Find the top rated trails in Winona, 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.
The Great River Ridge State Trail runs for 13 miles between County Road 9 just north of Eyota and Third Street Southwest just north of Wabasha Street in the town of Plainview, which serves as the...
The Douglas-Cascade Trail extends 2 miles southeast towards downtown Rochester from the southern terminus of the Douglas State Trail. The paved trail, a portion of which follows the former Chicago...
One of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trail conversions, the 14.5-mile Red Cedar State Trail is built on the former corridor of the Red Cedar Junction railway, which served Knapp, Stout & Co. in the...
The Harmony–Preston Valley State Trail runs 18 miles on a north-south line between the town of Harmony and the Root River State Trail, which it meets between Lanesboro and Fountain. The paved trail is...
The Douglas State Trail occupies the railbed of the former Chicago Great Western Railway corridor between the cities of Rochester and Pine Island. Several of the concrete obelisk railroad mile markers...
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...
Along much of its route, the Root River State Trail follows the winding course of its namesake river for 42 miles through the Minnesota towns of Fountain, Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson, Rushford, and...
The La Crosse River valley provides level terrain through a rugged area of western Wisconsin for the La Crosse River State Trail. This screened-limestone rail-with-trail passes through farmland,...
The 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
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...
The Douglas-Cascade Trail extends 2 miles southeast towards downtown Rochester from the southern terminus of the Douglas State Trail. The paved trail, a portion of which follows the former Chicago...
The Douglas State Trail occupies the railbed of the former Chicago Great Western Railway corridor between the cities of Rochester and Pine Island. Several of the concrete obelisk railroad mile markers...
One of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trail conversions, the 14.5-mile Red Cedar State Trail is built on the former corridor of the Red Cedar Junction railway, which served Knapp, Stout & Co. in the...
The Great River Ridge State Trail runs for 13 miles between County Road 9 just north of Eyota and Third Street Southwest just north of Wabasha Street in the town of Plainview, which serves as the...
The Great River State Trail is named for the Mississippi River, but Ol’ Man River stays mostly out of sight if you follow this 24-mile trail through river marshes, wildlife preserves, hardwood...
The 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
The Harmony–Preston Valley State Trail runs 18 miles on a north-south line between the town of Harmony and the Root River State Trail, which it meets between Lanesboro and Fountain. The paved trail is...
Along much of its route, the Root River State Trail follows the winding course of its namesake river for 42 miles through the Minnesota towns of Fountain, Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson, Rushford, and...
The Buffalo River State Trail connects the towns of Fairchild and Mondovi along US 10 in scenic central Wisconsin. Although the rail-trail closely follows the Buffalo River, the winding waterway is...
The La Crosse River valley provides level terrain through a rugged area of western Wisconsin for the La Crosse River State Trail. This screened-limestone rail-with-trail passes through farmland,...
Along much of its route, the Root River State Trail follows the winding course of its namesake river for 42 miles through the Minnesota towns of Fountain, Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson, Rushford, and...
The Douglas State Trail occupies the railbed of the former Chicago Great Western Railway corridor between the cities of Rochester and Pine Island. Several of the concrete obelisk railroad mile markers...
The Harmony–Preston Valley State Trail runs 18 miles on a north-south line between the town of Harmony and the Root River State Trail, which it meets between Lanesboro and Fountain. The paved trail is...
The Douglas-Cascade Trail extends 2 miles southeast towards downtown Rochester from the southern terminus of the Douglas State Trail. The paved trail, a portion of which follows the former Chicago...
The Great River Ridge State Trail runs for 13 miles between County Road 9 just north of Eyota and Third Street Southwest just north of Wabasha Street in the town of Plainview, which serves as the...
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...
The La Crosse River valley provides level terrain through a rugged area of western Wisconsin for the La Crosse River State Trail. This screened-limestone rail-with-trail passes through farmland,...
The 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
The Great River State Trail is named for the Mississippi River, but Ol’ Man River stays mostly out of sight if you follow this 24-mile trail through river marshes, wildlife preserves, hardwood...
One of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trail conversions, the 14.5-mile Red Cedar State Trail is built on the former corridor of the Red Cedar Junction railway, which served Knapp, Stout & Co. in the...
The Buffalo River State Trail connects the towns of Fairchild and Mondovi along US 10 in scenic central Wisconsin. Although the rail-trail closely follows the Buffalo River, the winding waterway is...
This trail is NOT for bicycles - it has been used almost exclusively by ATV's and snowmobiles and is not maintained for bicycle use. The dirt or base is deep and heavy - a huge disappointment! There are also dog sled teams training on this trail - so it's full of dog poop. Wouldn't call this a bicycle trail by ANY stretch of the imagination.
This was my 5th trail on my bike trip between Mankato to Wisconsin Dells. If you use this trail from Elroy to Sparta, it is good. But if you start from Sparta to Elroy, It would be hard for you. Because the surface is little bit slightly up and you have to pedal during 80% of the trail. Hence the reason, you can`t enoy the nature. You always struggle with your pedal and breath. Plus not recommended at rainy weather. It is already gravel surface and you dont want to ride on soft clay. It gives you extra trouble. Still worth to see just the sake for tunnels. Btw Tunnel 3 surface needs to be fixed. It has been eroded by water leaking from ceiling.
