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The Ahnapee State Trail in northeast Wisconsin provides a scenic nearly 52-mile journey between Sturgeon Bay and Kewaunee, featuring a tour of water bodies along the Door Peninsula.
The trail also overlaps with two sections of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (totaling about 17 miles): from Kewaunee to just shy of Luxemburg, and from Algoma on the shores of Lake Michigan to Sturgeon Bay. The Ice Age Trail is a 1,200-mile hiking route across the state and a National Scenic Trail.
About the Route
Trail users can start their journey at the northernmost trail endpoint in Sturgeon Bay, home to a variety of restaurants and cafés. The northernmost 11.5 miles to the town of Forestville traverse agricultural fields and forested areas. At Forestville Dam County Park, trail users will have access to parking, restrooms, and the first views of the Ahnapee River through the trees to the west. The trail follows the Ahnapee River south another 6.1 miles to the town of Algoma, where the river flows into Lake Michigan.
Trail users should note that south of Leeward St., there is another spur trail that leads north across the Bayview Bridge which leads to a secondary northern endpoint on the other side of Sturgeon Bay. The main route continues south.
The route detours briefly in Algoma to Navarino Street, where, to continue south, trail users must take several blocks on-road to the lakefront. Crescent Beach and its attractive boardwalk are located just farther south, along Lake Street. To bypass Algoma, make a sharp right turn to stay on the trail, just past Birch Street.
About 10.5 miles south of Algoma, just beyond Casco, trail users can detour west to the town of Luxemburg or head east along the Kewaunee River, which playfully disappears and reappears along the remaining 12.3 miles of trail. This segment of the trail features fields of sunflowers and apple orchards that sometimes shed their bounty on the trail (a favorite of horses).
Bruemmer Park, located just outside of Kewaunee, offers shady spots to rest and a small zoo, which is open from 7 a.m. to sunset year-round and offers free admission. As you reach the southern end of the trail, it curves north and splits, with one prong leading to Main Street, just above two marinas, and the other leading to the trail’s southern terminus where the Kewaunee River empties into Lake Michigan.
Here, a nearby old train depot has been converted into a public pavilion with parking. Explore the old clock tower on the depot for a piece of history or enjoy the lake and the various shops and restaurants that Kewaunee has to offer.
NOTE: Snowmobilers must display a snowmobile State Trail Pass. The Ahnapee State Trail is not open to ATV/UTV users. For more information, go to the State Trail Pass page on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.
Trail History
The Ahnapee State Park Trail follows the former corridor of the Ahnapee and Western Railway, which once served as an industrial link between Door, Brown, and Kewaunee Counties. The steam- and diesel-powered locomotives hauled dairy goods, cherry crops, and lumber until the early 1970s.
The Ahnapee State Park Trail runs between S Lansing Ave & Green Bay Rd (Sturgeon Bay) and Miller St & Milwaukee St (Kewaunee), with parking at either end.
Parking is also available at:
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
We rode from Sturgeon Bay to about 3 miles past Algoma, then into Algoma and back to Sturgeon Bay. This trail is very smooth and well maintained, passing through some beautiful countryside.
This is an awesome trail with tons of parking along the way. The segment from Algoma to sturgeon bay is maintained better but is also busier. The Algoma to Kewanee segment has more spots of grass vs gravel but is way less busier. Only thing that make this trail better is the upcoming fall colors!
Ahnapee State Trail (Sturgeon Bay to Algoma—32 miles RT) We rode this trail round trip from the Algoma end starting just about 7 miles outside of Algoma). The trail is listed as a combination of asphalt and crushed stone. This is a stretch—it is really mostly weeds with two single tracks of crushed stone. The only asphalt is at the surface transitions when crossing over roads. So not ideal for recumbent trikes but we managed to still enjoy the scenic ride despite conditions. It was a lovely day—almost cloudless with a pleasant breeze. We left the trailhead around 10:15AM. We stopped at the Forestville Dam Park for a health break and a few photos. The trail took us past rich marshland with huge cattails—just about ready to burst and spew their seeds, grassland, shady forests and small swamps. We spotted a few turtles in the swamp but got chased by some nasty biting flies so we hurried on. We stopped just shy of Sturgeon Bay where the trail ends and street riding begins—enjoying some well-deserved Lara Bars before heading back down the trail. We only encountered a few hikers and fellow bikers, so we had the trail mostly to ourselves with the exception of some busy Robins (I think), a great blue heron or two, a garter snake, chipmunk and rabbit. We returned to our car about 1:30 PM. The trail actually extends all the way into Algoma but it didn’t appear very interesting...especially since it runs through the more “industrial” part of the town.
we picked up the trail in Algoma and took it to Sturgeon Bay.. what a ride. We were lucky with almost perfect cloudy but warm day with sun showing up once in a while. Highly recommend it !!!
