Bike 4 Trails of Wisconsin
07-07-12, 10:07 AM
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Bike 4 Trails of Wisconsin
Has anyone done the Bike 4 Trails of Wisconsin recently? Those being the Great River Trail, the LaCrosse River Trail, the Elroy-Sparta Trail, and the 400 trail. Just curious for those that ridden the trails, if you were to try and add a hundred miles or more to that trail system for a week long tour, what would be your route? As always, thanks for your input.
07-07-12, 11:16 AM
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Start in Reedsburg, and when the trail ends near Trempealeau, continue on the Great River Road north to Prescott, WI.
https://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/...oot/grrmap.htm
https://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/...oot/grrmap.htm
Last edited by dannwilliams; 07-07-12 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Added link
07-07-12, 12:21 PM
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Its been a long time since I've been there. Only the Elroy-Sparta and LaCrosse River Trail were there when I was last there in the 1970s. Two alternatives I would suggest.
!. The area has lots of good county roads with little traffic and even some of the major highways have good shoulders. I would suggest you plan out a loop that returns to Reedsburg via roads or lops around and picks up the Omaha Trail at Camp Douglas and return along the 400 trail to Reedsburg. You can check the sections of major highways for shoulders in Google map
2. The other alternative few people consider, but I have always found enjoyable, is to do a round trip on the trails. The view is different traveling the other way and since you know the trails a bit you can plan stops at places you might have wished you would have had time to stop on the way out.
!. The area has lots of good county roads with little traffic and even some of the major highways have good shoulders. I would suggest you plan out a loop that returns to Reedsburg via roads or lops around and picks up the Omaha Trail at Camp Douglas and return along the 400 trail to Reedsburg. You can check the sections of major highways for shoulders in Google map
2. The other alternative few people consider, but I have always found enjoyable, is to do a round trip on the trails. The view is different traveling the other way and since you know the trails a bit you can plan stops at places you might have wished you would have had time to stop on the way out.
07-11-12, 09:03 AM
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A tour I have done a few times is to start in Madison and ride to Devils Lake to camp. Then Devils Lake to Reedsburg to the rail trails. There is some traffic on Hwy 33 to Reedsburg, but the bike maps from the Bike Federation of Wisconsin can get you on some very low traffic town and county roads.
08-22-12, 09:13 PM
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I am a Madison native who now lives in Seattle.
Leave Madison on the west side through Middleton, following the bike path on Highway 12 until you get to the Lodi-Springfield road. It is a minor country road with a very smooth surface. Take that road to Lodi, then get the Merrimac ferry on Highway 113 and you are almost at Devil's Lake. The South Shore of Devil's Lake is much prettier than the north shore.
I am in New Jersey right now, on day 75 of a trip that began in Seattle. I rode from LaCrosse to Madison via these rail trails. I would recommend the nearby Root River Trail in Minnesota to extend your trip almost to Rochester, Minnesota.
Howard
Leave Madison on the west side through Middleton, following the bike path on Highway 12 until you get to the Lodi-Springfield road. It is a minor country road with a very smooth surface. Take that road to Lodi, then get the Merrimac ferry on Highway 113 and you are almost at Devil's Lake. The South Shore of Devil's Lake is much prettier than the north shore.
I am in New Jersey right now, on day 75 of a trip that began in Seattle. I rode from LaCrosse to Madison via these rail trails. I would recommend the nearby Root River Trail in Minnesota to extend your trip almost to Rochester, Minnesota.
Howard
