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The Elroy-Sparta State Trail runs 34 miles of crushed limestone across the Driftless hills of Monroe and Juneau counties in western Wisconsin, linking Sparta, Norwalk, Wilton, Kendall and Elroy. It is generally credited as the first rail trail in the country. The old Chicago and North Western grade crosses three watersheds, the La Crosse, Kickapoo and Baraboo, so the ride is a series of steady climbs to a ridge, a jaunt through a dark, wet, hand dug tunnel, and a long coast down the far side. Between the ridges the trail rolls through open farmland and small towns a few miles apart. At Sparta it continues as the La Crosse River State Trail, at Elroy as the 400 State Trail.
Elroy-Sparta State Trail
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Elroy-Sparta State Trail has about 94 to 137 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, e-biking, running, biking, birding, and walking, with May, September, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Elroy-Sparta State Trail!
In half of past years, color along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail peaks October 16 to 27, typically around October 21. The trail has 31% deciduous coverage, with the majority being northern red oak, white oak, American elm, black oak, red maple, sugar maple, and American basswood.
The Baraboo Air Line Railroad, incorporated on March 8, 1870, set out to push a line from Madison to Winona through the ridges between Elroy and Sparta, and the tunnels nearly broke it. On March 10, 1871, it was consolidated into the Chicago and North Western, which finished the work. Crews bored three tunnels through the Driftless ridges by hand and dynamite, the longest about three quarters of a mile. The line opened through to Winona in September 1873. A year later the company put the cost of the tunnels at $476,743.32. The route became part of the North Western main line between Chicago and the Twin Cities, with grades up to 3 percent that were steep for a main line. Twenty foot wooden doors hung on the tunnel portals, and in winter watchmen opened and closed them between trains so freeze and thaw would not loosen rock at the entrances. The Kendall depot went up in 1900. In 1964 the North Western won permission to abandon the Elroy to Sparta stretch, and the state bought the corridor for $12,000. The Elroy-Sparta State Trail came into use in 1967 as the first rail trail in the country. It was certified a National Recreation Trail in 1971 and entered the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame in 2008. Summer floods in 2018 closed the trail for nearly four years. After $2.3 million in bridge, culvert and landslide repairs at 27 sites, it reopened in May 2022.
400 State TrailLa Crosse River State Trail
