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Print Friendly MapThe description of the Green Circle Trail on the official site makes a unique boast: “All urban residents are within 10 minutes of the trail system, and yet, more than 80% of the Green Circle travels through secluded parks and natural areas.” This is the great appeal of this trail system: the fact that it offers trail users an escape from the hectic everyday urban experience while staying close to the city. The various trail segments are popular for biking and hiking among locals and visitors alike.
The Green Circle is the culmination of nearly three decades of mainly community-led efforts to create a comprehensive greenway system to crown Stevens Point. It’s the ideal medium to explore the history, culture and nature of the area. The 27-mile loop is made up of a dozen segments that weave through varied settings, from urban neighborhoods to out-of-the-way natural areas. In June 2022, a new section of the trail was built past the airport fence, along with direction signs to mark the route. On top of the primary loop, the Circle also provides access to a further 45 miles of regional trails, including the Tomorrow River State Trail.
Winding along the Wisconsin and Plover rivers, the Circle is the best way to get out and get in touch with nature. While on the trail, travelers will pass through forests, wetlands with boardwalks, prairie and experience stunning river views and postcard-perfect sunsets. Wildlife is plentiful, and there are good spots for birdwatching and nature photography.
The trail is about more than just transportation and recreation however. It is also cultural asset, recalling the history of the pioneer settlements and lumber-making that so long defined this area. Historic homes, old mills and rustic ruins harken to the town’s storied past along the greenway.
Whatever your reason for going outside, the Green Circle has it all.
Free parking, restrooms and other amenities are available at the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center, the headquarters of the Green Circle. It is located at 2419 North Point Dr, Stevens Point (the entrance is on North Point near I-39). The trail begins here, stretching just under a mile and a half through the reserve.
Parking is also available at the many parks and green spaces connected by the trail.
We biked the whole trail today and found it amazing! Trail takes you through a wide variety of natural areas including several opportunities to bike along the Wisconsin and Plover Rivers. Well worth the time to explore the entire trail!!
This trail system is awesome and will def be back when I can spend the whole day exploring all of them! It was pleasantly surprised to see it ran through the sculpture garden! Love that it passes by water and has boardwalks.
Great trail. Well marked. I will definitely be back to ride this one again soon!
This is a narrow trail with lots of meandering around trees through the woods. It is a well packed surface when on the trail itself. Be prepared to navigate challenging hills on a gravel surface. The only paved surface is when you are on city roads traveling between trails. We missed the loop that went over the river and ended up riding in the city more than we would have liked. We suspected the error and opened this apps map on a phone and were able to navigate to get back on the trail fairly easily. We rode the entire loop and came up with 22 miles.
While there may be restrooms near the trail, the trail itself isn't marked to indicate where they are. Don't expect all parking areas to include them, as they do not. We did see an outhouse in a picnic area adjacent to the trail, but I do not recall where that was.
As a board member of the Green Circle Trail, I just wanted everyone to know that the entire trail loop is open and in excellent condition as of July 2022. A new section of trail was routed around the airport fence in June. Just be sure to follow the newly installed direction signs; many apps will still have a map that shows the old section. Visit the Green Circle's official website at greencircletrail.org for more information and updated maps. Enjoy the trail!
At the Plover River trailhead, there are barriers up across the trail, with a “Road Construction” sign (it didn’t say “Road Closed”, so I went exploring, just to make certain it was not passable, you know-For Science). About 1/2-3/4 mile down, there’s a proper obstruction, a 10-12ft tall chain link fence with razor wire topping. So, that turned me back. Kind of a bummer, you could see the trail continuing on the other side, just begging you to do something truly stupid, haha. I hope to return one day and be able to traverse the whole loop; what I witnessed before the blockage was just lovely.
Loved the trail. So many places to rest. Beautiful parks. Marked very well. Awesome to be able to make a loop.
not a recumbent tryke trail, great for fat bike mountain bikes or hiking maybe, but I had to turn around after half a mile, already walked up two steep loose gravel hills
First time on this trail & it was great. Wildlife was plentiful and condition of trail was really good. Lots of twists & turns so meeting others can be a little tricky. A few road miles but sparsely traveled by cars. But the variety - boardwalks, asphalt, crushed rock, tree lined, urban, rivers, lakes - you name it & you probably see I on this trail. Great signage too … highly recommend.
We decided to do a bike ride and took the whole family. It is a great trail that offers something for everyone. The sections that run through the forest and near the water are amazing with great views. We saw deer, squirrels and rabbits. There is a fair amount of the loop that is on residential and back roads, with no marked bike lane (we call these death routes). Luckily, they were not not extremely busy with cars. To me, that was the only downside. The trails is marked really well, with signs always pointing you to the “Green Circle”
I just finished about half of the trail today and I was very impressed. I started at Iverson Park which has plenty of parking. The first segment was on city streets in Stevens Point going through a nice neighborhood . Very little traffic on the streets even for a Saturday afternoon. The trail was very well marked with plenty of signage. The trail then turns into a gravel path which was very well packed and smooth. It was actually less bumpy than the city streets. It was a very scenic ride along a river and through the pine trees. There were a moderate amount of hills. There were a couple of nice boardwalks across some wetlands which were very well kept and added an interesting change of scenery. I highly recommend this trail.
Nice trail, very well marked! Love to see these places.
Completed the entire 25 miles today. It was beautiful. First thought was it’s narrow and curvy on a lot of the trail. I biked it so I went slower than usual not knowing what lay ahead. Lots of road between the trails. Watch very carefully for the green circle signs tho. Many trails split off I had to backtrack twice. I enjoyed it and the scenery for the most part was beautiful.
We started at Schmeeckie visitor center which has plenty of parking, clean restrooms, a information center where you can pick up a free map. They also sell trail related items. We headed west through a sculpture park, on less traveled roads, in the woods and open areas. You pass quite a few nice lakes, rivers, creeks, stands of trees. The trail is well maintained. We biked all 27 miles and loved it. We would highly recommend this trail
I am a hiker and decided to do the circle trail within the larger loop. Took about 1 1/2 hours. While some parts of the trail were very picturesque too many parts were not especially on the east side of the river by the factories and houses. There are so many better trails in Wisconsin I will not waste my time again
We live an hour away from this trail and have driven past it many times, but never tried it. Finally decided to ride it two weeks ago. It is a great trail. Up and down hills, in the woods and wetlands, and through quiet neighborhoods, this trail has it all. It is about 30 miles around the whole trail. We added two extra trails that branch off of it (Hoover Road Trail and Heartland Trail) to make it around 44 miles. The trail is well marked and you won't have problems figuring out where to go. We ate downtown at The Wooden Chair and had an excellent lunch. They are only open from 7 to 2 so plan your ride accordingly. We plan on making this trail one of our yearly excursions because we enjoyed it so much.
We parked at the Schmeeckle Reserve off of Northpoint Dr. Nice parking, restrooms, filtered water and gift shop. We went west on the Green Circle from the reserve. Trail was well marked, beautiful, interesting and kept up. I am not a fan of riding in the street or crossing roads and this trail has both. However, I really enjoyed this trail and I am looking forward to riding it again. It took us around 2 1/2 hours (24 miles) and we did not do any of the spurs. We rode during the weekday. Really impressed with this reserve!
This is an amazing Trail that winds through Stevens Point. We use it multiple times weekly. If you are looking for biking walking running. You can do it all on this trail!
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