Find the top rated trails in West Bend, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_0_st.jpg)
_132822_st.jpg)
_122353_st.jpg)
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 WE Energies Trail, so named because it uses a Wisconsin Energy Corporation utility corridor for much of its route, links Racine and Oak Creek in Racine and Milwaukee counties. Despite the presence...
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...
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...
Racine County's eastern edge is home to the MRK Trail, a rail-with-trail that extends north from the City of Racine to the Village of Caledonia. Because Racine County standardized its signs several...
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 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 Sheboygan Interurban Trail follows the route of an electric railway that once ran between Milwaukee and Sheboygan from the early 1900s to 1951. The trail begins at Pebble Beach Road on the Ozaukee...
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...
Note: In 2015, portions of the Lake Country Trail will be temporarily closed as part of the Quad County Electric Reliability Project; please see the American Transmission Company’s website for updates...
The Brown Deer Recreational Trail runs through the Village of Brown Deer, a suburb of Milwaukee. The tree-line route parallels an active rail line through commercial and residential areas. Mid-way,...
The 13.5-mile Lake Michigan Pathway keeps you in close touch with the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world as it links rail-trails north and south of the port city of Racine. Along the way, the...
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...
_0_sc.jpg)
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...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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 Harbor View Trail occupies a former rail bed—now shared with overhead electric transmission wires—on the southern edge of Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac. The trail parallels Harbor View Drive for...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
Racine County's eastern edge is home to the MRK Trail, a rail-with-trail that extends north from the City of Racine to the Village of Caledonia. Because Racine County standardized its signs several...
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 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...
_0_sc.jpg)
The Prairie Trail offers a 7-mile, paved route cupping the eastern boundary of Fond du Lac, a mid-sized city befitting its French name which means “foot of the lake” as it hugs the southern shore of...
The 13.5-mile Lake Michigan Pathway keeps you in close touch with the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world as it links rail-trails north and south of the port city of Racine. Along the way, 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 Sheboygan Interurban Trail follows the route of an electric railway that once ran between Milwaukee and Sheboygan from the early 1900s to 1951. The trail begins at Pebble Beach Road on the Ozaukee...
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 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...
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 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...
_132822_sc.jpg)
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...
Although short, the West Allis Cross Town Connector represents an important start to a future link between three trails in Milwaukee County. Currently, the trail begins at a junction with the New...
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 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...
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 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...
_122353_sc.jpg)
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...
Although short, the West Allis Cross Town Connector represents an important start to a future link between three trails in Milwaukee County. Currently, the trail begins at a junction with the New...
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 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...
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...
Wisconsin’s Wiouwash State Trail is named for the four counties it passes through: Winnebago, Outagamie, Waupaca and Shawano. Currently, 41 miles of the rail-trail are open in two disconnected...
The Kohler Memorial Drive Path is a straight paved path that rides adjacent to the Kohler Memorial Drive. Starting at the American Red Cross, you can ride for just under a mile on the outskirts of the...
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 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 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...
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...
The Brown Deer Recreational Trail runs through the Village of Brown Deer, a suburb of Milwaukee. The tree-line route parallels an active rail line through commercial and residential areas. Mid-way,...
The Sheboygan Interurban Trail follows the route of an electric railway that once ran between Milwaukee and Sheboygan from the early 1900s to 1951. The trail begins at Pebble Beach Road on the Ozaukee...
The Harbor View Trail occupies a former rail bed—now shared with overhead electric transmission wires—on the southern edge of Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac. The trail parallels Harbor View Drive for...
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 Cushing Park Road Recreational Trail begins on the western outskirts of Delafield, a small community about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. From Delafield's Main Street, the trail heads south,...
The Oak Leaf Trail has so many branches and so many good places to ride. I was riding the Grant Park-South Shore section since I was a kid when it was the 76 trail. We ride that section a lot still but it can be crowded with bikes, runners, and walkers. Most bikers are polite and understand the need to ride single file, but it seems like a lot of groups when there are more than a few just don't get it. One of the best things is riding from Grant Park to the South Shore Beer Garden!
We also ride from Drexel Ave. to County Line Rd. Beautiful, especially once you get south of Ryan Rd.
Another leg we enjoy is from the Milwaukee County Sports Complex on Ryan Road to Whitnall Park, especially now that there's a permanent beer garden there as well. On this leg of the trail once you get about 1/4 mile north of the sports complex it follows the Root River. You hardly see any houses or busy roads and you really feel like you're out in the sticks.
I rode from Riverside Park in Burlington to Highway 164, north of Waterford today, a round trip of nearly 20 miles. The trail goes northward towards Milwaukee County, skirting the Fox River and Highway 36. While Riverside Park itself is nice, the trail north of it had a loose gravel bed, full of ruts, and follows a Wisconsin Electric right of way along Highway 36. After crossing the highway, the trail improves dramatically when it goes through Saller Woods. It has a new hard-packed gravel surface that is a pleasure to ride. North of there, the trail crosses the wide Fox River on its own scenic bridge-- a good place to take a water stop. Approaching Rochester, the trail becomes blacktopped and is smooth and scenic. Case Eagle county park is especially nice, and I stopped by the banks of the Fox River, which is scenic above and below a dam. In Waterford, I discovered Java Jo'z, a coffee house in an industrial park just off the Highway 20 and 36 intersection. It's a good place to stop for iced Americano coffee and home-made sandwiches and fruit smoothies, with a friendly, homey atmosphere. The trail north of there is on hard-packed gravel and goes through wooded area next to peaceful neighborhoods. I turned around at the Highway 164 crossing and headed back. So, if you want to ride the very best part of this trail, there is plenty of parking near Java Jo'z in Waterford and a trail parking lot off Highway 36 at the entrance to Saller Woods.
