Dane County Parks

Biking

Dane County has over 100 miles of shared-use bike trails that connect communities, parks and natural resource areas. There are a variety of trail types including paved, crushed limestone and mountain bike options. Learn more about existing bike trails and future projects in the sections below. Please note the following are required for all people ages 16 and over and may be purchased online:

State Trail Pass - for biking and in-line skating on state trails
Mountain Bike Permit (daily or annual) - for riders on designated mountain bike trails

Paved Trails

Paved shared-use trails offer opportunities for biking and other recreation activities. We have several paved trails that can be accessed from Dane County Park properties and many are connected to the regional trail system. Check out the Dane County bicycle map or our park system map below to see how they connect.

Plowed in Winter

Anderson Farm Trail: a central paved bike trail at Anderson Farm County Park connects the Dog Park with the Memorial Woods and the Village of Oregon.
Capital City State Trail: one of the most popular shared-use bicycle/pedestrian trails in the county. The paved trail connects to the Military Ridge and Badger State Trails as well as the Lower Yahara River Trail. Requires a state trail pass.
Lower Yahara River Trail: includes one of the longest non-motorized boardwalk bridges in North America and offers stunning views of Lake Waubesa.
West Waubesa Trail: shared-used trail long the western shore of Lake Waubesa.

Not Plowed in Winter

Brigham Trail: passes through Brigham County Park and connects to the Military Ridge State Trail and Cave of the Mounds.
Ice Age Junction Trail: passes through the Ice Age Trail Junction Natural Resource Area and Badger Prairie County Park and connects to the Military Ridge State Trail.
Military Ridge State Trail (Wisconsin DNR): part of the state trail system managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This trail runs through Ice Age Trail Junction Natural Resource Area and connects to Badger Prairie County Park. Requires a state trail pass.
North Mendota Trail: connects the Village of Waunakee to Governor Nelson State Park (Wisconsin DNR) through the Town of Westport.

Dane County Bicycle Map

Park System Map

Crushed Limestone Trails

Crushed limestone shared-use trails offer a rustic hard surface that complements the natural landscape. It offers an accessible surface suitable for bikes, strollers, and wheelchairs. Crushed limestone trails are available at the following parks:

Mountain Biking

Dane County Parks offers a variety opportunities for mountain bikers and includes single-track mountain bike trails at three locations throughout the year (including winter). Learn more on our Mountain Biking webpage.

Parks Reachable by Bike Trail

Many of our park properties are accessible by bike trail. Check out our Properties Accessible by Bus or Bike Trail webpage to learn more and find a new place to explore.

Properties on a Bike Trail

Trail Planning and Development

Trail Projects

Information about trail projects can be found on the Current Projects or Completed Projects webpages.

Parks and Open Space Plan

The 2018 - 2023 Parks & Open Space Plan includes Regional Trail Map (PDF) showing existing and proposed regional trails.

Dane County Bicycle Wayfinding Manual

In 2015-16, Dane County Parks in partnership with the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board contracted with Toole Design Group to develop a county wide Bicycle Wayfinding Manual (PDF). The manual provides guidelines for communities to use for designing and implementing a uniform wayfinding and information sign system for the bicycle network throughout Dane County.

Bicycle Wayfinding Workshop March 2017 Presentation (PDF)

The project also included the development of six bicycle wayfinding plans for:

BikeDane

In May 2019, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and County staff met with bicycle advocates and representatives from local units of government for the annual Bike Dane meeting to share plans and give updates on bicycle improvement projects. To learn more, review the presentation (PDF) from that meeting.