Looking for the best trails around Whitewater?

Explore the best rated trails in Whitewater, WI. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Lower Yahara River Trail and US Highway 12 Path. With more than 109 trails covering 998 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.

Recent Trail Reviews

Peace Trail

AMAZING RIDE

March, 2023 by billaustin1967

The path is now paved from Big Hill Park, which is just North of Beloit WI off of Afton Road, and goes to Janesville WI. In Janesville there are several paved paths which directly connect. There is plenty of parking at Big Hill Park, along with water, and bathrooms. A good portion of the trail runs along the scenic Rock River. I’ve seen many native species as I road. Enjoy your ride!

Peace Trail

Great Ride

March, 2023 by billaustin1967

This path runs from Big Hill Park, just North of Beloit WI., off of Afton Road, to several paved paths in Janesville WI. There is plenty of parking at Big Hills Park, along with bathrooms and water. The entire trail is on a paved path or on low volume paved roads. It’s a wonderful ride! The ride from Big Hill Par to Janesville is about 11 miles. Hope you enjoy your ride as much as I do ¿¿

Des Plaines River Trail

DPRT North in Lake County is a Gem

January, 2023 by erossen22

I've ridden this trail for 30 years and it's well maintained and relatively flat. The crushed limestone surface drains water away quickly though in winter, when the ground is frozen, the water can form puddles or freeze so you must be careful. After bigger rainstorms, some of the underpasses can be impassable (e.g., Route 60 especially--there is a side path that connects the trail but you need to cross a major road). The path gets multi-modal usage, from walkers, families, runners, horses, skiers, bicycles, to e-bikes. You can ride this with a road bike if you're confident but cross or gravel bikes are better but certainly not absolutely necessary. Nowadays we see fat-tire bikes, especially in winter, and e-bikes too. People are generally quite respectful of others. The trail is well marked and I recommend starting at Daniel Wright Woods or Old School Forest Preserve which are in southern Lake County. As others have said, going north from there keeps you in Lake County which does a great job of maintaining the trails.

Accordion

Pecatonica Prairie Trail

Local Bicycle Shop Support

December, 2022 by contact123

I live near this trail and its a great ride! It follows some of the best midwestern countryside you can ask for and runs along side the Winnebago County Forest Preserve Wetlands in Pecatonica.

There is also a local bike shop named The Bicycle Hub in Pecatonica on Main Street just 1 block from the trail. They offer full service bike repair and are also a retail store. You can feel confident that if anything happens on the trail this shop can help support you, even if its simply to share in your excitement of the ride!

Military Ridge State Trail

October Solo ride - Verona to Dodgeville and back with overnight stay

October, 2022 by djones223

Took advantage of the mild weather forecasted and did the ride I had put off all summer. The fall leaves were just beyond their peak but still quite colorful. The trail surface was good except for some sections between Ridgeway and Dodgeville that were rutty and sandy. Restrooms were still open in Mt Horeb, Barneveld, and Ridgeway.
Stopped at the Brix cidery in Mt Horeb for cider and an apple cider doughnut. Stayed overnight at the Pine Ridge motel in Dodgeville - clean, quiet and only a couple hundred yards from the trail.

Glacial Drumlin State Trail (Route of the Badger)

East to West starting in Glendale and ending in Madison

October, 2022 by martinaxe

I started out my ride from my home about 9 miles north of downtown Milwaukee where I caught "the Hank" and made my way west to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. I started out at 3:00 am, so it didn't really get light out until I got to about Wales. After that, I was on non-paved trail (my personal fav) for the rest of the ride to Madison. The trail is really very nice and mostly flat with a lot of varying landscapes. Since it's October, there were a ton of migrating birds and pretty good fall colors all along the trail, and I didn't see another human riding until I was about 5 hours into my trip near Lake Mills. The only thing keeping me from giving this trail 5 stars are the bridges, which are mostly bad. They do have a rubber strip running down the middle of them which helps, but they are still mostly bouncy and you have to deal with a 3-6" rise at the start of each of them. The west end of the trail was closed near Cottage Grove, and I had to take a detour on streets, which was fine. This is a highly recommended ride, especially during fall.