This trail was our 3rd trail between Mankato,MN to Wisconsin Dells,WI. We used it from beginning to the end. When we started in Marshland Access, the trail was closed. We had no idea why it was closed. After a mile we saw a puddle on trail and we passed it. Half mile further we saw another puddle and passed it too. It was not a big deal. But after half mile we saw that river was flooded. We already made 160 miles from Mankato and did not want to give up. We passed the flooded river by walking with our bikes. The water was on our hips and pushing us away. It was the unforgettable moment. We enjoyed it. After that finally we got into real trail. It was in the wood. The surface is gravel and crushed stone. Also covered with alot of branches. This trail could be top if it was asphalt but with this bad surface , the rank will be always down. Just scenic.. Not really good for bikers. Maybe snowmobile or skiing would be the best choice for this trail.
My wife and I rode the trail at the end of July 2016 and encountered no issues. In fact, we had an awesome ride and the little bar/restaurant in Rockland was very welcoming. The active rail line makes it even more special.
Rode from Onalaska to Trempealeau on a gorgeous late fall day. It was very quiet and peaceful, lots of pretty marshland. One of the bridges was super neat. The trail was in better shape than others have reviewed- fine for a hybrid bike pulling a puppy in a bike trailer.
Went from Trembeleau to past Lytles Landing (the long Black River Bridge). About 12.2 miles round trip. This section of the trail, while a little rough and frequent broken branch fragments, was not as bad condition as others have described in their reviews. I probably wouldn't want to ride it with one of those skinny tired bikes. Was very peaceful, not many bikers (maybe the trail conditions keep them away). There is a nice spur to an overlook platform with telescope to scan a large backwaters area.
I would definitely go to this trail again, interested in trying out other segments.
Only complaint and advice to others is to buy your passes (if you don't have an annual pass already) ahead of time. There is not a self-pay station at either parking lot trailhead (neither end of the leg we did). We got our bikes off, rode over to the post that we thought would have self-pay, only to read it tells you locations of businesses in Trembeleau and somewhere else you can buy a pass. Fortunately one gas station is only a short jaunt back into Trembeleau. I can only guess that there is a lack of funding for someone to come and empty the payboxes regularly.
Went on a 2-day ride the first weekend in October. Started in Wilton and went east to Sparta on Saturday (about 40 miles) and west to Elroy on Sunday (about 30 miles). The 3 tunnels are really cool. The grades are not steep. It's a great trail for casual or beginner riders!! Already looking forward to riding it again next year!!
I first rode this trail around 1990 and have been back at least 3 times since then, more or less evenly spaced over the last 25 years. In my opinion, the granddaddy of all rail-trails is still worthy of "bucket list" status.
I was surprised to read the strong negative opinions about trail maintenance posted here. Unless my memory is failing, the condition of the trail has not changed a great deal over that period, but neither does it live up to current standards in trail construction. Rather than deteriorating much, time has overtaken it.
I rode west-to-east from the depot in Sparta to the Elroy Commons, and met my ride there. This adds a little on each end of the official trail, making an even 34 miles. Hypothetically I had a 194' elevation gain going that way, but you go uphill to each tunnel and downhill afterward, and prevailing winds are usually from the west.
The trail from Elroy to Kendall is flat, level, and has the newest surface. The remainder west to Sparta is more hard-packed dirt than stone, with small but manageable bumps and ruts, and a very few bigger ruts to watch out for. Par for the course when you ride stone trails. It was dry when I rode, so I don't know if the trail becomes slippery in a rainshower.
Regardless of the weather you will get wet in the tunnels, although they are not particularly cold. The first one traveling east is the longest and wettest. And the suggestion to bring a light is best heeded. Walking straight down the middle of the trail without one in the two shorter tunnels is just barely possible if you look carefully at each wall (I tried it), but in the long tunnel there's no way to stay centered without help. If you lose your way and drift too close to a wall, you or your bike will fall into the gutter where water drains out of the tunnel. Riding through the tunnels with a bright light is possible, but I wouldn't risk running into the back of someone walking without a light. Been there, almost done that on another trail years ago.
Scenery is typical Wisconsin rolling farmland, which is nice but the tunnels are the main attraction. There are stops in communities along the way; the young woman at the Kendall depot was very friendly; they sell snacks & T-shirts along with trail passes. Sparta depot was open when I started my ride, and Elroy Commons has not only the concession sales, but also showers. It's a great amenity if you park there on a hot summer day and have a long drive to your next destination.
$5 to ride an historic trail is not bad, and it seems more worthwhile than paying that much in tolls to drive around Chicago or on the Turnpike to access one of the very nice "free" Pennsylvania rail trails. And you can fill out your weekend with a ride on one of Minnesota's paved and mostly free trails!
Not really a bike trail, so much as two tire tracks. Grass is overgrowing the trail, and the tracks are muddy and rutted in many places. bridges are getting pretty rough too.
As several other comments have noted, the trail is really getting to be in rough shape. It's apparent that nothing has been done to keep up the surface. It's getting overgrown, and rutted. Why Wisconsin requires everyone to pay $5 to ride it, and spends nothing on maintenance is beyond me. These trails are a gem, but are being left to deteriorate by the state. Shameful.
We live in the Preston area and moved here due to my husband's love of flyfishing. The Root River trail runs along the Root, but also along Camp Creek by Preston. It's lovely to walk or bike these trails, but those of you who like to fish can find some fairly good access to the streams as well!
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