Find the top rated walking trails in Fort Atkinson, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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 Starkweather Creek Path traces the waterway north from the Capital City State Trail through Madison’s eastern neighborhoods of Starkweather, Worthington Park, Eken Park and Carpenter-Ridgeway. The...
The H.U.M. Trail (a.k.a. the Huntley-Union-Marengo Trail) was planned to link all three of its namesake northern Illinois towns, but so far only connects Marengo and Union. Interestingly, the...
Built on a former rail bed dating back to the 1850s, the Stone Bridge Trail provides a crushed limestone pathway through rural countryside. A highlight of the trail is passage on Stone Bridge over 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 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 paved trail running through Nick Saelens Memorial Park is a pretty one, with a loop around a small pond and much of it following a tree-lined creek. The park is nestled in the Village of Durand in...
The Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...
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 Hidden Oaks Trail is a piece of Middleton's expanding shared use path system. It peels off from the North Fork Trail and heads east, passing the Capitol Ice Arena, into the Hinrich's Family Farm...
The Stone Mill Trail runs between Lawrence Road in Harvard and Maxon Road in Chemung. The 1.5-mile, paved trail mostly parallels County Highway 17 (Ramer Road) and active railroad tracks, and will...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In the Village of Roscoe, a paved path of just over a mile parallels Main Street (which becomes Frontage Road) and then continues along the south side of McDonald Road, a quiet residential street....
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 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...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels 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...
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The South Fork Trail is a multipurpose recreation path in the City of Middleton, a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. It winds east to west, from beneath US-12/14 to the Pleasant View Golf Course. The...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
The Charles Street Community Path offers a neighborhood route through southeastern Rockford, connecting residents to CherryVale Mall on its eastern end. On its western end, Alpine Park is just north...
The Hidden Oaks Trail is a piece of Middleton's expanding shared use path system. It peels off from the North Fork Trail and heads east, passing the Capitol Ice Arena, into the Hinrich's Family Farm...
The Willow Creek Path is a pleasant, tree-lined trail that follows its namesake creek for most of its journey through the communities of Machesney Park and Loves Park in the Rockford metropolitan...
Helping to extend the excellent network of trails around the city of Racine deeper west into the heart of the county, the Racine County Bike Trail serves as a disconnected addition to the...
If you’re looking for an invigorating motorized-trail experience, the Cheese Country Recreation Trail (aka the Tri-County Trail) won’t disappoint. If you’re on foot, hoof, or self-propelled two...
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 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...
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...
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 Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to 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 Rote Road Multi-Use Path offers a paved route along the south side of Rote Road in eastern Rockford. It travels for nearly a mile, providing access to neighborhoods, businesses, and the Aldeen...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
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...
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...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
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...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
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...
Swanson Park Recreation Path is sometimes known as the Cherry Valley Path as it's located in the Village of Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The paved path travels...
Janesville's Spring Brook Trail provides an important non-motorized route to many of the city's popular recreational amenities. The pathway begins just off the eastern terminus of the Rock River...
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The Wolf Run Trail supports a wide variety of users on its two miles of crushed gravel, situated on the outskirts of Mazomanie in northwestern Dane County. Heading southeast from the charming...
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 Willow Creek Path is a pleasant, tree-lined trail that follows its namesake creek for most of its journey through the communities of Machesney Park and Loves Park in the Rockford metropolitan...
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 Mel Anderson Memorial Path, named for a long-serving alderman of the Seventh Ward, stretches nearly 3 miles, connecting Lockwood Park, Searls Park, Bressler Park and Talcott-Page Park. Mid-way,...
The Perryville Path runs nearly 7 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State...
The Starkweather Creek Path traces the waterway north from the Capital City State Trail through Madison’s eastern neighborhoods of Starkweather, Worthington Park, Eken Park and Carpenter-Ridgeway. The...
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 Duck Lake Nature Area Trail follows the southern side of Lake Como between Lake Geneva and Como, Wisconsin, not far from the Illinois state line. The trail is more rustic than most rail-trails and...
The Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...
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...
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...
The Deming Way Trail is a recreational path along Pheasant Branch in Middleton, Wisconsin. The two-lane trail accommodates walkers, joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists. Though short, the trail connects...
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...
Really nice trail to walk or ride bikes. Good place to take your dog for long walks. Many access points. Even has an access point to Miller Park for bikers or trail hikers. Just wish they had a few trash receptacles every mile or so. Maybe then more people would pick up after their pooches.
Rode the SRT from Broadhead to New Glarus on Friday 10/25. Great scenic trail but some maintenance is needed, passed four down trees blocking the trail. Also some holes made by some critters you would not want to hit. Most of the mile markers were gone.
I have been riding this trail for 10 years now and it is awesome. I ride a MTB and a drop bar gravel bike and both are well suited for any conditions on this trail. I personally love to ride thru mud and water...it's just plain fun as is this trail.
