I'm not sure if there is a large WI contingent here, but I'll throw this question out there.
Being a gravel grinding virgin, I don't know of any particular roads in my area (Milwaukee) to get off pavement. I was told the Glacial Drumlin trail going from Dousman to Madison is mostly gravel but have yet to check it out. Beyond that, I don't know of any lengthy stretches in the SE section of the state.
Anybody have some info about routes within an hour or so of MKE?
Glacial Drumlin is great. I've ridden it from Lake Mills to Madison. Nice scenery and good surface. A good intro to smooth "gravel". There is a campground just south of the Lake Mills trailhead - showers at the Rail Station. The trail is paved closer to MKE. Come to the Driftless in SW Wisconsin for some great gravel travel. http://www.mapmyride.com/us/viroqua-wi/03-02-2010-route-14182566 This is a route we ride that's close to home(ours). Feel free to ask questions. Guide services may be available. :.))
Thanks for the info, RC! I was born in Viroqua so I know the area, altho it's been 30 years since I've spent much time there. I still have some connections to the area and get over there to fly fish once in a while. It's funny that when I think of gravel roads in WI, there are only two areas that pop into my mind.. around Viroqua and Hayward. I'll need to ride both areas soon!
Hornby Hollow and Rush Creek are the two main routes out and back. You are probably acquainted with them from fly fishing. We live just above Black Bottom. We also ride the Tainter Hollow area. Nice streams and beautiful ridge views. Come on down!!
I fish the Tainter pretty often, so I'm more familiar with that these days. But I'll keep a mental note of the others. There's a lot of great riding in that area, just like a lot of great fishing.
Some of the best mountain biking I ever experienced was in the bluffs near UW La Crosse overlooking the Mississippi, too.
Yup. According to Greg LeMond-a biker of some ability - :.) - the LaCrosse area is the best area for training in the country! And we now have great single track right here in Viroqua too. Think 20+ miles and counting. And another 10 in the Kickapoo Reserve. Great place to MTB and grovel in the gravel.
Out and back will get you 70 miles of pretty nice riding. It's mostly the typical rail trail surface.
I went to college in La Crosse. Spent time out near Coon Valley chasing trout, riding the HPT, riding and running up the bluff, but that's when I was just getting into riding, so I didn't explore out beyond that much. I love that area.
I think a good resource that you may want to check from time to time is Gravelmap. Our friends over there have created a pretty good resource for maps.
