Now that the weather is getting nice – well… nicer – many students will be busting out their trusty bicycles from the basement and taking to the streets.
There are many good bike trails located near the Marquette campus that students can easily access for a good time. The main trail that many people use in the Milwaukee area is the Oak Leaf trail. The Oak Leaf trail covers several different parks, streets and multi-use trails in Milwaukee County. Probably the most popular part of the trail runs along Lake Michigan. From Marquette it is easily accessed by riding east down towards the art museum. Once you ride past the art museum you can pick up the trail and head along the lake.
The trail heads north for several miles right along the lake before heading inland near UWM. You can also take the trail south for another entertaining ride, especially south of the Summerfest grounds in the area commonly known as seven bridges. Here the trail is almost entirely separate from street traffic, which is not always the case for the entire trail. While this trail can get crowded in the summer, especially on the weekends, it is still nice to be right along the lake and feel the cool breeze out of the east.
A new trail in Milwaukee is the Hank Aaron trail. It starts just southwest of downtown near 13th and Canal Street, runs along the river past Miller Park and continues toward Doyne Park. This is a fully paved bike and running trail. The eventual plan is to link Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. While this is clearly a very long term project it is moving forward and new sections are constantly opening. It is best to look online in order to see what sections are open each season. Most of you know this trail as the one that runs along the river next to the east Miller Stadium parking lots. Because the trail is new, it typically is not as crowded as the lakefront trail, which is nice, especially if you are looking to really fly down the path.
The Milwaukee area also has several other trails further out in state parks. Many of these include off-road mountain biking trails and other trails with a variety of surfaces. In order to look up a list of these, simply google “Milwaukee bike trails” and you will run into several Web sites and maps that can provide you with trails that fit what you are looking for.
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