All Aboard! Ride the Elroy-Sparta Rail to Trail Bike Path.
Written: Feb 03 '05
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Pros: Unique bike trail with railroad tunnels. Peaceful, scenic countryside. Nice small towns.
Cons: Tunnels are wet, dark, cold.
The Bottom Line: The Elroy-Sparta State Trail is a great place for bicycling. Plan on spending a whole weekend in the area too!
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| trailhound's Full Review: Elroy-Sparta State Trail |
I enjoy bicycling in the summertime and am lucky to live in an area that has quite a few Rail to Trail bike paths. One of the oldest and also best Rail to Trail paths is the Elroy-Sparta State Trail in southwestern Wisconsin. This trail is unique and hugely popular because of the three train tunnels that cyclists must pass through while biking in the beautiful Wisconsin countryside. I visited here with a group of fifteen other people for a whole weekend in July of 2004.
Overview
The Elroy-Sparta Trail was originally part of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, which was constructed through this area in the 1870s. Old-fashioned steam engines chugged their way on this line for many decades.
Eventually, the line fell into disuse and was finally abandoned to the state in the 1960s. In an effort to spur tourism, the state ripped up the rails and laid down a bed of crushed limestone that was amenable to biking on. As they say, the rest is Rails to Trails history. Wisconsin now has over 1,000 miles of Rail to Trail lines!
Description
Basics
This trail runs for 32 miles (each way) through a gently rolling or level landscape. There is a cost for this trail of about $4/day. It’s called a "Trail Pass". The surrounding area is a mixture of forestland, fields, meadows, and very small towns. There are occasional rock outcroppings, streams, and ponds along the trail too.
The trail bed is crushed limestone, which is relatively easy to ride on. Since the path was designed for trains, the grades are gradual (maximum 3%) which makes pedaling up hill only modestly difficult. I biked the entire length of the trail twice over two days. Some of my friends continued on to connecting trails and ended up biking about 100 miles.
The Tunnels
There are three tunnels carved into the rolling hills, which are numbered #1,2,3. The longest tunnel is #3, which is a whopping ¾ mile long! You cannot ride through the tunnels - you have to get off and walk your bike through. Why can't you ride through? It is dark, it is cold and wet, and worst of all the trail bed is very uneven inside the tunnel. Somehow though it's all a lot of fun. I was surprised at how wet it was inside. There was a steady drip of water from the ceilings in spots. But it felt good after biking in the warm sun!
Some people had just parked vehicles nearby and walked up to the tunnels. Hiking is permitted, but we only saw about a dozen people walking the trail the whole weekend. There were literally hundreds of bicyclists on the trail, but we were usually spaced out enough so it was not crowded, except near the tunnel entrance ways.
Since it is so dark inside the tunnels you need a flashlight to see the ground in front of you and so people coming the other way in the tunnel can see you. I tried to be ingenious and brought a glow-stick, which I attached to by bike handlebars. While it helped others see me, it didn’t give off enough light to see the ground inside the tunnel. I had to walk my bike close to someone else so I didn’t trip or step on a rock.
The exterior of the tunnels has doors, which were used at one time to keep out ice and snow in the wintertime. Today they are just decorative. Near the longest tunnel there were crowds of people gathered around the entranceway taking photographs and hanging out. We soon joined in and volunteered to take pictures of whole groups of people too!
Towns along the trail
There are five small towns along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail. Each one has at least a public restroom. Most have a park area, a sheltered building, and businesses offering food, ice cream (yum!) and beverages. Trail passes for accessing the trail can be bought at depots or in local businesses. Campgrounds, Bed & Breakfast operations, and a few small motels can be found along the trail too.
Elroy (Pop. 1,500) is the easternmost town on the trail and is the official starting point. However, you can get onto the trail anywhere along the way. In Elroy there is ample parking and a visitor's center. There is a restroom building but they were closed for some reason on the day we visited.
Kendall is six miles to the west of Elroy and features a quaint depot with a historical museum. It's the official headquarters of the trail and is definitely worth stopping at. Three miles west of Kendall is Tunnel #1, which is just a few hundred yards long. However, there is a fairly long uphill climb to the tunnel from Kendall. Our experience was that this eastern end of the trail is significantly less crowded than the western end.
The third town is Wilton, at the 15 mile mark, where my group and I camped-out in a local park (Just $5/night!) The campsite is unaffiliated with the trail. The town is quite small with few amenities but is very quiet and peaceful. There is a restroom along the trail here.
From Wilton westward there are two tunnels and the two towns of Norwalk and Sparta. This stretch of the trail was noticeably more crowded but more scenic and hilly with rock outcroppings and nice views. In Norwalk (The Black Squirrel capital of America!), there was a village park right on the trail with water, restrooms, and a camping area. Some small restaurants were nearby.
The longest stretch of trail, 11 miles long, was between Norwalk and Sparta. This segment has the long Tunnel#3 and includes a very long downward grade from the tunnel into Sparta. There was a nice depot with brochures, restrooms, and beverages at the trail's terminus in Sparta. There is also a bicycle repair shop and a sculpture of a giant old-fashioned bicycle, which I somehow forgot to photograph. Numerous eating establishments can be found throughout Sparta.
Connecting trails
In Elroy, where the Elroy-Sparta Trail starts, you can connect to the two other trails. The Omaha Trail runs 13 miles northward to Camp Douglas, WI. And the 400 State Trail runs southward for about 22 miles to Reedsburg.
On the western end of the Elroy-Sparta Trail you can connect to the 21-mile La Crosse River State Trail to Medary. From Medary another trail, the Great River State Trail, which has 18 bridge crossings, continues on for another 24 miles to the Mississippi River.
Overall
I was surprised to see a wide variety of people on the Elroy-Sparta State Trail. There were bicyclists of all ages, riding ability levels and backgrounds. We even met visitors from five other states. We had a great time riding this trail and plan to visit again. The tunnels make for a unique experience and broke-up the bike ride. For the most part the restrooms were passably clean and water was available about every 8 miles.
Cyclists who are most interested in speed may find this trail frustrating though, since you cannot ride through the tunnels and there may be crowded segments. However, I recommend it for anyone who likes riding a bike!
If you go
You should bring a flashlight to carry while in the tunnels. If you chill easily also bring a jacket. As always, have plenty of water and sunscreen when biking. Access to the trail requires a Trail Pass, which is about $4/day per bicyclist. We saw state park officials checking for the Trail Pass in a few spots. If you "forgot" to buy one they will gladly sell you one on the spot!
The best way to visit the trail is to start in Sparta WI, which is the largest town (pop. 8,000) in the area and has the most amenities. Sparta is located on Interstate 90 in southwestern Wisconsin, which is roughly 2 hours from Madison, WI. It is very easy to access. There are numerous signs pointing to the trail head and Sparta Depot at 111 Milwaukee St.
Nearby
Each small town on the trail has at least some amenities, but Sparta has quite a few from which to choose, including familiar chain restaurants and motels. My group went out to dinner in Tomah, WI one night, which was about ½ hour east of Wilton. There are also antique stores and numerous small shops in the surrounding towns.
Elroy-Sparta Trail HQ in Kendall
608-463-7109
http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com
Sparta Visitors Center
608-269-4123
http://www.bikesparta.com
© trailhound. 2005.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Large Groups
Review Topic: Hiking & Trails
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