I'm fat, over fifty, and I smoke and I probably should give up this touring routine, but it's a lot of fun, particularly if you take enough time to smell the flowers along the way. I've ridden from Chicago to Wisconsin Dells many times over the last fifteen or twenty years but never wrote it up, step-by-step for rec.bicycles.rides. I'll cross-post it to chi.general as well, maybe there’s a few cyclists that would like to take this adventure. When I get the pictures back, I'll put this up on my web page.

1. START: Devon and Caldwell in Chicago, the beginning of the North River Bike Path. Take this all the way north, continuing through the Chicago Botanical Gardens, exiting at Lake Cook Road. 16.5 MILES (This is an off-road path)

2. Lake-Cook Road right (east) to the Green Bay Trail .5 MILES

3. Green Bay Trail left (north) to downtown Highland Park. 3.0 MILES (This is an off-road path)

4. Continue in the same direction north on St. Johns Avenue. Watch the signs, there's a quick left-then-right turn. When it ends at a T-intersection (Walker), turn left (west) to Sheridan Road. Follow the Sheridan Road signs north. As you approach Fort Sheridan (on your right) there’s a wide sidewalk to ride on, off road. Continue to Old Elm Road (stoplight). 3.1 MILES

(1999 update to 4. - Just take St. Johns Avenue north.  Where it meets Walker, there are signs posted for a nice
off-road sidewalk path, clearly marked.  This path takes you all the way to Old Oak Road, where the off-road
path continues on the west side of the highway.  2002 update: there is a sign posted.)

5. At this juncture, there's a paved path on the opposite side of the road, the west side. Cross the intersection and take this path north. Ignore any bike-path signs that may lead you elsewhere. This path ends in North Chicago, at the railroad tracks. Cross the tracks. The intersection is actually Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. 7.4 MILES (This is an off-road path)

6. Cross the tracks, and continue straight ahead (west) on Martin Luther King Drive. You're looking for Commonwealth Avenue, a stop light. .1 MILES (2002 update: This was erroneously posted a 1-mile, but it's only .1 miles.  I followed my own directions and got lost!)

7. Off on your right at this intersection is the Robert McClory Path. At this point it's actually a bike lane in the street, but it will lead you to a crushed stone path. Continue on this path north, all the way to Kenosha, Wisconsin. 15.3 MILES (This is an off-road path)

(1999/2002  update: if you want to camp along #7, about a half-day ride from Chicago is Illinois Beach State Park and Campground.  Intersecting the path is Beach Road - and easy exit - then right or east to Sheridan Road, Rt. 137 then left north to the entrance.  Alternately, continue north along the path to Wadsworth Road (an uneasy exit) then to right or east directly into the park and campground.

Good campground, a camp store, and showers.  Plus plenty of restaurants in the area too. And easy to find your way back to the Robert McClory Trail.)

8. Straight ahead from the path is 30th Avenue. Stay on this street until Washington Road. 4.1 MILES

9. Turn left (west) on Washington Road, which turns into Burlington Road or Route 142. A good end to this first day is the Bong State Recreation Area which has some very nice campsites. (Alternately, you could continue to Burlington another 9 miles for a motel..) 15.3 MILES.

This first day, I traveled a total of 79 miles. This doesn't add up if you add the mileage above, because of a few stops, wandering around, and getting lost along the way.

10. Leave the Bong State Recreation Area and go left (west) on Rt. 142 into Burlington. 9 MILES.

11. Route 142 ends, but Route 11 West continues straight ahead a few blocks, to the intersection of Route 83. Go north on 83 to a stop light at Grove Street, which also has a sign "To Honey Lake Road." From the end of 142 to the intersection: .3 MILES

12. Follow this road until you get to an intersection that has signs pointing left for the Rustic Road and also a bike route. Ignore the signs. Go straight ahead, on Honey Lake Road. To this intersection, 1.5 MILES

13. The next intersection is a T-intersection, Academy Road Go left on Academy Road. You reach a stop sign, and the intersection with County Highway DD, also called County Line Road. 1.0 MILES

14. DD comes from the right and turns, so you go straight ahead on DD. This will lead you to Honey Creek and an intersection with County Highway D. 2.0 MILES

15. Continue straight ahead, crossing D. You'll come to an apparent T-intersection, High Road. 1.6 MILES.

16. Make a right on High Road, but then in about .1 mile you'll see Honey Creek Road continuing on your left. Turn left, and continue north on Honey Creek Road. It will end at another T- intersection, Route 83. 2.6 MILES

17. Take Route 83 left (north) and follow it all the way to the entrance to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. 17 MILES.