The combination of open fields, swamps, and creeks makes this path a calm and pleasant ride.
The trail is perfect. I can go wherever, whenever on my bike or by my foot. The thing is, it's too small. Groups of three or more are too common here, and that leads to some very close calls. When there is a group of 20 seemingly professional bikers who look like they're going at a speed I will never be able to get to, vs. me who's biking at a super casual speed, surrounded my pools of mud, and nature is not so nice in that situation. It's happened to me. It wasn't nice. Otherwise it's a perfectly nice trail.
The Oak Leaf trail from Grant Park north to Milwaukee has to be one of the nicest stretches in the entire 120 mile system. On a sultry summer day, I parked in the golf course lot at Grant Park in South Milwaukee and headed north on the trail. It winds through woods and fields and offers beautiful views of Lake Michigan from the tall bluffs. There was a welcome cool breeze off the lake. The trail was smooth blacktop all the way, with a few hills. Later, it passes along the lake through the towns of Oak Creek, Cudahy, St. Francis and Bay View. At South Shore Park in Bay View, the trail heads down to the beach and the South Shore Marina, a good place to stop and take a break. I rode up to Bay View before the Hoan Bridge and then headed back. A great ride of 18 miles.
The Oak Leaf Trail has both positives and negatives, however positives do outweigh the negatives. This trail allows users to travel through the heart of Milwaukee, however the lack of bike lanes and signage when the trail segments off makes it difficult for people unfamiliar with the area to find their way around. Being a resident of the Milwaukee area for 16 years, the trail is not so challenging for me to figure out, but this does prove to be a downfall of using the Oak Leaf Trail. On the other hand, the trail is nicely paved, full of wildlife, and the users tend to be friendly, so it does make for a great atmosphere! My advise when using the Oak Leaf Trail would be to review the map and o plan your route beforehand, especially if you are unfamiliar with the Milwaukee area.
I've biked the whole trail in various sections. For the most part the gravel is well maintained, there are a few small sections where there is larger or sandier gravel to cover some storm washouts. You'll have to watch out for the occasional chipmunk hole and bridge transitions, but otherwise it's a smooth ride.
Riding later in the day will allow you to see a wide variety of wildlife, especially around the marshes near London and Sullivan. On all 4 days I rode on the trail, I encountered at least one deer on the trail along with turkeys, woodchucks, minks, all colors of birds and more. The wildlife thins out after Dousman (when the trail is paved) but the view gets better as the trail is quite a bit higher than the surrounding area. Wales to Waukesha is downhill and fast, but not too much of a hassle pedaling the other way. Your mileage may vary.
There are also some great river and lake views as you go across Rock Lake outside of Lake Mills and over the Crawfish and Rock Rivers between there and Jefferson.
The only other issue for people who don't like hills is the road detour around Jefferson. It's a bit of a climb on either side to get over Hwy 26, and the road that takes you to the next section of the trail is hilly also.
I road this trail on a sunny Monday afternoon, and it was a great ride. I parked at the paved parking lot on St. Martin Road in St. Martin. Took the Franklin Bike and Hiking trail southwest to connect with the Muskego Recreation Trail and rode it to its dead end about 7 miles away. Lots of wildlife on the trail, many rabbits and yellow chickadees. A hamburger and root beer at the Culver's restaurant in Muskego was a welcome break. Took a few side roads to see Muskego Lake and Bass' Bay. The trail bed varied from smooth asphalt to crushed limestone and crushed asphalt, and it wasn't a problem. A very pleasant summer ride, about 15.5 miles round-trip.
I road this trail on a sunny Monday afternoon, and it was a great ride. I parked at the paved parking lot on St. Martin Road in St. Martin. Rode the trail southwest to connect with the Muskego Recreation Trail and took it to its dead end about 7 miles away. Lots of wildlife on the trail, many rabbits and yellow chickadees. A hamburger and root beer at the Culver's restaurant in Muskego was a welcome break. Took a few side roads to see Muskego Lake and Bass' Bay. A very pleasant summer ride, about 15.5 miles.
Rode the trail for about 6 miles, from downtown to Miller Park. Just enough other riders, so I didn't feel alone and plenty of urban awe along the way.
My wife and I hit the trail on 7/09/17. Starting with the trailhead, very nice ammenities. Full bathrooms w/showers! The trail is well maintained crushed gravel. ( do watch out for the occasional chipmunk hole!) Start out with a nice canopy cover, opening a bit as you pass Rock Lake. Two miles out, the canopy gives way to wide open marsh. Mid-day ride is quite hot! The 1/4 mile bridge is no longer an option on this trail. ( Bummer: I was hoping to surprise my wife with that part of the ride) Because of the bridge closure, you ride in the open marsh a bit longer than before. But, soon you get back to a nice canopy of trees. ( Do put on bug dope! You stop in the canopy for a break and the mosquitos will eat ya alive!) All the bridges you encounter have a rubber strip in the middle and run length of bridge.(I believe for tire puncture safety) My wife and I hit our allotted time/distance ( at the moment 8miles out and 8 miles back) so we came up just shy of reaching Deerfield. Overall, a very pleasant ride! My Garmin said only 95ft of elevation. So, easy on the legs as well. We do plan on dropping in on different spots of the Glacial. We'll keep ya posted :)
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
_58428_st.jpg)
_0_st.jpg)
