wisconsin 400 state trail

This is a very enjoyable trail with a very nice visitor center at the Reedsburg terminus, featuring restrooms and helpful information in an old train station. Trail is well maintained and very flat with towns every 7 miles or so. But what's with Reedsburg itself? There are virtually no directional signs for the trailhead and it literally took us 15 minutes of driving around to find it. Town itself doesn't do much in the way of related places to eat or drink. Please, post more signs, Reedsburg. You've got a gem to promote.

Excellent bike trails, although after steady down pour from Sparta to Reedsburg the trails got muddy but that didn't stop the crew from finishing. There was nice shelters a long the way to take cover.

The 400 State Trail seems to be overlooked by the more popular trails in Madison or the Elroy-Sparta trail, which may explain why we saw more turtles than people. We started at the Reedsburg Station, a really nice, historic building that serves as both the 400 State Trail Headquarters and the Reedsburg Chamber of Commerce. You can rent bikes, get info about the trails and purchase some 400 trail gear and memorabilia. The first part goes through a small section of town before opening up to get some nice views of the winding Baraboo River. At around mile 4 it begins to get to the main course. We started seeing the turtles in the ponds. There is a bald eagle's nest viewable from the trail (we saw the adult and juvenile yesterday). A few deer crossed the path ahead of us. A mallard with her ducklings scurried off the path as we approached. Sandhill cranes and Blue Herons were found in the wetlands. Turtles were everyone in the ponds and some muddy sections along the path. Dragonflies and birds crisscrossed around us as we pedaled along. The small town of Lavalle was a nice surprise, offering mostly antique shops and a few places to eat close to the river. We turned around at a stop near Wonewoc, where there is a parking lot, a bathroom (which was strangely closed for the season according to the sign) and a water pump. I think it would be very good for families since it is flat, relatively uncrowded and is abundant with wildlife. Everyone we did encounter was very friendly and polite, unlike some of the Madison area trails where it is more about speed than smiles. This trail is between a lot of water so it can be very humid and you will get eaten up if you stop, so pack a lot of water and apply the sunscreen and bug spray before taking off.

This is an amazingly nice ride to take with the family. Depending on the age of the kids you can ride out from Reedsburg for 7 miles and get lunch up in LaValle or keep on riding up through the tunnel to Eloy. My kids have seen so much wildlife back on that ride and enjoy stopping at the Trail Break in LaValle for ice cream. Don't miss this amazing ride!

We really enjoyed a bike ride with our kids in tow. Being an old train track bed makes this a nice level surf to do this and not worry about being on the road.

The 400 trail is part of a system of 4 connected trails. Not as famous as the Elroy Sparta segment but it has enough going for it to stand alone as a great trail. It follows the Baraboo River and crosses over it several times. The towns are spaced out perfectly and each town takes pride in the trail. La Valle has a large photo sign of the trail of what it looked like in the railroad days. It is neat to compare the photo to what is there now.

Great riding trails through some nice small towns with great places to stop and get something to eat or drink.

The 400 State Trail is a fun ride from Reedsburg to Elroy. There are many small communities along the way to stop and have something to eat or have refreshments.

This packed limestone trail goes mainly thru woods. We've seen deer, cranes, eagles, turkeys and countless small animals biking the trail. Good small restaurants in all 4 of the towns you can bike to or thru!

What a great use for an old railroad path. I have biked most of the trail and you do get some really nice scenery as you go.

This trail is scenic and very well maintained. It is easy to hike and clean. The Baraboo River runs along it and there is also a lake along the way. It is very beautiful with the fall colors. There are clean restrooms available at the trailhead. Leashed pets are welcome. We brought our dog and she enjoyed it as much as we did. (There is no fee to hike but there is to bike it.)

Our family has utilized this trail many times over the years. We have never traveled it without seeing some form of unexpected wildlife. We start the trail at the Reedsburg Depot/Chamber of Commerce, ride bicycles to LaValle and enjoy delicious pizza and slushies at the Trail Break Restaurant there, and continue on our way if we feel so inclined.