than 55 trails covering 696 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 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...
Fond du Lac's Brooke Street Trail follows a former rail corridor from the community's southern reaches to an endpoint not far from scenic Lake Winnebago. The city's location relative to the lake,...
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 paved New Berlin Recreation Trail runs straight as an east–west compass bearing for 7 miles through the western Milwaukee suburbs, from New Berlin to Waukesha. While it is void of trestles,...
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 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...
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...
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The Lake to Lake Bike Trail takes you through the beautiful terrain of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It is a newer, well-maintained trail, with a wide, crushed limestone roadbed. It is used daily...
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 Muskego Recreation Trail follows a corridor originally used by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light, an interurban railroad in southeastern Wisconsin. The corridor was later acquired by...
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...
Kinnickinnic River Trail (called the KK River Trail by locals) runs just over 2 miles in southern Milwaukee, following the river through a densely populated and industrial corridor. The trail links...
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...
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 Beerline Trail, so named because the corridor was once used by freight trains transporting the ingredients for beer to some of Milwaukee’s famous breweries, has contributed to the revitalization...
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 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...
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...
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The Fox River Trail runs diagonally along its namesake waterway through Waukesha in southeastern Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee). A trailhead at the E.B. Shurts Environmental Education Center in...
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 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 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...
In 1957, baseball legend Hank “The Hammer” Aaron led the Milwaukee Braves to the first of two consecutive World Series appearances and a championship over the usually dominant New York Yankees. In...
The Lake to Lake Bike Trail takes you through the beautiful terrain of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It is a newer, well-maintained trail, with a wide, crushed limestone roadbed. It is used daily...
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 paved New Berlin Recreation Trail runs straight as an east–west compass bearing for 7 miles through the western Milwaukee suburbs, from New Berlin to Waukesha. While it is void of trestles,...
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...
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 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 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 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 Eisenbahn State Trail gives a nod to Wisconsin’s German heritage in its name—Eisenbahn is German for “railway.” The strict translation, “iron road,” refers to the iron rails originally used as...
The Beerline Trail, so named because the corridor was once used by freight trains transporting the ingredients for beer to some of Milwaukee’s famous breweries, has contributed to the revitalization...
The Seven Waters Bike Trail is a scenic corridor stretching more than 17 miles northsouth between Burlington and Muskego Lake into Waukesha County. The trail was originally three trails, locally...
The Fox River Trail runs diagonally along its namesake waterway through Waukesha in southeastern Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee). A trailhead at the E.B. Shurts Environmental Education Center in...
Fond du Lac's Brooke Street Trail follows a former rail corridor from the community's southern reaches to an endpoint not far from scenic Lake Winnebago. The city's location relative to the lake,...
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 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 Milwaukee RiverWalk provides a pleasant way to get around Milwaukee from the Historic Third Ward, through downtown, and north to the Lower East Side. It also has easy connections to three other...
The Peebles Trail is a nearly 6-mile pathway, linking Fond du Lac at the southern edge of Lake Winnebago with St. Peter (Taycheedah) to its east. The trail also passes through the unincorporated...
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The Downtown Trail—also known as the River Trail and Riverwalk Trail—runs alongside the Fond du Lac River for nearly 2 miles in the heart of Fond du Lac. The vast majority of the trail is smooth...
If you’re going to visit the historical communities that lie just west of Lake Michigan, why not use the former route of the venerable interurban railroad? The Ozaukee Interurban Trail stretches the...
The Peebles Trail is a nearly 6-mile pathway, linking Fond du Lac at the southern edge of Lake Winnebago with St. Peter (Taycheedah) to its east. The trail also passes through the unincorporated...
The Oak Leaf Trail is the jewel in the crown of Milwaukee County’s extensive trail system. The trail meanders for more than 120 miles in and around the city of Milwaukee on a changing terrain of flat...
The Lake to Lake Bike Trail takes you through the beautiful terrain of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It is a newer, well-maintained trail, with a wide, crushed limestone roadbed. It is used daily...
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 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 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...
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...
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 1957, baseball legend Hank “The Hammer” Aaron led the Milwaukee Braves to the first of two consecutive World Series appearances and a championship over the usually dominant New York Yankees. In...
The City of Franklin Hike and Bike Trail follows a corridor originally used by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light, an interurban railroad in southeastern Wisconsin. The corridor was later acquired...
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 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 Milwaukee RiverWalk provides a pleasant way to get around Milwaukee from the Historic Third Ward, through downtown, and north to the Lower East Side. It also has easy connections to three other...
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 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 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 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 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...
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!
Rough ride. Wish the trails would be fixed now that the new power lines are up. Might wait till next year to ride this trail again.
What a mistake. I averaged 6.3 mph for 20 miles and then gave up. I was on three wheels and that was a big mistake. Have yet to see any rideable asphalt. Mostly mud and tall grass. Don’t even try it on a horse.
From Afton south not good washed out and not marked when you get down by Big Hill park. We were lost walked bikes up gravel path didn't realize there was a paved path up the hill cause there are no signs. There are 3 gravel paths we took all 3, 2 ended and 3rd went up the hill. If you end up there take the one that leads to the paved road and follow the road in the park till the trail resumes.
Biked on our hybryds May 31, 2019 starting in New Glarus. Sunny 84 degrees. We biked south to Monticello and jumped over to the Badger State trail (Ice Age Trail) and went up to the tunnel ... about 5 miles...and back to New Glarus. Total trip was about 22 miles. Even though a DNR site recommended not using the trails because of conditions( due to the rains, but they were not closed) , we found no conditions that warranted aborting the trip. A few blow-downs and muddy spots, but nothing out of the ordinary for remote trails. They *could* lay down a little crushed limestone in spots...not sand please....and replace the mile markers please. The wild Phlox was blooming along the trails and it was gorgeous. This and the Badger State trails are two of our favorites
Gorgeous perfect day for a ride but I ended up abandoning the trail and sticking to the lovely roads. The trail has no maintenance, no shoulder, in many places not even two tracks. A couple of serious potholes, and weeds everywhere. The scenery was spectacular but the trail feels like it's just been left to its own devices and nature is taking its course. Brodhead, however, has a gorgeous river trail and parking off Decatur St. and excellent roads with not much traffic, so the trip was saved by finding an alternative. Could be a glorious ride if someone bothered to clean up the state trail!
For the past few years the section of the trail has been closed while the Zoo Interchange was reconstructed. It is now open (and paved) all the way to the Oak Leaf Trail at Blue Mound and the Underwood Parkway.
A nice ride with only 2 hills.
Great ride today. Sunny and excellent trail. Freshly paved in many places and lots of wildlife. On the western end near Verona, trail is not well marked so one can find oneself taking random side paths and trails at intersections without signage. It all seems to funnel you back to the main trail eventually though. It is the journey that matters so adds some variation
Rode the trail from end to end May 2019. Starting in Sauk City, a few streets to navigate for the first three miles or so. From that point on, its wide open riding on smooth asphalt. Gently rolling, it cuts through the old Badger Ammo property (restored prairie) with only a couple buildings remaining. The trail ends unceremoniously with a gate. But, feel free to head off the path and ride some of the roads the trail crosses on the Badger property and you can easily add a few miles, while increasing your chances to view wildlife. If you need food or water for the ride, be advised there arent any services outside of Prairie du Sac, so bring what you need.
Nice wide, smooth trail! One of my favorite in the area.
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