On day one, we rode from Algoma to Sturgeon Bay. There is a trail head in Algoma. Round trip was 35 miles. From Algoma, about 4 miles in, there is an outhouse building with pit toilets. We missed it on the way north, it is on the right. Approximately, 8 miles north there is a boat launch & park area with bathrooms. There is one more but I do not recall exactly how far north. My estimate it is about 10-12 miles north. You will see a wooden fence on your right, with a sign "rest room with an arrow pointing forward," We expected to see another directing us to the restroom but did not. The reason is that the sign was on a fence facing north, we didn't see it until the return trip. Riding north, you wouldn't expect the restrooms to be behind the wooden fence, as it appeared the fence was part of a large business on the other side. That being said, there are multiple stops for bathroom breaks along this route.
Near the end we saw a dog park, where they conveniently had an outhouse. We didn't go further to find the end of the trail as it required riding on a county road.
The trail is relatively flat with some minor grade changes. The surface is well maintained.
Our second day we rode from Algoma to Luxemburg, for a total of 33.75 miles round trip. We started at the Algoma Trailhead. The trail was rather grassy, with a small area on each side with crushed stone. It could use a bit of TLC and perhaps lots of grass/week kill, with only mild grade changes. The only porta potty is at the Casco Trailhead, about 12 miles in.
The third day we drove to the Casco Trailhead (traillink app doesn't have it listed in the description, you wouldn't necessarily know it was there.), and rode to Kewaunee for a total of 25.5 miles. The only porta potty is at the Casco Trailhead. We did not find the Kewaunee trailhead. The trail was clean and not grassy. Mild grade changes.
All total that is 94.25 miles round trip, for 47.12 in one direction.
Seniors enjoying riding Wisconsin Trails.
Just spent a few amazing days at Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay where we jumped on the Ahnapee Trail for a stunning ride on a beautiful day through stands of birch and pine woods. Path is well taken care of, mostly crushed pea gravel so it would be easy to ride a city or fat tire bike. Trail leads through wet lands and standing pools so could be a mosquito haven in the summer. Route passes through farm land and while it crosses a number of roads, we paused but did not need to come to a full stop because there wasn’t any traffic — trail also was not highly trafficked. There are pit toilets sponsored by various organizations about ever 5 miles or so and while this is also a snowmobile trail it looked like the snowmobile club (who also sponsors a section) came through and repaired the path so it was flat and nice for bikers. I imagine this trail would be gorgeous in the fall with the changing leaves.
Rode from Luxemburg to Kewaunee Fishery. After three days of rain the trail was dry. Most of trail is away from roads and beautiful. Had bonus to watch salmon swimming into fishery. Daughter was fascinated by the salmon.
Biked from Sturgeon Bay to the town of Algoma a little over 34 miles round trip. Absolutely beautiful day. The trail is mostly crushed limestone and mostly flat. Great for beginners. E-bikes would be fine on this trail. The town of Algoma is quaint and friendly and the views of the water and beach is lovely. Visit the Country Cupboard for some unique gifts and the super friendly owner, Katie. Saw turkeys, deer, and wild blueberry bushes, apple trees, and peach trees!! There’s a nice park for a stop in Forrestville with bathrooms. This was a great ride! Will do this trail Again!
Nice ride for the first warm day of the season. Did about 10 miles from Sturgeon Bay area to Forestville dam. Only saw 6 others...and 8 turtles lined up in the sun on a pond log. Trillium in full bloom.
We had a great day riding from Luxemburg to Kewaunee and back. Beautiful scenic ride and the surface was very good. Saw maybe 10 other people walking or riding bikes. Going back very soon to ride to Sturgeon Bay from Luxemburg.
Forestville to Algoma: Peaceful, relaxing ride through rural Wisconsin and the bridge offers a nice spot to stop and enjoy the view for a moment. I would have given this section of the trail 5stars, but the area near the marsh had high water due to the recent rains and the shoulders are softer much more to the middle of the road than expected.
I do have a previous review from 2016 but I wanted to add that we did a section starting in Kewaunee. The trail itself was wonderful once you get past the Bremmer Park Zoo. Surprisingly smooth given how other sections of the trail are not.
