Biking from Chicago to Milwaukee, WI
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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on
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Between North Chicago and the state line the path is gravel and goes past nothing in particular. There are a few parks where you can get water, but wasn't particularly scenic or that pleasant because of the dust and lack of shade. From roughly Loyola to the state line using the Green Bay Trail and old North Shore line is roughly 40 miles. One of these days I need to finish the trip up to Milwaukee, but I don't particularly like the trail such as it is. On the other hand I should get used to it since next year I really want to bike the old Western Maryland track between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, and maybe the old C&O canal from there to Washington.
Jared said:All of the above. You can use a bike path up to Kenosha then a series of back roads as an alternative.
Charles Cooney said:So what is Sheridan like above Ft. Sheridan? One poster says to avoid it (esp through Zion). Is it quality of street, amount of traffic, no shoulder, or all of the above?
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Permalink Reply by Martin Beatch on
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I rode up to Milwaukee from Chicago for the first time last weekend riding mostly on the trails. Although the trails are safe and easy, they definitely slow you down. Next time I do that ride I will do it mostly on roads.
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Permalink Reply by James Hartman on
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Good question? Yet to do that? Google maps very helpful.
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on
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1999 EBC route to South Milwaukee. Once you get there you can find an excellent trail that goes all the way north towards Brown Deer through the city.
http://www.evanstonbikeclub.org/cuesheets/cue%20sheet%20pdf/4-c-sou...
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Picking up this thread. I am venturing north of the Cheddar Curtain on Saturday. I am looking for feedback on routes/roads/paths between the Kenosha Metra stop and Milwaukee. My destination is Glendale which is north of Milwaukee. I was going to consider riding the entire way but I figured I would not be much of a guest after doing nearly a century. I am going to take the Metra to Kenosha and then ride what Google tells me would be 49 miles to my friend's home. It seems like there are a bunch of trails. Are these paved? Do I want to ride them? I have looked at the Wisconsin State maps and have a Google bicycling route. Now that I have the online information I am going online to find out what a real person who has ridden there has to say. I am aware of the "excellent trail" that I posted about last year. However, I really have not ridden that trail. I have ridden the cue sheet that I posted. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by JMinHP on
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I rode Route 32 (still named Sheridan all the way north to Racine) along the lakefront a few years back. On the southside of Milwaukee Route 32 is "KK" (Kinnickinnic) which is a well traveled N/S bike route across the river. Once north of the river you can take the Oak Leaf Trail or Lake drive to continue north to Glendale. There was only one country section where there wasn't a ton of room on the shoulder for a few miles, but it was an otherwise uneventful ride --a good thing-- with beautiful lakefront scenery. Plus I wasn't checking my map every few miles. Simple and straight.
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Permalink Reply by Anne B. on
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I took a trail from Kenosha to Racine that was paved and quite nice. A little west of some other routes but you can go by the Kenosha Velodrome on your way to get to it and that's very cool to check out! The trail starts around 35th St and 28th Ave, not too far from the velodrome/Washington Park. Paved the whole way. Slightly confusing connection to various trails in Racine. Photo of the trailhead here: http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/kenosha-county-multi-use-trail-ke...
Once I hit Racine I went east on a random street and stopped at a bike store in downtown to ask if they had suggested routes for getting to Milwaukee. They talked about a trail around there that's gravel and goes a fair ways (I think it starts just NW of Douglas Park, you can see it in the bike layer on google maps) but I decided to just take roads. Wasn't super wild about my route. I don't especially like taking 32 but have done that the whole way before too and according to the bike store guys that's pretty okay as long as you're not doing it in peak traffic hours.
If you find a better route between Racine and Milwaukee, report back!
Oh and Harborside Common Grounds is a cute coffee shop with a nice harbor view not far from the Kenosha Metra stop. 5159 6th Ave. I met some cyclists there who were the ones who told me about the velodrome and trail.
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Just remembered that the Kenosha trail I was referencing turns into the Root River Trail once you hit Racine, so you may want to read more about that system:
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Well, that was one delightful ride.
On the Metra I sat and talked to a guy who was starting at Kenosha and was going to ride back home in the city. He and I were going about the same distance in opposite directions.
On the way to South Milwaukee I pretty much took Rte. 32, Sheridan Rd. I used the EBC route that Posted long ago on this thread for turns in Racine and before getting to the Dairy Queen in South Milwaukee. Rte. 32 is 45 mph but the roadway is in great shape. Its an easy ride. Much of it has large shoulders. I was riding between 820 and 1030 am on a Saturday and traffic was pretty light. Twice I was enticed into trying a trail for a while. I saw an entrance at 4.5 Mile Rd. and rode a good crushed limestone path to 6 Mile Rd. I then cut west to pick up 32 again. I did this again as soon as I entered Milwaukee Cty. I saw a paved path and figured I would give it a try. It was a very nice path but ended in a mile or so. I again returned to 32 which was just a bit to the west of the path. Once at the Dairy Queen, I used a Google Map bike route query from the Dairy Queen to my friend's house in Glendale. This pretty much had me on the paved Oak Leaf Trail in from the South. In the near south I was back on 32 in a arty neighborhood. I reentered the Oak Leaf Trail near the Art Museum and went up the north side. The trail is supposed to split with a path going over a bridge and more westerly. I was enjoying the lakefront too much and stayed on it to Kenwood which is about 30 something north. At this point I was improvising. I did stop to look at a map of my location at the corner of Kenwood and Lake. I rode through the UWM area taking Kenwood west to Oakland North to Capitol West. I picked up the Oak Leaf Trail again until it spit me out again a little north of that. I found Hampton and went west. I was supposed to pick up the trail but did not see the entrance. I rode it to Green Bay Rd. and took it north towards my destination.
Overall, my advice a couple years ago to use the EBC map and then pretty much ride the Oak Leaf Trail was mostly accurate. Milwaukee, like Chicago, has a lot of public park space near the lake that goes for many miles. It has all the strengths and weaknesses of the LFT here in Chicago. it was a nice way to enter the city on a Sunny day.
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