Badger State Trail Photos
Wisconsin Border and Monroe

The photo above was taken at the Illinois/Wisconsin border where the Jane Addams bike trail, which ruins from Freeport, Il to just north of Orangeville, Il connects to the Badger State Trail which continues north to Madison, Wisconsin.

This photo shows one of the bridges on the Badger State Trail in the section from the Wisconsin border to Monroe and is a fairly typical scene for this part of the trail. The first 2 photos here were actually from my first ride on this trail back in October of 2010 when we also rode the entire Jane Addams Trail ~ See the Jane Addams Trail Info and Photo Tour HERE. The photos below are also from October but are from 2013.

This is the bridge over 8th Street, one of the main roads that runs through in Monroe, Wisconsin. I actually started my ride a little further north from here but I saw the bridge on the way and backtracked to see what it looked like from the trail (and to check where I ended my first ride on the trail in 2010).

I started this Badger State Trail ride at the bike shop shown above ~ The Bike Haus ~ and also parked here and purchased my Wisconsin Bike Trail Pass here (for $3). The bike shop is right on the trail and is right next to Twinning Park in Monroe, which also has plenty of parking (and a paved lot if you prefer).

After riding a little less than a mile north from the Bike Haus bike shop in Monroe you cross a major 4 lane divided highway, Routes 11/81. This isn't the most scenic photo but I had to point out that the bike path actually crosses a major freeway here.

I have not seen any other bike path that crosses a major freeway like this without a bridge or tunnel. It was not difficult to cross when I rode the trail but this could be very dangerous. If you have young kids with you do not let them ride ahead unattended in this area and also just beware of this yourself.

OK, this is a more typical scene from this part of the trail (north of Monroe). These photos are from early October and although some of the trees had started to show their colors, this section was still fairly green.

A little further north on the trail ~ between Monroe and Monticello. The early fall leaves are more colorful on this part of the trail.

You ride through a number of walnut patches on this trail. This time of year (early October) there are often parts of the trail that are covered with the green or brown balls with walnuts inside.  I took the photo above near trail level to show some of the walnuts up close. 

There were actually parts of the trail that were almost completely covered with walnuts and were difficult to ride through. If you hit them head on with skinny tires (like on my bike) it can toss you around a little although I have never had them actually cause me to crash.

The photo above shows the intersection of the Badger State Trail and the Sugar River Trail looking north and just about a half mile south of Monticello.