Skip to main content

Wisconsin State Park Bike Trails

Wisconsin State Park System

Bicycle Trails

RESOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES WISCONSIN

biker
Biking in the Kettle Moraine Forest.

Wisconsin's many miles of trails and varied terrain make it an ideal place for bicycling. The League of American Bicyclists recently ranked Wisconsin No. 3 in the nation for bicycling.

There are more than one thousand miles of great off-road bicycling opportunities on public lands throughout Wisconsin. Below is a list of designated bicycle trails on Wisconsin DNR properties. There are three different kinds of experiences for bicyclists on Wisconsin's state trails:

  • Bicycle touring trails - Easier trails such as paved or limestone-surfaced former railroad corridors. Generally appropriate for all ability levels and bikes with skinny tires.
  • Off-road bicycle trails - Intermediate-level trails, often in the woods with a variety of surfacing, from native soil to wood chips. Appropriate for families with more adventurous riders and hybrid or mountain bikes.
  • Constructed mountain bike trails - Specially constructed, challenging, narrow-width trails built to the trail standards of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

Bicyclists can help do their part to minimize the spread of invasive species. This invasive species poster [PDF] can be downloaded and put up to alert bicyclists to the issue of invasive species and what they can do about it.

Winter bicycling (including fat biking) is allowed on all Wisconsin DNR trails otherwise open to bicycling unless the trail is a groomedcross-country ski trail or if the local unit of government operating the trail has made a decision, reflected in the property's master plan, to not allow winter bicycling (list of county-operated state trails [PDF] - see the "Trail Operator" column). The locations we're currently aware of where this is the case are Marathon County on the Mountain-Bay State Trail and in Portage and Waupaca County on the Tomorrow River State Trail. With other non-state bicycle trails, winter bicyclists should first check with the landowner or trail manager about access. For example, some snowmobile trails on county lands are not open to winter bicycling and most snowmobile trails on private land (the majority of Wisconsin snowmobile trails are located on private land) are not open to bicycling of any kind. Trespassing onto snowmobile trails on private lands can have negative consequences, such as closing down of legal trails for all trail users.

Bicycle touring trails

The following list includes state trails and trails two or more miles long in state parks, forests and wildlife areas. Some additional parks and forests have shorter connecting trails and many have low-traffic roads which also are good for bicycling. Most have limestone surfaces which pack down to make for good riding for skinny-tired as well as mountain bikes. Ride attentively—burrowing animals sometimes dig holes in the limestone. Click on the park, forest or trail name for more information.

A dollar sign ($) indicates that bikers age 16 and older must have a state trail pass.

Park, Forest or Trail NameMilesFeeSurface
400 State Trail 22 $ Limestone (7.5 miles have parallel horse trail)
Ahnapee State Trail 46 -- Limestone
Badger State Trail 40 $ Asphalt 6 miles, limestone 34 miles
Bearskin State Trail 18.3 $ Granite
Capital City State Trail 10 $ Asphalt
Chippewa River State Trail 26 $ Asphalt 10 miles, seal coat 10 miles
Elroy-Sparta State Trail 32.5 $ Limestone
Fox River State Trail 20 $ Asphalt 5.4 miles, limestone 8.6 miles
Gandy Dancer State Trail 47.3 $ Limestone
Glacial Drumlin State Trail 52 $ Asphalt 7.5 miles, limestone 41.5 miles
Great River State Trail 24 $ Limestone
Green Circle State Trail 24 -- Asphalt and granite
Hank Aaron State Trail 5 -- Asphalt
Hillsboro State Trail 4 $ Limestone
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit
Lake to Lake Trail
6.5 -- Limestone
La Crosse River State Trail 21 $ Limestone
Mascoutin Valley State Trail 19 -- Varies
Military Ridge State Trail 40 $ Asphalt 3 miles, limestone 38 miles
Mountain-Bay State Trail 89 $ Limestone
Oconto River State Trail 8 -- Limestone
Old Abe State Trail 20 $ Asphalt
Peninsula State Park 9 -- Limestone
Point Beach State Forest 5 (links to 8 miles outside forest) -- Limestone
Red Cedar State Trail 14.5 $ Limestone
Stower Seven Lakes State Trail 14 $ Limestone
Sugar River State Trail 23.5 $ Asphalt 1 mile, limestone 22.5 miles
Tomorrow River State Trail 18 $ Limestone
White River State Trail 11 $ Limestone
Wild Goose State Trail 32 -- Limestone (4.1 miles have parallel horse trail)
Wiouwash State Trail 35 $ Limestone

Off-road bicycle trails

These trails are often in the woods with a variety of surfacing, from native soil to wood chips and are appropriate for families with more adventurous riders and hybrid or mountain bikes. These trails are typically unsurfaced trails in state parks, forests or recreation areas or are on former rail lines.

Trails may be closed due to surface conditions. For more information, see our current conditions page or click the property name below for a phone number to call.

A dollar sign ($) indicates that bikers age 16 and older must have a state trail pass.

Park, Forest or TrailMiles of trailFee
Black River State Forest 32.7 $
Brule River State Forest 34 --
Buffalo River State Trail 36 $
Copper Falls State Park 8 --
Devil's Lake State Park 6 $
Flambeau River State Forest 15 --
Governor Dodge State Park 8 $
Hartman Creek State Park 2 $
High Cliff State Park 10 --
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Lapham Peak 5 --
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit 5.5 $
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit 21 $
Kohler-Andrae State Park 2.5 --
Lake Wissota State Park 11 --
Mirror Lake State Park 9 $
Newport State Park 15 --
Nicolet State Trail 28 --
Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest 471.5 $
Pecatonica State Trail 10 --
Peninsula State Park 12 $
Point Beach State Forest 4 --
Potawatomi State Park 8 --
Richard Bong State Recreation Area 12 $
Saunders State Trail 8 --
Tuscobia State Trail 65 --
Wild Rivers State Trail 104 --
Wyalusing State Park 7.5 --
Yellowstone Lake State Park 3 --

Constructed mountain bike trails

The Wisconsin State Park System currently has about 50 miles of constructed mountain bike trail. Trails are mostly singletrack (where riders need to ride single-file), although some are wide enough to be considered doubletrack.

Trails may be closed due to surface conditions. For more information, see our current conditions page or click the property name below for a phone number to call.

A dollar sign ($) indicates that bikers age 16 and older must have a state trail pass.

Park, Forest or TrailMiles of trailFee
Blue Mound State Park 10 $
Hartman Creek State Park 2.2 $
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit 9 $
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit 21 $
Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest 2 (mixed with non-constructed bike trails) $

Local bike clubs throughout the state also construct and maintain mountain bike trails in cooperation with land managers. In northern Wisconsin, the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association has developed a system of trails in and around the Chequamegon National Forest.

Last revised: Thursday April 30 2015