Hebron Trail

Nice trail for getting in a quick bike ride

October, 2022 by ktgranzow1

I had ridden the northern end of the Prairie trail & saw the sign forg the Hebron trail so decided one day to check it out. Rode from the Prairie Trail junction to the “trail end” at Lange Road & back again. About an hour round trip but that included stopping to take photos. It’s a well groomed trail, plenty wide for comfortable passing of others. West of Keystone Road crossing is pretty much straight & flat but scenery still varies.

Pecatonica Prairie Trail

Much Improved

September, 2022 by bazjkm2

It's been a while since I last rode the PPT so I was curious to see what had changed and if the reviews were accurate. Based on today's conditions (9/28/22), I'm happy to report that the trail has greatly improved since my last time on it. With one caveat - the part from the S. Meridian (Rockford) head to the WInnebago County line 1 mile west of Pecatonica is in great shape and very rideable for most people. West of that, towards Freeport, is a different story. More suited for ATV's than any bike. Not recommended. It's not developed at all and really isn't ready for any civilized biking. But, I got in 26 miles R/T on the part mentioned and on a perfect autumn day like today, it could not have been any better. I highly recommend you get out and enjoy it before winter arrives.

Des Plaines River Trail

south end not great

September, 2022 by william58

I started from the south entry point and only made it a few miles in before deciding to just take the roads back south. It hadn't rained for a few days and the bridge underpasses were still full of pooled water and soft mud. I don't even know if I'd ride through them on a mountain bike unless I was really looking to get nasty.

Sugar River State Trail

pretty trail

September, 2022 by mcsmith762

It's a pretty trail and nice and quiet, but not trike friendly. With two lanes separated by a grassy strip, I was always dragging one or two wheels through the grass so it was a bit of a rough ride and slow. The lanes are pretty smooth, so two-wheelers will not have a problem, but it's not a great ride for a recumbent trike

Oak Leaf Trail (Route of the Badger)

Extension to Bender Park Open but not yet ready for Use

September, 2022 by buehler868

The Milwaukee County Parks, Oak Leaf Trail webpage says the extension of the South Shore Line segment is open to Bender Park. It is not yet show on the TrailLink map. On my September 2022 trip up to the Oak Leaf Trail, to do the original South Shore Line and the Oak Creek Line, I decided to see what the new extension was like. Yes, it is open with routing signs in place and a creek bridge constructed. But the surface is made up of 1-inch sized crushed stone which is typically used as a base layer under asphalt pavement. Even though I have a gravel bike, from Drexel Ave I only made it down to Pennsylvania Ave and gave up the going further. It’s just too rough. I made the trip back using highways. I searched on the internet, and it seems that the funding grants describe a 2023 completion. I hope what is the case is the asphalt paving will be done in 2023.

Oak Leaf Trail (Route of the Badger)

Riding the Southeast Quadrant

September, 2022 by buehler868

On my third trip up to the Oak Leaf Trail I did what I call the Southeast Quadrant. I parked at Greenlawn Park and did the trail and spurs down to the Racine County line and up to Cupertino Park near the Lake Michigan Ferry. What I liked about this trip was the variety in the trail. Segments consisted of rails to trails (with powerlines), trail in parks, separate trails on arterial streets, the parkway roads, and rural highways. The long, southerly segment in the forest on the bluffs along Lake Michigan was the prettiest segment of my three trips on the Oak Leaf Trail. The north segment along Lake Michigan was closer to the water and gave a nice view of downtown Milwaukee.
One concern is the trail is being extended to Bender Park, which is popular but what about funding of maintenance of the trail that already exists? This section had some of the asphalt showing its age with the periodic shrinkage cracks giving that frequent bothersome bump. One hidden path bridge at the bottom of a hill had plywood covering over rotted deck boards, which at speed was very rough. But none of these maintenance issues should stop any one from coming to use the Oak Leaf Trail. I do recommend stopping at the coffee/ice cream store the trail parkway passes at Chicago Ave.
I am sure the rail to trail segment from Greenlawn Park was the former North Shore Interurban Line (to Chicago) that my folks took on their honeymoon to Milwaukee in 1944.

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