Field Trips

Urban park revitalization via development of bike-optimized facilities. Will visit two parks in Madison, Sycamore Park on the eastside and Aldo Leopold Park on the southside. Very accessible sites. Will be navigating gentle trail grades.

Cost: $59

Join us for a tour of the proposed 7.2-mile 30th Street Corridor "rail with trail" project on the north side of Milwaukee (lunch included at Lakefront Brewery). At the heart of the trail project is the community led Equitable Development Plan that will provide a blueprint for positive outcomes for workforce development, affordable housing and transportation alternatives that will be undertaken together with the planning and construction of this transformative neighborhood infrastructure project.

Cost: $99 (includes lunch)

Visit and learn about two horse trail networks located in SW Wisconsin’s beautiful Driftless region. First, travel by van to Donald County Park in Mt. Vernon, Wisconsin. Beginning in the early 2000’s a local horse club (later the Friends of Donald Park) worked closely with Dane county to plan and build this unique 20+ mile network of equestrian trails. Centered on a trailhead in the park, multi-use trails traverse the park’s scenic 500 +acres, connecting with two “outside the park” trails on adjoining private land. The Donald Park trails were among the first in Wisconsin to use this model, where public parkland provided a trailhead and central core of trails, with connecting trails on private lands extending available riding miles. At Donald Park, participants will learn a bit about park history and take in beautiful views during a short hike on a horse trail by a burbling trout stream. Energetic and speedy hikers may continue on foot to the equestrian trailhead (an optional approximate half hour’s walk) to re-join the van group. Then drive about 30 minutes deeper into the Driftless region to visit Governor Dodge State Park, just north of Dodgeville, home to 25+ miles of horse trails and a beautiful 20 site equestrian campground that opened in 2022. At Governor Dodge, participants will enjoy an overview of the park’s varied scenery, see three equestrian trailheads, and tour the landscape architect designed equestrian campground, planned, funded and constructed by the Friends of Governor Dodge in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The talented landscape architects who designed the campground plan to be there to share how they dealt with the site’s design challenges. Lunch included via a locally-catered picnic-style lunch will be served in the campground’s open air pavilion. Park staff and Friends members may join the group to chat about public/private collaboration. If time allows, take a short walk along some of the park’s equestrian trails that have recently undergone grading/footing repairs before returning to Monona Terrace by 2:00pm.

Cost: $129 (includes lunch)

Photo Copyright: 2021 Amy Miess-Alexander

Start with a walking tour of Trek’s Headquarters and Lodge talk at the Trek Trails with bike ride to follow. Lunch and Trek bike rentals included courtesy of Trek! Learn about the evolution of Trek over the last 49 years and Trek’s sustainability promise and sustainable construction of the Lodge. For the bike ride, attendees will also enjoy the trails Trek has built and maintained over the last 20 years. All riders are required to sign a waiver and will ride one of Trek demo bicycles available.

OPTION TO BRING OWN BIKE (same cost). View complete details/instructions by clicking on field trip to learn more.

Cost: $50 (with bike rental or bringing own bike) (includes lunch)

A bike tour of bike/ped and green infrastructure projects in Madison with the people who designed them. Visit more than 20 facilities including trails/paths, cycle tracks, bike lanes, bike signals, bike boxes, traffic calming techniques and more. City staff will discuss key components and considerations of design, challenges, public input, and construction. Good for beginners but must be comfortable bicycling on city roads. There may be short segments of steep grades on street.

OPTION TO BRING OWN BIKE. View complete details/instructions by clicking on field trip to learn more.

Cost: $70 with bike rental ($25 if bringing own bike)

Walking tour only of Trek’s Headquarters and Lodge talk at the Trek Trails. Lunch included! Learn about the evolution of Trek over the last 49 years and Trek’s sustainability promise and sustainable construction of the Lodge. The HQ Tour is fully accessible. The Lodge tour will require walking up a gravel hill (but could drive someone to the Lodge for lunch/that part of the talk if need be).

Cost: $50 (includes lunch)

Start with a walking tour of Trek’s Headquarters and Lodge talk at the Trek Trails with bike ride to follow. Lunch and Trek bike rentals included courtesy of Trek! Learn about the evolution of Trek over the last 49 years and Trek’s sustainability promise and sustainable construction of the Lodge. For the bike ride, attendees will also enjoy the trails Trek has built and maintained over the last 20 years. All riders are required to sign a waiver and will ride one of Trek demo bicycles available.

OPTION TO BRING OWN BIKE (same cost). View complete details/instructions by clicking on field trip to learn more.

Cost: $50 (with bike rental or bringing own bike) (includes lunch)

An "on bike" field trip visiting 3 mtb-optimized facilities all connected by an urban pathway. The three sites are Seminole Trails (on Dane County Parks property), Saris Trails (on Saris factory private lands), and Quarry Ridge (on City of Fitchburg property). This field trip will be on bike for attendees to experience the trails at each location for a set period of time and is good for beginners.

OPTION TO BRING OWN BIKE. View complete details/instructions by clicking on field trip to learn more.

Cost: $129 with bike rental ($59 if bringing own bike)

Incorporated into the Offsite Day on the last day of ITS, attendees will bike from WGL Lake Farm County Park to Babcock County Park along the Lower Yahara River Trail. This paved off-road trail includes the longest inland boardwalk bridge constructed solely for non-motorized transportation in North America! The mile-long bridge spans Lake Waubesa, connecting the Capital City Trail with McDaniel Park in the Village of McFarland. Once in McFarland, the group will continue using on-road trail segments before ending at Babcock County Park. Stops along the way will discuss the trail planning and design, construction and community impact. Trail surface is all paved or boardwalk. Accessible bike may be available for participants who request one in advance (would be requested from one of our partners Access Ability Wisconsin).

OPTION TO BRING OWN BIKE (same cost). View complete details/instructions by clicking on field trip to learn more.

Cost: $25 (with bike rental or bringing own bike)

Incorporated into the Offsite Day on the last day of ITS, enjoy a 4-mile paddle on the Yahara River from between Lake Waubesa and Lake Kegonsa, two of the lakes on the Madison chain. The sleepy river stretch is a popular paddle destination and it includes a short boulder garden, which is the remains of a Native American fish weir and an attractive historic truss bridge at Dyreson Road. The paddle will end at Fish Camp County Park, where a recent development project added a new accessible fishing pier, an accessible kayak launch pier and walk-in canoe/kayak ramp.

Cost: $25