18. Join the Glacial Drumlin Trail heading west. This trail is in two parts, interrupted in the middle. You'll come to an apparent end in 20.4 MILES. (This is an off-road path)

(For an excellent page on the Glacial Drumlin Trail, go to  http://www.glacialdrumlin.com/index.html )

The Glacial Drumlin Trail roughly parallels Rt 18; if you get tired of the gravel and crave a little pavement, you can get of the trail and onto Rt 18 for a while.  Good shoulder most of the way.

(2002 Update: Into guerilla camping? There's a Jefferson County Park at about the 22-24 mile-marker just south of the trail and north or Rt 18, along Duck Creek Road.  It's west of Sullivan and just a little east of Helenville.  Water pump, outhouse, covered picnic shelter.

19.

20. (2002 update: This 'interrupted' section had been changed.  The path now lead directly to Y-road, it's signed, and easy to follow the short on-road distance between the two section of the trail.

21. Left (south) on Y to Junction Road, on your right.

22. Junction Road right (west) to the entrance of the west section of the trail. 1.7 MILES

23. Continue on the path to Lake Mills, 6.4 MILES (This is an off-road path)

This is where I ended the second day. You could, of course, continue on the trail.

24. Continue on the path to Cottage Grove, County Highway N, the end of the trail. 15.6 MILES. (This is an off-road path)

The total distance from Wales (Rt 83) and Cottage Grove (Hwy N) is 44 miles.  It's broken up roughly as follows:
    Rt 83 (Wales) to Douseman - 5.4 miles
    Douseman to Sullivan - 5.8 miles
    Sullivan to Helenville - 5.9 miles
    Hellenvile to Jefferson - 5.6 miles
    Jefferson to Lake Mills - 5.5 miles
    Lake Mills to London - 5.8 miles
    London to Deerfield - 3.2 miles
    Deerfield to County N (Cottage Grove) - 6/7 miles

25. Turn right (north) on N to Sun Prairie, the intersection of N and Route 19. Follow this N/19 through the business district. At a stop light, both N and 19 turn right. Keep following this until 19 veers off to the left, and N continue straight ahead. 8.3 MILES

26. Continue north on County Highway N. It will meet and join Country Highway K, and at that junction follow N to the right. A short distance from this intersection will be a cemetery on your left, and just beyond that is Bradley Road. The total distance is 10.2 MILES

27. Turn left (west) on Bradley to Old F Road, .9 MILES

28. Turn right (north) on Old F to Hall Road. 1.7 MILES

29. Turn left (west) on Hall Road to County Highway C. .9 MILES

30. Turn right (north) on C road, all the way to Rio and Highway 16. 5.9 MILES

31. Turn left (west) on Highway 16 to Route 22 4.9 MILES

32. Take highway 22 right (north) to Wyocena, and the junction of Route 22 and Country Highway G. .5 MILE

33. Turn left (west) on G road, to where it meets Country Highway P. 5.0 MILES

34. Turn left (west again) on P until it runs into Highways 51 and 16. 1.6 MILES

35. Turn right on 51/16 and follow this into Portage and the intersection (stop light) with Highway 33. 2.7 MILES At this point, it's a straight shot to Wisconsin Dells - straight down Highway 16 about 17.5 MILES, to the intersection with Route 23. Turn left a couple of blocks and you're right in the middle of town. For the more adventuresome, so the following and the notes which follow this log. 36. Continue north on Route 16 to County Highway O - 1.3 MILES

37. Keep going on Route 16, under Interstate 39, to the junction of Route 127.

38. Turn right on Route 127 West and follow this to the where it intersects with County Highway XX. 6.7 MILES

39. Turn right (actually a soft right, as 127 veers left) on XX until you reach Highway 23. 3.3 MILES.

40. Turn left (west) on Highway 23 to the intersection of Country Highway B. 4.5 MILES

41. Turn right (north) on County Highway B and continue to the Fur Fin & Feather Bar and Grill . (What, you thought we were going to ride all that way just to look as some river that cuts through sandstone? Or visit all the tourist boutiques? Hell, no! We're going to have a beer to celebrate at a genuine Wisconsin country Bar - a hidden gem known only to a few or the locals in the area.

