I had planned to ride the Badger State Trail in Wisconsin since spring of this year but was unable to get out to this trail until last week. Well, I finally rode the trail from Monroe, Wisconsin, through the tunnel and into Belleville.

Rock Wall and Bridge on the Badger State Trail

I had originally ridden the southern part of this trail a few years back when a friend and I rode the Jane Addams Trail which runs from Freeport to the Illinois/Wisconsin border and then connects to the Badger State Trail. We rode the JAT from Freeport, Il to Monroe, Wi on that trip so I continued my ride this year heading north from Monroe, Wi.

The Badger State Trail (BST) is a nice, scenic, rural Wisconsin trail but the highlight of this trail is definitely the 1/4 Mile Long Tunnel which is located about 4 miles south of Belleville.

Looking out of the southern entrance of the tunnel.

I took quite a few photos, as usual, to document the trail and give you a feel for what it is like, but I probably took more photos of the tunnel since that is the more unique features of this trail.

The only other trail that I have ridden with tunnels like this is the Elroy-Sparta Trail, which has 3 tunnels. The Tunnel on the BST is more like Tunnel #3 on the EST (which is the one that is closest to Sparta) since both of these tunnels are fairly long and you can’t see the exits at either end when you are in the middle of either tunnel.

You will need a light with you to pass through the tunnel (or at least a stick like a blind person would use, but I would recommend a light). I had a bike light with me although I did not have the handlebar clip attached so I had to hold it as I rode.

When I passed through the tunnel there was a young family passing through also and they all had helmet lights on (like coal miners on bikes!). Later on there was a guy that came through the tunnel using the flashlight app on his iPhone. I tried that on my way back but it was not a good as my bike light.

I actually ended up taking more photos from inside the tunnel, looking out, rather than outside the tunnel. This can be a little tricky due to the light (or lack of light) but it can also produce some fairly unique situations and photos.

Of course, I have uploaded a batch of the photos that I took on my ride and have documented the trail and my specific ride on the Badger State Trail.

Check out The Badger State Trail Photos and Ride Report HERE.

I have also included the GPS Map and data from my bike computer on these pages.