Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Waukesha, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Late April Sunday in clear weather. Started at southern end as marked on Traillink map. There is no dedicated parking but on-street parking in surrounding residential neighborhood was without issues. Rode north to McHenry, 16 miles. Surface is newly or recently repaved and excellent, until you reach Pleasant Hill Road, then only fair, with expansion cracks every 50 60 feet, bumpy ride into McHenry but very doable. Generally pleasant, only partially shaded ride, but not the most picturesque.
2 issues around Crystal Lake, first, signage for on-road traverse of the town is inadequate in both directions. Going north, 2 blocks after crossing the railroad tracks, you have to jog East from Main Street 3 blocks to Glen Ave., then cross IL 176 onto Lorraine Dr. to reach the continuation of the trail into Sterne's Woods. Visa versa coming south. Second, be aware there are several short but steep climbs and descents going through Sterne's Woods. Seamless continuation onto Fox River trail at southern end.
It’s pretty scenic, especially with the leaf colors. Also pretty busy! There’s parking on both ends. A lot of the trail is grass, not even gravel. The spot where it’s asphalt is very minimal. It’s awesome you can stop and ride through Horicon Marsh! Lots of kitties on this trail ¿
Like all rails to trails, a good connector for locals but for bike touring, tedious. Boring, straight, only a few peeks of rolling farm land to catch your eye, when it wasn't on the trail - immediately in front of you. Sections of the trail are in jaw-jarring condition. Beware: with leaf litter you can not see the periodic holes, non existent bridge transitions, broken asphalt...you get idea. Sad that some entity can not repair these hazards. We def would not continue west, beyond Poplar Grove. Our bodies can't take it!
We rode about 23 miles round-trip from the Waukesha trailhead on Oct. 12. The asphalt is in pretty good condition, with just a few bumps. However, when we got to the big curve around what used to be a field east of Dousman, we discovered that the field is now a massive construction site, and the trail is closed indefinitely, with no posted detour. We don't take our tandem on roads, so we turned around at that point. I assume that the trail is open west of the construction site, but don't know exactly where.
We didn't ride on the western portion of the trail that day, but it's one of our favorites, especially the part where you bike across the lake.
New trail, is very smooth. Crossing streets is safe. Slight uphill grade west to east which makes return trip west easy!
There are several areas in which there are tire ruts and the trail is too narrow. Diffently not worth the daily fee of $5.00.
Good News! This Path Is Finally Going To Get Paved Soon, Between 2025 And 2026. I Can't Wait To See How This Path Turns Out, And I'm Ready For This Trail To Be Like The Kenosha County Bike Trail. I'm Glad They Are Doing This, Because I've Caught Several People Speeding On This Trail With Dirt Bikes, And I Think It's Annoying And Dangerous. The Signs Say No Equestrian, And Motorized Vehicles On The Trail, And People Don't Listen. Till This Day, People Still Ride These Motorized Vehicles On This Trail, Including The Waukegan Savanna Trail, Which Is Connected Right By The Trail Intersection In Beach Park, Right Next To The Lyons Woods Forest Preserve. Today, I Saw This One Person Speeding With A Dirt Bike On The Waukegan Savanna Trail, And I Was About To Film Him And Report Him To The Police. If I Catch More People Doing It, I Will Start Recording, And Reporting It To The Police, Because That Should Be Illegal. Overall, I Ride This Trail Often To Visit The Waukegan Airport, To Do A 10 Mile Round Trip Ride, Just Looking Forward To Seeing This Trail Paved, Hopefully In Spring 2025. Be Safe Guys!
Ran parts of this trail recently. Easy paved trail through wooded area. Some shade in early morning hours.
The water fountain noted on the map at Hillside Rd no longer exists. Looks like it was taken out.
Well maintained trail, no garbage or anything on the path! Was great for walking with a stroller there was one roughest patch we hit but that was it. Amazing views and a nice breeze from the water. Very active trail, pretty busy area.
I have ridden this from Brown Deer to just a bit past Port Washington and still need to do the whole thing. On the Soutern side where it starts its no different than say, Zipline or the Brown Deer connector. But once you start getting close to Cederburg, it starts to shine, with a dip in scenery when you transition through Grafton. Then the trail SHINES BRIGHT right into Port Washington. This and Bugline are probably my favorite rides in the greater Milwaukee area.
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