The trouble was, and this is informational for anyone planning to start out at the designated trail head on River Road, the trail is closed with a detour. I think because of the high river and lake level the trail may be flooded. We didn't think much of it and took the detour. Up a very long (about 1/2 mile) steep hill through a neighborhood. Then a few other side streets. Then down another steep long hill (3/4 mile), this one on a curving two lane highway (Hwy C) with almost no shoulder. And lots of fast moving vehicles. Very dangerous.
If you want to start near Kewaunee you are best off parking at the Bremmer Park Zoo, only a 5 minute ride from the official trail head.
We road this trail in 2 separate trips across the months of July and August: from Luxemburg to Kewanee and later, Luxemburg to Algoma. Both trips were 16 miles point to point for a total of two 32 mile round trips. A good portion of the trails are shady even with a high sun and we found both to be in good shape with no horse damage or washouts, ruts, animal holes, etc. Starting point in Luxemburg was the typical: "That's the parking lot?"
Luxemburg to Kewaunee - There is parking lot and Portolet about 4 miles outside of Luxemburg which can be a starting point for those less ambitious and near the north/south split to either the Kewaunee or Algoma leg. In Kewaunee, we got some passable brats from the gas station/store across from the clock tower trail head, and sat by the tug boat in the harbor. Looking at the map, we should have moved to the park further north on the lake shore, but now we know. Bruemmer park (water!) 4 miles west of Kewaunee is a nice shady spot to rest, but the "zoo" there needs some help.
The Luxemburg to Algoma leg was substantially weedier (and better marked) but the ground beneath was firm and smooth....so no big deal. In fact, riding on the weeds gave that eerie/stealthy "no sound" tire roll which is very cool. You could probably find some water/facilities in Casco which is not quite half way, but we did not stop. We much preferred the Algoma shore rail terminus as their lake shore/boardwalk is nicer. We got lunch at the A&W across the street.
We encountered scarcely a soul on either trail and both were typical Wisconsin farm, woods, river trails. We're not sure if we will do the northern part of this trail between Forestville and Sturgeon Bay as we are very found of the lake shore rest/turn-arounds and the distances from Luxemburg fit our trip odometer requirements. Both legs were pretty remote with almost no facilities (though some benches) along either leg so bring plenty of water.
We rode this on our cyclocross bikes from Sturgeon Bay to Cashton and back, around 54 miles. We have ridden almost all the rail trails in Wisconsin and this is a lovely one. It is a gravel trail and not suitable for road bikes. The trail was a bit weedy in places but easily traversed and the countryside was beautiful. The only reason I give this trail 4 stars instead of 5 is that the trail markers are small and somewhat confusing. We wound up lost in Algoma at one point because we couldn't figure out where the trail went. A map is highly advisable, as is careful attention to trail signs.
I have frequently ridden from Harold Reckelberg park for the past 4-5 years to Algoma & Kewaunee. I love the rural settings and solitude, but this year's rides have been too rough to enjoy on our Treks (700c x 35). Horses make the ride like cobblestone! Not sure if we'll try again later this season. Otherwise, these are my favorite trails to ride.
I rode the Ahnapee trail from S. Neenah Ave. & Wilson Rd. in Sturgeon Bay to Miller & Milwaukee Streets in Kewaunee. According to my computer the distance was 39.36 miles. Although there were thunderstorms the day before the trail was in excellent shape. Unsure of trail conditions I rode my mountain bike with 2 inch tires but would have had no trouble with a road bike with 25 mm tires. The trail apparently doesn't get much use. I only met six other riders, all before I reached Algoma. It's a very nice ride with terrain varying between woodland, wetlands, and farmland. However, bug spray is recommended. Carry water, facilities are limited. The Village Kitchen restaurant in Casco is recommended if hot food is desired along the trail; good food, friendly staff, excellent service, and homemade cherry pie that can't be beat.
Many reviews mention that the trail is rough in spots and I would need to agree. But I rode it from Algoma to Sturgeon Bay and back (44 miles) on a full carbon Specialized hybrid with 700 x 30 cc tires and had a great time. Yes, the areas where the horses ride are a bit rough but not that bad. My frame has built in zerts to dampen the vibration. Keep in mind the north end of the trail ends in the south side of Sturgeon Bay in an industrial park. From there you can ride into and around town, check out the bridges, boats, parks, and many good eateries. IMO doing this on a mountain bike would be exhausting, but this is definitely not a road bike trail. Gravel - CX - recommended.
I have just completed the entire trail in 4 round-trip segments - Casco to Algoma, Luxemburg to Kewaunee, Forestville to Algoma, and Sturgeon Bay to Forestville. This is a good trail that requires a hybrid or mountain bike - generally dry with a few wet areas (no puddles), and rough in some spots due to horses. Good rural and forest scenery. Saw lots of deer and sandhill cranes.