This paved trail is a short (3 mile) north-south connector between two more prominent east-west rail trails -- the Lake Country Trail and the Glacial Drumlin State Trail. The route in its entirety parallels Cushing Park Road, running for more than a mile along the western edge of Lapham Peak State Park and Evans Prairie, where views of prairie grasses and wildflowers can be enjoyed by passing bikers and hikers. Elevation changes over the gently rolling terrain are easy to negotiate.
I returned on one of those great Midwestern fall days to complete the portion of the Glacial River Trail south of Jefferson. I found the few miles that were in-fact a former railroad. The rest of the trail is in the WI-26 freeway corridor or on rural roads and city streets, but the trail is all paved.
The city of Fort Atkinson is very attractive with trail amenities including public art. I again found that the TrailLink map was a necessity as the signage on the tail is sparse.
My only negative is there is no need to do the on-highway portion south of N Wright Rd unless you want to continue to the connection to the Spring Brook Trail that will take you into Janesville.
For an out and back trip consider places where you can use the parallel old WI-26 for a different landscape view.
Plenty of space to park stock trailer in gravel lot on Lake Shore Rd Clinton. Cute little covered bridge in small park with picnic tables was the start of my mule ride. There were trash receptacles, handicap accessible restroom & a wood post hitching rail. Many "sponsored" rest spots with wooden benches, picnic tables & some had roofs along the flat trail. Trail bed is wide, flat & firm as small crushed gravel & grass base. Views of plant/tree farm & rural properties after brief bit of SE side of Clinton. Mileage markers. Several blacktop road crossings. Easy, well-groomed trail. Small gravel lot at east end with trail map on kiosk. For lunch at Boar's Nest Bar ride Hill St (right uphill), stay right on Clinton St, quick Left along west side of the Park 1 block to stop sign Cty X. Ride directly across Cty X then straight across grass to cable picket line.
I-43 runs parallel to trail. Loud traffic but distance kept equines from becoming unnerved 🙂 Met a jogger, a hiker with a leashed dog on trail & 2 bicyclists at covered bridge. All were respectful of equines.
If you are looking to take it easy and just go for a nice ride this is it. Smooth and simple. Very well maintained.
The Glacial River Trail in the Rock River valley is untypical for Wisconsin state trails in that it is entirely paved and not a rail-to-trail. It has a great mix of segments in the WI-26 freeway corridor, city streets and rural roads, with some good grades. I did the north part of the trail from Jefferson to the junction with the Wild Goose State Trail. There are no services provided by the trail owner, but the trail is free to use. The signage for the trail-turns is minimal so the Trail-Link map downloaded on your smart phone is a must. I especially enjoyed my ride thru the river towns of Jefferson, Johnson Creek and Watertown, where I took the time to ride around the downtowns. I will come back someday to do the south portion.
We got on the trail at Lacy Street in Verona/Fitchburg WI. The trail was paved and in great shape at that point. Cyclists were using it as a commuter trail and there were several people out walking and running. The trail turned into non-paved surface and that is where we dismounted to pay the fee of $5. Oh my, what can I say. The trail is NOT crushed limestone. At places it appeared to be an abandoned trail except for the path made by a bicycle tire. It was a muddy, sticky mess. I had checked ahead of time and found out the Stewart Tunnel was closed, which saved us back tracking since there wasn't a sign indicating the tunnel was closed. We detoured onto Tunnel Rd and took various paved roads into New Glarus. The best part of the trail was the Monroe WI segment. There was a detour off of the trail as we were coming into town. Very good signage directing us through the road construction area. There was a very nice trailhead with a drinking fountain and restrooms as you came into town from the north. We continued to the downtown area and decided to take a break and headed to the Dairy Queen by exiting the trail at 5th Street and riding to 8th Street. It was a challenge to cross the street but it was during lunch hour. As we headed out of Monroe there was an area of very loose gravel vs crushed limestone. An inexperienced rider might have wrecked. The rest of the trail was not maintained until it connected with the Jane Adams Trail. It was is good shape into Freeport IL.
Parked at Cottage Grove today and biked out 23 miles and then back to car. It was annoying that we both paid our 5 dollars and then visited the rest room. No toilet paper in mens or women's and both stalls in women's were smeared with feces. Nice surface on trail. Not enough benches. This trail would definitely not qualify as a national rail trail.
I grabbed the trail north of Janesville on my road bike. Crossed the bridge over the highway and did about a mile on the county road before winding through a new housing development and finding the actual trail. It's in great shape, lots of gentle rolling hills and a couple of roundabouts but not a single person anywhere along the trail. I rode to Milton and most of the trail parallels the highway so it's loud on one side but beautiful and agricultural on the other side. I saw hawks and finches and no humans of any kind. It was pretty sweet. I only gave it 4 stars because of the highway driving . Otherwise it's a 5-star paved trail.
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