Northwestern Trail
With a packed gravel base from the old railroad bed, this flat trail is ideal for walking and bicycling. The trail begins at the public library in Ripon and extends 3.5 miles to the west. You can expect to experience lush vegetation and a variety of wildlife along the way. Rabbits, chipmunks, and gophers are plentiful. Keep your eyes open for the deer, turkeys, woodchucks, and foxes! The rural section is used for snowmobiling.
Oakfield Ledge State Natural Area
Breakneck Road, Oakfield. One of the most significant exposures of the Niagara Escarpment in Wisconsin, these prominent 40-foot rock cliffs can be enjoyed from different elevations. See undisturbed native vegetation and forest-floor habitat.
Peebles Trail
A shaded 5.6-mile pathway linking Fond du Lac at the southern edge of Lake Winnebago with St. Peter (Taycheedah) to its east. The trail also passes through the unincorporated community of Peebles, from which it is named. Visitors travel on the compacted gravel segment of abandoned railroad right-of-way and asphalt active road right-of-way. Roughly half of the trail (closer to Fond du Lac) occupies a former railroad corridor enveloped by thick stands of trees. Here the trail features a crushed-stone surface, and is a bit more scenic than its eastern component.
Prairie Trail
N7565 Winnebago Drive (trailhead). Offers a 7-mile, paved route cupping the eastern boundary of Fond du Lac, a mid-sized city befitting its French name, which means “foot of the lake,” as it hugs the southern shore of Lake Winnebago. Beginning on the trail’s east end, you will find a capacious parking lot at the intersection of Winnebago Drive and Taycheedah Way. This trailhead is located near the unincorporated community of Peebles, a stop on the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad in the late 1800s. From here, the trail unwinds southward under open skies, paralleling Highway 151 with a wide grassy median between the trail and roadway. The northern end of the trail overlaps the Peebles Trail and then separates in Taycheedah with the Peebles Trail heading west and the Prairie Trail continuing south. The views are largely of prairie and farmland. The trail ends near a set of active railroad tracks east of Interstate 41. The Prairie Trail is also part of a larger network called the Fond du Lac Loop, which spans more than 15 miles and encircles the city.
South Woods/Anne Starr Woods/Ceresco Prairie Conservancy
Located off Union Street in Ripon, these adjacent nature areas provide hikers with a variety of natural habitats along several paths, including a walk along a creek. The Ceresco Prairie Conservancy is located next to the Ripon College campus in back of the Storzer Athletic Center. The trails wind through wetland areas and connect with South Woods Crystal Creek. Along the trail you will enjoy prairie, oak savanna, and glacial moraine habitats. Of special interest to educators and families alike is the Kegel Environmental classroom. These are great trails for running, walking, hiking, and nature exploration.
Wild Goose State Park Trail
370 W. Rolling Meadows Drive (trailhead). This premier rail-trail spans approximately 35 miles in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties. If you are looking for a peaceful and beautiful place to visit, this is the trail! Most of the trail is tree lined, very flat, and well maintained. Wildlife is in abundance. If you are traveling by bicycle, you will want to concentrate on the trail surface, as chipmunks frequently scramble across the path. Throughout the trail there are multiple highway and farm access roads to cross; they are all well marked, but please use caution. The trail also skirts the western edge of the internationally known Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, where wildlife, scenery, and level surface provide safe, easy, and enjoyable bicycling and hiking for all ages. Coming back into Fond du Lac County for its final 15-mile stretch, the trail again becomes rural and flat. Trees provide continuous shelter where the trail takes you into Fond du Lac, passing next to a parking lot at a railroad crossing. A newer extension, which is the only paved portion of the Wild Goose State Trail, takes trail users via a bridge over Highway 41 to W. Pioneer Road. *The trail can be opened for snowmobile and ATV use in winter on the Dodge County section (Between Highway 60 and Highway 49), but only when it is declared that the trail is sufficiently frozen enough to prevent trail damage. The trail status line is 920-386-3705.
*
Join Fond du Lac County Audubon Society Summer Evening Walks on some of the listed trails. See fdlaudubon.org for more information.
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Fee
Walking/Hiking
Swimming
Snowshoeing
Snowmobiling
Sledding
Shelter/Pavilion
Running
Roller Blading
Restrooms
Playground
Picnic Area
Horseback Riding
Fishing
Cross-Country Skiing
Camping
Bird Watching
Recreation Trails
Bicycling
continued
ATV
RECREATION