Badger State Trail Photos
Sugar River Trail to the Tunnel

This photo is the same intersection ~ Badger State Trail and Sugar River Trail ~ as you look back south.

As I was taking the photos of the trail intersection I came across one of the few other riders that I saw on the trail on this ride. The other rider stopped and talked a little and was very friendly and knowledgeable about the trails. He told me that he was one of the volunteers that helped to maintain these trails and that he had ridden the trails many times.  I was fortunate to come across such a good resource. I didn't catch his name but took one more photo (above) as he was riding off towards Monroe.

This is a sign along the trail as you ride past Monticello. Apparently there are some restaurants and places to get food in Monticello. Although I would have liked to check out the town and get some grub, since I was getting pretty hungry, I only had so much time and daylight and I really wanted to make it to Belleville so I passed on checking out Monticello (and lived on nuts and a granola bar on this trip).

This was an interesting looking high bridge that the Badger State Trail passes under just a little north of Monticello. The only sign that I saw on it was a sign that said "Mile 19" so I don't really know what this bridge is for. I also checked out the exact location in Google Maps to see if there was a "street view" option with photos but there was none available.

I came across this memorial bench along the trail next and had my lunch here (the nuts and a granola bar that I mentioned above). The sign on the bench said that it was dedicated to Robert W. Lettman.

OK, now we get to one of the highlights of this trail. The Badger State Trail Tunnel! I have seen this tunnel referred to as the "Stewart Tunnel" so I guess that is it's official name. The photo above shows the entrance to the tunnel as I approached from the south. I took this ride on a fairly hot day and you could start to feel a cool breeze as you approach the tunnel.

Above is the southern entrance to the tunnel as it looks fairly early in the afternoon on a bright sunny day. The tunnel has quite a few different looks depending on the time of day, your distance from the tunnel entrances (either from the inside or from the outside) and whether you use your camera flash or not. In this case the outside stone were white from the sunlight and you could start to see the greens and yellows on the stones on the inside near the entrance.

Looking out from just inside the southern entrance of the tunnel you see the green moss on the stones near the entrance, the sun shining into the tunnel and the Badger State Trail as it continues south.

This photo is the southern entrance to the tunnel, once again, from a little further into the tunnel. It definitely gets dark quickly (especially when your eyes have not adjusted from being out in the bright sun) and you do need a light to get through the tunnel.