Biking Wisconsin's Trail-Rails

Good mornin' Wiscampsonites! This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin Outdoors in less than 5 minutes.

Today's news 'cycle':

• Our hallowed bike routes 🚂 

• How to save your backyard's bees 🐝 

• WI turkey and deer seasons 🦃 

Your next bike trip is on an abandoned railroad

Ya hear that noise?

Not THAT noise, that's a bratwurst traveling through your upper intestines...

I'm talking about the bicycle in your garage, whispering sweet, sweet nothings to you about springtime rides across the Dairyland.

With the weather warming up, we've all been itching to get out 'der and unthaw. But where to go?

Downtown? Too noisy. Backroads? Kinda dangerous. Culver's? Already been twice this week.

If only there was a place to ride beautiful trails unmarred by the bustle of machines and cars... Introducing Rail-Trails.

What are the Rail-Trails? Converted out-of-commission railroads into public trails for hiking and biking across our nation.

Facts to get your gears turning

• Wisconsin has the 4th most Rail-Trails at over 1.9k miles. Nationwide there are 21k miles of trails

• The famous Sparta-Elroy trail is the birthplace of the Rails-To-Trails movement

• 25 new projects are currently underway, and over $17,483,397 has been raised in WI

From rails' ashes

Rewind the clock to the 1960's. America is a little over a decade out of WW2, and we've got a shiny new obsession: cars and airplanes.

Left in our rear-views are all the railroads that sprang up in the 1800's gold rush. Our romanticization of railways led to thousands of miles of track that criss-crossed our entire nation, each serving a sector of the economy.

As railways were uprooted and the pathways abandoned, nature-goers saw an opportunity to preserve the heritage of the railroads and provide for outdoor recreation.

In 1965, the Sparta-Elroy Trail was established in Wisconsin, marking the first of the Rails-To-Trails movement, though the nation at large barely noticed. Classic Midwest.

It wasn't until 1983 that Congress became worried about the 4,000-8,000 miles of track being discontinued each year, and thus the National Trails Systems Act was passed. This led to "railbanking," or preserving railways for future use while providing trails in the short term.

WI Rail-Trails

Thanks to the efforts of the Rails To Trails Conservancy, there are now over 21,000 miles of Rail-Trails traveled by millions of hikers, bikers, runners, skaters, and snowshoers each year.

Though there are over 103 Rail-Trails in the state, Wisconsin's most famed is the aforementioned Sparta-Elroy, which served as a blueprint for thousands of other Rail-Trails.

At over 30 miles, it connects the quaint towns of - you guessed it - Sparta and Elroy. It's most defining features are three hand-dug tunnels, where riders like Kevin and Forrest traveled almost a mile in the cold, damp darkness, wondering if they'd ever see a cheese curd again because they're pretty spooky.

But the current focus of the Rails-To-Trails movement in Wisconsin centers around the Route of the Badger, a 700 mile-long trail system to connect communities of Southeast Wisconsin. Pretty rad if you ask us.

How to get out 'der

Now that you're convinced and carbo-loading pasta for tomorrow's ride, how do you get out 'der?

A great place to start is planning your trip using some of the epic maps from the RTC or AllTrails.

Some of our fav routes:

• NW: Chippewa River State Trail - 38.5 miles

• SW: USBR 30 (Connects 7 Rail-Trails from La Crosse -> Milwaukee): ~270 miles*

• NE: Wolf River State Trail - 33.4 miles

• SE: Glacial Drumlin Trail: 52 miles

*With options like AirBnb, hotels/motels, or even camping, you can really get creative with where and when you stop.

The next best thing to do is join the Rails To Trails Conservancy. They're working on over 25 new projects across the nation, and could sure use your help (or money) to build new trails.

Finally, forward this email to your Dad, for no other reason than to remind him that you're still kickin' and want him to get outside more. <3

Hipcamp find of the week ⛺️

Consider this your Apostle Island glamping basecamp, Sanctuary at Little Sand. Ryan said "I’m not one for reviews, but this place deserves acknowledgement." That's credibility if we've ever heard it. It even has a compostable toilet, solar shower, and basics for cooking over the fire.

Holy smokes. We've been seeing the Wiscampsin sticker all over the place!

Which is good, 'cause we're shooting for 1,000 readers by 2023, or we're out of a job. Wait, but I'm not paid...

Here's how you can help us out:

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Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🐝  Save the bees: Next time you're told to go mow the lawn, just say I'm saving the bees, ma! After Appleton saw a fivefold increase of bee abundance in a No Mow May Trial, LaCrosse is following suit.

🦃 Spring chickens turkeys: The Wisconsin DNR began selling leftover Spring turkey hunting tags on Monday, so all you folks who procrastinated still get a crack at a big 'ol gobbler. Speaking of leftovers, there are brats in the fridge...

🦌 Pretty buckin' cold: The 2021-2022 Winter Severity Index is out, along with an analysis on how it affected the WI deer population. Perfect excuse for the guy who falls asleep in his hunting stand each fall and claims he "didn't see any deer."

Well, how'd we do this week?

• 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 Perfection, like squeeky cheese curds

• 🧀🧀🧀 Pretty good. Could use some ranch

• 🧀 Yuck. Think it was frozen in the middle