We've been working sections of the Ahnapee the past couple of summers. The weekend before Memorial day we did most of the section from Algoma to Casco. This is a great time to ride the Ahnapee, almost no one was on it.
The parking lot in Algoma is next to an industrial area and seems out of character considering most of the trail is through rural areas. By the way, Algoma is a neat little town worth spending some time in. I appreciate ozzythegr8's insights on this section of the trail. Much rougher than the Door County portions. If we didn't have mountain bikes some parts of the trail would have been really hard. I think the highlight was the Rio Creek Airport. Just a grass strip really, but we got see a guy testing out some home built looking plane up and down the run way.
One disappointing thing was the amount of horse droppings. Riders are supposed to clean up after their horses but evidently that's not always the case. So keep your eyes on the trail!
We rode from Luxemburg to Fish Creek on a bike packing trip. The Ahnapee was a great way to get from Luxemburg to Sturgeon Bay.
We rode mountain bikes (2.25" tires) fully loaded with camping gear and a trailer with no problem. I'd recommend a CX tire or better...not a roadie trail, but still a very nice gravel surface.
The trail provides quite a bit of shade early or late in the day. If your planning a stop along the route you'll need to make it in Kewaunee, Algoma, or Sturgeon Bay...not much else in between.
There were a FEW short stretches where there was some damage from horses as well as a few stretches with softer gravel, but all in all it was a great trail. The entire thing was pretty flat and fast.
I live in the area. These trails are used by a wide range of people. If you plan on biking it have correct gear this is not a road it is a trail. Great of biking with mountain bike not road bikes. You will meet horses and hikers on the trails. I have Schwinn mountain bike and I'm able to pull my 4yo daughter in a trailer no problem.
I rode the Ahnapee State Park Trail starting at the trail head in Kewaunee to Luxemburg 27 August. I did not ride the section the intersects Highway 42. The trail was in good shape along its entire length. Road bikes should have no trouble with this section of the trail. Trail heads in both Kewaunee and Luxemburg are well marked and easy to find.
Our family of 4 experienced bike riders rode the leg of the trail from Kewaunee to Luxemburg last week. Beautiful scenery, but extremely ROUGH and slow going. We had plans to ride the northern leg of the trail during our stay, but we were discouraged by the condition of the trail and changed our plans. If you have a mountain bike you would probably be fine, but we ride road bikes. When horses and bikes share the same trail, the bikers always loose.
About 5 miles into this trail (near a grain mill) the surface gets rough and bumpy as a result of horse hoof marks; unless new crushed gravel is going to be applied, I would skip this segment
I recently rode from Luxemburg, WI to Sturgeon Bay WI. What a ride. The trail was very nice and well marked in most places. I missed the turn from Algoma to Sturgeon Bay. It wasn't marked the best and then once in Sturgeon Bay the in town trail was terribly marked. I stopped at Fatzo's for a sandwich and headed home. I was disappointed I didn't get to the water at all. Over all this was a beautiful trail with many different forest types along with farmland. It was a long trail but well worth the sore butt! LOL
Rode this stretch from Luxemburg to Algoma on a beautiful Sunday. Trail is in great shape, except for the places where horse owners chose not to be responsible with their animals' droppings. The stretch from Casco to Algoma is basically uninhabited - so stock up on water! Had a great "all-you-care-to-eat" pancake breakfast at "Off The Hook Cafe" in Algoma. Very friendly owner and she really caters to bikers (will re-fill your water bottles, etc...) Great chance to re-load your carbs! Plan on exploring the other legs of this trail in the future.
"I rode this trail on 9/03/07 with my Scorpion Fx trike.
The Ahnappe Trail is a slow trail to ride because it consists mainly of crushed pea gravel. I found my average speed to be around 5-6 MPH. The trail is reasonably flat with a few grades here and there.
I found the best parking in Forestville at the county park. It's a nice size parking area with restroom facilities. To get to the park turn at the Uni-Mart station, go about 1/2 mile, and turn right at the bridge. You'll see a small sign nailed to a tree that say's co. park.
I rode the trail to the north going through the small village of Maplewood, and ending at the parking area on the other side of Cty Hwy S. There's a small portion of trail that goes beyond this point into Sturgeon Bay if you chose to do so.
This portion of the trail is 10 1/2 miles from Forestville to the parking area.
The trail was alive with butterfly's, grasshoppers, and the smell of fall in the air. You'll go through a small apple orchard to start with, then journey through deep woods, farmlands and finally a swamp area filled with cattails.