Why? Well, Chicago is a large metropolitan area and the Wisconsin Dells in a nice vacation area. Although there's a lot of commercialism there, there’s also a wide variety of places to stay and lots of campgrounds and motels. Even inexpensive ones. I've got relatives in the area, and I've made this trip many times. Sometimes northbound, sometimes southbound, and even a couple of times round trip.

I've heard of people who have made this in one day. Forget it, unless you're into racing. I've made this trip in two days, but didn't smell too many flowers along the way. Three days isn't a bad compromise, but if you can take the time to explore, make it a four-day trip.

The route above is a reasonable (to me) compromise between efficiency and enjoyment. For example: take a look at 11 though 17 above. You could take Highway 83 all the way from Route 11 in Burlington directly to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. That's efficient. Alternately, if you looked at a good detailed map, you could find ways to avoid riding on Route 83 as much as possible. It would be more enjoyable but require more planning and watching for roadsigns. If I'm in a hurry, I'll do it one way, if I've got the time, I'll do it the other way. This trip, I avoid only part of Route 83, hence the steps 11 through 17.

This is the first time I stopped at every intersection and actually logged the mileage. It's amazing to me that you can ride from inside the city of Chicago all the way to Kenosha, Wisconsin and less than FIVE MILES of this is on-road riding! (1 through 7 above) All the rest is off-road, on trails intended for cyclists and hikers. There are lots of ways out of the city by car, but if you're going anywhere in Wisconsin by bike, this is your 'expressway' to the state line. If you're starting out anywhere in Chicago, you can take the Bike Lane along Elston Avenue north to Milwaukee Avenue, then north a short distance on Milwaukee to the same Forest Preserve that the North Branch trail runs through.

There a bike shop too, right along 30th Avenue in Kenosha. I had to stop and buy a water bottle. One of two I had sprang a leak! It was a cheap gimme-bottle from Gatorade, but I'd been using it for so many years I hated to let it go.

The route to Burlington isn’t too bad. (9 through 11) There's a shoulder, and there is some traffic on this road, since it's also an entrance/exit from Interstate 94. There's a good restaurant at the intersection. If camping isn't your thing, at least stop at the Bong State Recreation area for a short visit. There's a small beach for swimming, washrooms, hot-showers, water. You could continue into Burlington, and just a few blocks north of the intersection of Route 83 and Grove Street (11) there's a motel on the left, and a little further is the White Fox Den restaurant, open 24 hours, which I highly recommend for breakfast. The Eggs Benedict is especially good.

The rather complicated route in (11) through (16) is just a way to avoid in part Route 83. Route 83 isn’t a bad road, it has a nice wide shoulder, but it is busy and this is a way to avoid at least part of it on the way to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Any good map could show you some other ways to avoid even more of Route 83, at the price of a couple more miles, a little more time, and a little more complexity.

The Glacial Drumlin Trail is, of course, a major part of this trip. It's about a 40 miles stretch running East-West starting from outside Milwaukee and running to outside of Madison. A "drumlin" is the cigar-shaped hill formed when the advancing ice in the Ice Age pushed the earth forward, piling it up and forming the hills. This in contrast to the moraines of the Ice Age, which are gouged-out bowl shaped section of the earth. To the cyclist, the result is the same: hills. The railroad running between Milwaukee and Madison sought out the flattest route, and this abandoned bed became the Glacial Drumlin Trail. You will need to purchase a trail-pass, $10 annually if you're over 18. It's worth it - it keeps the trail up.

When you enter the trail (18) the first section is paved. Don't get misled, the paving ends quickly and your on a crushed limestone surface. It isn't bad. I've ridden this on a road bike with a 1-1/4 inch tire road bike. It does require a little more effort than a paved surface. But the scenic beauty and variation is worth it.  (2002 update: it IS paved, for at least six miles now!)

