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Let me start by saying, we have ridden most of the rail trails in Wisconsin. This is a 5 star trail for scenery and surface. An easy 42 mile round trip due to the perfect pavement and flat nature of the trail. Particularly scenic from Jim Falls to Cornell.
I have to knock it down a star for two glaring omissions (especially for the stellar Wisconsin trail system).
1. As mentioned in other comments, there is no trail head at the south end. No parking, signage or anything. Very odd. We parked in a credit union parking lot at Park Ave, which is ok only when the credit union is closed. After starting north, i spotted a small lot just north of the Chippewa river on the east side that could be used. Further north just over the Lake Wissota bridge is a nice lot with a pay station. The trouble is you've already gone over the way cool bridge before you get there. So if you start north from this point you never see the bridge.
2. There are no public restrooms/outhouses on the entire trail. Not one. For a trail of this length, that is not a good thing. In Jim Falls there is a gas station right on the trail that caters to bikers, but you feel guilty if you just use their bathroom and don't buy anything. In Cornell there are several restaurants and ice cream shops that have bathrooms.
So, beautiful trail, just have a strong bladder.
We biked the Caryville to Durand part of this trail on September 1, 2017. The trees, rocks, river, animal and plant life is very lovely. The surface from Caryville 12 miles toward Durand is only arguably paved. If you have trail bikes, great. If you have thin-tired road bikes? They would likely sustain damage. Stick to Durand and no more than 7 miles in with a road bike.
I'll throw my 3 cents in and agree with the reviewers from the last couple years that the "chip seal" surface between the Red Cedar trail junction and Caryville is bumpy and potholed. I started at the Highway 85 rest area and got to ride a couple miles of nice smooth asphalt, which I expect continues into Eau Claire. But on my route west, the change to the "sort of paved" surface was sudden and unwelcome. Too bad, because the scenery is not unpleasant, it doesn't track right next to a highway, there are few road crossings of consequence, and no hills to worry about.
There are limited views of the Chippewa River, but those few stretches are particularly lovely. And a short side-trip up the Red Cedar trail brings you to a spectacular bridge over the river. I turned around here and returned for about 33 miles round-trip. The pavement at the junction became very good again and I think continues the last 7 miles to Durand, though it's been several years since I rode that section. The Red Cedar is well-packed stone. I've ridden that one often and would definitely choose that surface over the potholes.
This is probably my last ride on this trail unless it's completely repaved. Next time I'll do a round-trip from Durand to the Red Cedar and turn around at Downsville or so, for a more relaxing ride of 25 or 30 miles. No potholes to dodge.
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.
While I was on the vehicle traffic portion of this trail, I was nearly taken out by 2 different people on their cell phones. Same as with people on the trail talking on the phone!
It is a very nice trail to ride after the traffic has died down a bit. A very easy ride.
I like that it connects with Old Abe.
Thanks to everyone for the hard work keeping the trails clean and safe for everyone.
Biked a portion of the trail near Rce Lake, WI. We found the the surface to be mostly mud and vegetation making for a difficult ride. The tree canopy and vegetation was nice. Rode a total of 20 miles.
Road on 8/27/2016. Just beautiful along the river from Jim Falls to Cornell.
This trail is amazing , very peaceful and shaded even on hot days . Wide enough for me to bring the kids !!! One thing I do Wish is that they was parking at the end of the trail , the end is closer to me so I start there !!
We started our ride in Cornell. We followed the signs for parking and ended up in a large park. There was plenty of parking, but we couldn't figure out where the trail was located. We finally realized that we had driven under it, and just had to cross the street. A sign would have been helpful. We didn't know which direction was which, so we just went to our left. We ended up riding through the state park. It was a beautiful ride, but I would skip that part if I went back. Cornell also has 2 ice cream places. I highly recommend the "Main Scoop."
The trail is paved and one of the flattest rail-to-trails I've been on. Going out of Cornell, you pass through wooded areas with an occasional glimpse of the river. The Chippewa Falls end is a little more open and goes through some farming communities. The parking lot on the Chippewa Falls end is in the middle of nowhere. If you're planning a lunch trip, I would ride from Chippewa Falls to Cornell and eat lunch in Cornell.
The 10 mile or so portion between where this trail starts near downtown Eau Claire and Lake Hallie/Chippewa Falls is pretty void of scenery. Don’t come here if you want to view nature, only if you want to view industrial parks and traffic. Oh, and if you want a sunburn because you can’t escape the sun the entire trail. There is pretty much zero shade and no trees to block the headwinds. I think the rest of the Old Abe trail is okay from Chippewa Falls on to Cornell but this particular portion is boring, stinky and poorly marked. It just kind of “ended” at a field and there were ZERO signs that the trail cut off in Lake Hallie and picked back up elsewhere. Not everyone knows where the trails are especially people from out of town. I might be a little biased because I really don’t care for urban trails but maybe it shouldn’t feel so much like biking across every Nebraska industrial park strung together in the baking sun. There are far superior trails in Wisconsin such as the Elroy/Sparta, the 400 and the Red Cedar that still manage to give great scenery and still pass through cities.
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