When I arrived back at Forestville I took the trail to the south to the town of Algoma, about 5 miles.
This part of the trail is somewhat rougher than the northern portion. There are more weeds growing in the middle of the trail, and the trail becomes more narrow at certain points. About 3-4 miles before Algoma you'll reach a wooden bridge which crosses the Ahnapee River. This is a good place to stretch, and enjoy the peaceful solitude of the surrounding area.
As you continue on you'll pass a rest room facility before you get to the parking area on the south end of the trail located on Hwy. M. The trail does go on another 9 1/2 miles south west to the village of Casco, but this is where it becomes tricky. You'll need to turn left out of the parking lot onto Hwy. M, and go about a half mile. You'll get to a stop sign at the juncture of M and Hwy. S. proceed straight onto
Hwy. S for another 1/4 of a mile, and you'll see the trail on the west side. This portion goes to Casco.
There's another big parking lot about 3 blocks east of this portion of the trail on Hwy. S if your inclined to start in Algoma. The total length of the trail is around 54 miles from Casco to Sturgeon Bay.
I enjoyed this trail immensely, and would highly recommend it. I found it to be very peaceful and relaxing, and quite scenic.
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"Yesterday, June 15,I started my trip from Algoma and went first to Sturgeon Bay and return. There is a detour leaving Algoma and city streets must be used for about a mile. I would also reccomend the use of streets in Algoma as the trail is in pretty rough shape leading to a from downtown. The trail is a nice mix of woods and open areas. There are trailside benches every couple of miles within Door County if you want to get out of the saddle for a spell. Sturgeon Bay was the highlight of the trip. Beautiful! I found some parts of the trail within the city in poor shape so I returned to the trial via Neenah Avenue from the waterfront. Back in Algoma I had lunch then went to Casco Junction and returned. Just out of Rio Creek crossing there is a ""Wind Farm"" with several big turbines to the north of th trail. Another highlight for me was finding a rusted whistle post still in place at Casco south of County Highway C. I noticed it on my return trip. It's rusted so much the ""W"" can't be read but I'm sure that's what it is. There is also the bridge over the Kewanee River between Casco and Casco Junction. It is my understanding this bridge washed out in the 1970's putting an end to railroad operations north of that point. The northern abutment is still the original cut stone but the south end has been filled with rock for the new bridge. I found a lot of loose gravel also in this section making pedeling a bit difficult. I had coverd 65.24 miles in a little less than seven hours."
"Much of this trail has received a new crushed limestone surface in the last four years. On the last day of September we rode our cross bicycles on the Algoma to Sturgeon Bay portion of the Ahnapee Trail.
Beginning in Algoma you can avoid the detour by parking at the lot near the campground on County Road S. Restrooms are available 100 yards or so down the trail. Heading north the trail is still a bit bumpy but it was well mowed. At the road where the Algoma Snowmobile Club maintenance ends and the Door Drifters Snowmobile Club picks up you will find the new crushed Limestone.
The horse owners continue to be irresponsible and do not always clean up after their animals (are they attempting to have the trail closed to horses?) but the trail surface is no longer pitted with hoof prints.
Enjoy a stop and the restrooms at the County Park at the Forestville Dam. Between there and Maplewood look for the Apple trees along the sides of the trail. The summer of 2004 was very hard on fruit trees but other years a refreshing snack would often be readily available laying on the trail.
We saw wild turkey and white tail deer the day we rode the trail. The new surface made the 34 mile round trip a fun challenge in the cool weather. In the past the trail surface has fallen into a state of disrepair and one year, in 1999, a ride in the mid summer heat made for a rather uncomfortable ride even only one way.
Enjoy Wisconsin’s Ahnapee Trail with your good bicycle."
"I decided to check out the trail after receiving a favorable update on the condition of the trail from the Kewanee County Recreation Department.
The trail surface has pea size gravel and is hard packed. It is in great condition for biking. On a beautiful Saturday in September I encountered 6 people in the 3 hours I spent on the trail.
The trail goes through farmland, arbors of trees, tiny towns and along the Ahnapee River. It is a lovely ride -- especially in the fall. Don't miss seeing the fish at the Dam in Forestville. "
"Here is one of the most bone headed, frustrating trails in Wisconsin. Well, not the trail itself but it's surface. Crushed gravel. They ain't kidding folks. It's like an old gravel road. Forget about biking on it. The scenery is great if you want to walk the 16 miles from Sturgeon Bay to Algoma. I guess the area doesn't care if folks with nice bikes and money in their pockets come and visit. Resurface this trail you FOOLS!"
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