This may be one of the best lists of "local" off-road locations for Dane County cyclists, while at the same time being rather pathetic. It can only improve, though.

Last updated July 11, 1998.

Last updated March, 2001.

• Dane County
  • Area 25.5
  • Badger Prairie County Park
  • Blackhawk Ski Club
  • Devil's Head Resort
  • Quarry Park
• Further Afield
  • Chequamegon
  • Nicolet National Forest
  • Governor Dodge State Park
  • Kettle Moraine
  • Levis Trow Mounds County Park
  • Nine-Mile Forest

This WORBA-built trail for WORBA members only is approximately 9/ miles long so far and growing. The trail is sometimes technical, but built to be sustainable - this is where WORBA tries out new trail-building techniques before using them on public lands. The trail is 10 minutes from Madison's west side. Where's the name from? Well, it's about half as secret as Area 51... meet WORBA members for their monthly meeting (third Monday of month at Alt'n'Bachs 7:00) to join and find out where this trail is.

Badger Prairie County Park	Verona

This WORBA built trail has been open for a few years. The park is located right off Verona Rd (first exit out of Madison, turn left at lights then immediately right). The trail is mostly open field, with quite a few hills and some singletrack in the woods by the water-tower. Most of the trail is not terribly technical, but fun. There is a county trail pass fee.

A non-profit association of folks who are interested in outdoor sports, with their own facility out on Black Hawk Road west of Middleton. A $200 membership gets full access for a family, and $50 gets you a non-tow membership-- which means all the mountain biking and nordic skiing you can eat. Rumor holds that WORBA membership earns a discount, but I'm uncertain of that.

Blackhawk Ski Club
c/o 2136 Van Hise Avenue
Madison WI 53706
608-233-4661

WORBA and Dane County recently added three miles of singletrack to this park. The easy ski-trail central loop has great views of the river and I always see hawks when there. The two sections of singletrack are intermediate-advanced, with tight corners and obstacles. There is a county trail pass fee.

As of June 17, 1995, Devil's Head Resort and Conference Center has a mountain bike center, including rentals and a 20K mountain bike trail. It costs $7.00/day for a trail pass. Info: 800-338-4579.

There's legal off-road riding in-town Madison. Located near Hoyt park, behind Whole Foods, this ride-to only bike park is small and technical. Local children (and adults) use a section for BMX style riding practice, other trails are more traditional. Singletrack is tight and steep, although all hills are short. If you remain on your bike for more then 5 minutes at a shot, you're doing well! This park is completely un-signed and un-patrolled. Please ride with care.

This isn't even close to being local, unless "within Wisconsin" counts as local, but it's too notable to leave off any list like this one, so we included it.

On April 4, 1995, Brian A. Blow said:

The Chequamegon forest area is really great for mountain biking. One of the routes uses the same trail as the American Birkebeiner cross country ski race. This is a wide trail (usually 15 feet or so) to accommodate a couple of thousand skiers.

I prefer the smaller areas to the east of the town of Cable on county road M. There are a couple of trailheads on the south side of the road between 3 and 10 miles east of town. About half of the trails are singletrack and the other half are on forest roads, which are essentially doubletrack. The surface is mostly packed dirt, with occasional sandy areas or rock.

There is a small bike shop near one of the trailheads for repairs or parts.

I think all of the trails are one-way (good idea for singletrack...) so that you really don't see that many other cyclists.

There are claimed to be 200 miles of trails maintained and signed with the support of the Chequamegon Mountain Biking Association (CHEMBA), a group of local merchants. And, each summer there is the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, which features a weekend packed with mountain bike races and other such fun-- and which sells out earlier each year.

• Nicolet North
• Anvil Trails
• Anvil National Recreation Trail

This trail is wide and uncrowded, yet passes through a wide variety of scenery (lakeshore, pine forest, meadow, hardwoods, etc). The trial is pretty long, and it's perfect for those who are fit enough for a longer trek but would rather stay away from the technical aspects (obstacles and tight singletrack). The hills are still there, and the trails at times are sandy or rocky. Please carry a map with you (avail. at trailhead) as legal biking trails are not always well marked. This trail system is accessible from Military Ridge Rails-to-Trails bikepath. Requires state trail pass.

The DNR provides this description of Governor Dodge State Park:

5,000 scenic acres of steep hills, bluffs, and deep valleys plus two lakes and a waterfall...

Greenbush and New Fane are two widely separated trails in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest (state trail pass required). Neither trial is terribly long - a couple miles per - nor is there much in the way of obstacles. The ski clubs that maintains these hilly trails for winter use like the cobblestones pried out so they can groom with little snow, and this makes for a very smooth ride. Some riders train here for races, but the numbers are pretty low so a slower rider will not be passed much, but those riding fast are often very fast.

On August 29, 1994, Laurel Koroncey said:

Kettle Moraine State Park has excellent trails ranging from super technical to downright silly. You can pick up maps to the different trails (and the difficulty ratings) at the Visitor Center.

I especially like the John Muir Trail, it cuts through all different types of terrain; grassy meadows, evergreen forest, thick brush, swampy vegetation, and the trail varies from hard packed dirt,to gravel,to grass to thick mud. In addition the the hills are pretty steep and there are lots of 'em. This trail kicked my ass and there are much more technical trails out there (but I can't remember the names).

I'm not too familiar with Wisconsin, but I think the Kettle Moraine is near Madison. If you're looking for a super technical challenge try riding down Halsted St. in Chicago during rush hour.

The DNR says this about the northern unit:

This 29,000-acre forest is a glacial panorama with rolling, wooded hills dotted with serene lakes. Info: 414-626-2116 M-F, 414-533-8322 weekends.

Resources:

• http://vms.www.uwplatt.edu/~paruch
• http://www.execpc.com/~jwamser/KettleSouth.html
• http://www.trailmonkey.com/virwi.htm

Not a trail for beginners. There is a ski-and-horse trail that is not difficult, and there are plenty of loops so you can head back to the car when tired, but the singletrack that Steve Muerrett has been building on the mounds, and more recently, west of them, is the tight, twisty, breathtaking paths that must have started out by chasing deer or turkey through the woods. Ride these trails, then thank Steve and his crew for building them- if you can catch them!

This is another easy-to-intermediate trail system. This trail system consists of a couple large ski trail loops (one of which drops into a swamp - be warned), and inside the loops is a network of incredible singletrack! It isn't long, it isn't hard climbing, but it is continuously up and down over whoop-de-doos. It's hard to keep your bearings, as you choose which branch of the singletrack to turn on every fifty yards or so, but all paths lead to the encompassing ski-trails, which will (eventually) bring you back to the trail head.

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