The long run is interrupted in the middle and you do need to follow a couple of paved country roads to rejoin the trail. (19-22)

I stopped in Lake Mills to end the second day. It's a very nice little town, there are several restaurants to choose from. I recommend the Cafe On The Park for breakfast. You can stay at the Mud Lake Campground, about a mile south of the path, or at a motel, the Pyramid Motel, about two miles north of the path. Right along the path (which is at the south edge of the town) is a station for the bike path. This station has washrooms and showers. On one trip, a few years ago, I managed to get delay and arrived in town well after sundown. The station was closed, but the showers were open. Taking the shower was fine, but finding the campground in the dark wasn't so easy. It's a primitive campground, so it wasn't real easy to find. And it was empty besides.

After the end of the trail in Cottage Grove, your next target is Rio (pronounced with a long-I) and Route 16. Steps 25 through 30 could be simplified by going north on Highway N to Highway V, turn left on V until you get to Highway C, the turn right on C and proceed north. Only two turns to watch for, both well marked and obvious. My rational here was to follow Highway N as far north as possible. Highway N has a shoulder, Highway C doesn’t. I found, however, that where you enter Columbia County, the shoulder ends. The road doesn't get any narrower, however. They simply moved the white line on the edge of the lane over to the edge of the pavement. This makes the driving lane wider, at the expense of the loss of the shoulder. By contrast, Highway C is actually narrower. There isn't room for a shoulder, without expanding the width of the pavement. So, Highway N was the better choice for as long as possible. (Let me say that I didn't actually measure the damn road, I just looked at it and that’s the way it looked to me, so maybe I'm all wet here.)

When you reach the junction of County Highway C and Route 16, (31) you could just simply take Route 16 all the way to Wisconsin Dells. But I tried to break that up a little bit. Route 16 isn't bad, but there are some options.

(31-34) take you off of Route 16, and return you to Route 16 a little later. You get to go through the town of Wyocena (Gas Station, Gatorade, etc.) and down another nice stretch of country road.

You'll travel through Portage, going south to north along Route 16 right through town. As you leave town on the north end, there are some roads I'd take over Route 16.

Item (36) is the junction with County Highway O, also called Cemetery Street. Turn left. This county highways is more scenic, and somewhat follows the river. You can't get lost, and County Highway O intersects with Route 16 again, where you turn left. You bypass a good piece of Route 16 by doing this. Alternately, you could proceed to (39) and turn right, following Highway 127.

If you follow this to its end, it also will intersect with Route 16 again, somewhat north of the Highway 16/County O junction. Either one will probably add just a couple of miles overall, but be more enjoyable riding.

If you follow my route, and stop at the  Fur Fin & Feather , there's a scenic route, sort of a back-door route into Wisconsin Dells. Just turn around and follow County Highway B south one mile, then turn right on County Highway K. Follow K for 3.8 miles, until you come to County Highway Q. Turn left on Q, and follow Q all the way to the intersection with Highway 13. Cross the highway, and just on the other side is another road, Old River Road. You turn left on this and follow this into downtown Wisconsin Dells. This road is narrow, and you ride through sandstone formations very similar to what's seen along the river.

Getting back home to Chicago from Wisconsin Dells can be a challenge, if you're only interested in riding one-way. There is an Amtrak Train, but getting on the train with a bike is only possible at two stops: LaCrosse (across the state on the Mississippi River!) or Columbus (about 60 miles east of Wisconsin Dells, along Highway 16). Although the train stops in Wisconsin Dells as well as Portage, they don't take checked luggage at these stops. Maybe if enough of us complained to Amtrak, they would do something about this. A few years ago I rode from Newport Beach down to San Diego, and returned by train to Santa Ana. I didn't even need to pack the bike in a box, they just put a tag on it and put the whole thing, bags, tent, and everything right in the baggage car! No removing the pedals, no turning the handlebar. Nothing. Just hand it to them at one end, take it back at the other end. I rode it off the baggage platform. Why can't the trains between Wisconsin and Illinois do it the same way?

Of course, you could have someone meet you - or you could ride the bike back to Chicago.

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