September is a wonderful time for biking with dry trails and cooler temperatures. As I considered biking destinations, I was a bit surprised with myself that I had never biked the granddaddy of rails-to-trails, the Elroy-Sparta Trail. Only a few hours from Chicago, the Elroy-Sparta Trail offers some of the nicest biking anywhere featuring three tunnels, four trails, and over a 100 miles of interconnected bike paths.
With a forecast of pleasant weather, I booked a campsite at the Tunnel Trail Campground and headed north.
After a three hour drive, I park in Reedsburg at the "400 Trail" headquarters and purchase daily trail passes ($5/day).
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| La Valle, WI has a tank |
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| Wonewoc, WI |
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| Church lean |
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| Elroy has a tank too |
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| Start of Elroy-Sparta Trail. Tomorrow's ride. Today's turnaround. |
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| This does not count as a tunnel |
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| Campsite ("F"). Very nice, secluded, wooded, but a long way from the flush toilets |
Really nice campground, right on trail, owner is hard to reach, but quite helpful and friendly when you finally reach him.
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| Hustler WI, Pop: 162 (established in 1891, the population has never exceeded 200) maybe is should be renamed "Layabout WI" |
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| *I meant perfect amount of vegetables |
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| Three days of riding caught up with me. I was very happy to see this rest area. |
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| Completed 5,034 unique miles |
- State: Wisconsin
- Date: 2025-09-11
- Route: 400 Trail, Reedsburg to Elroy
- Miles: 45
- Date: 2025-09-12
- Route: Elroy-Sparta Trail, Elroy to Sparta (+/- 3,600')
- Miles: 67
- Date: 2025-09-13
- Route: Omaha Trail, Elroy to Camp Douglas
- Miles: 26
