Map
Ride Log
Day 11: Eastern end of Mountain-Bay and Southern end of Wiouwash
I started the morning at the Eastern end of the Mountain-Bay State Trail in Howard, just outside Green Bay. Folks were already gathering for the Packers-Bears game tailgate at 9am! Go Pack Go. The Mountain-Bay Trail was lovely and very frequented near Green Bay – lots of bikers, dog walkers, and families out enjoying a beautiful and warm fall Sunday! It gets a bit less busy and a bit more remote as you enter Shawano
Day 10: Run Wild and Heritage Hill State Park + Fox River, Friendship, and Devil’s River State Trails
What a fun day!! I started off by leading off the 10k run at Run Wild – an annual fall run through Potawatomi State Park put on by Friends of Potawatomi State Park. The weather and leaves were beautiful! After Run Wild, I met up with several members of the Friends of the Fox River Trail and Friends of Heritage Hill State Historical Park to ride part of the Fox River State Trail. I had
Day 9: Oconto River and Ahnapee State Trails
My ride today started from Gillett towards the sunrise into Oconto Falls, where the Oconto River State Trail begins. The Oconto River State Trail is pleasant, but not well traveled which leads it to be more of a grassy path. It was short though, and just nice to mix it up. The trail dropped me in Oconto, where I took pleasant roads along the bay – a whole different scale than the lakes I’ve seen
Day 8: Wolf River and Nicolet State Trails
Last day in the Northwoods and we’re going to start…with a video! https://knowlesnelson.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_2455.mp4 The Wolf River State Trail is a 33 multi-use trail that is very rideable, and closed to ATVs for about half of it between White Lake and Lily (between Hwys 55 and 64). It’s scenic and runs along the Wolf River for most of it’s length. On the Wolf River Trail I was nearby several of my favorite Ice Age Trail Alliance
Day 14: Wild Goose and Eisenbahn State Trails
Today felt like fall, finally. It was a little cloudy and cool, and it brought out the fall colors even more. While I was riding, I tried to find everything I could that was orange: orange trees, orange cones marking where they’re installing broadband along the trail (another great co-resource
Day 13: Wiouwash and Mascoutin Valley State Trails
The southern segment of the Wiouwash State Trail begins in Hortonville and ends in Oshkosh in Winnebago County, completing the trail’s namesake. (The trail is named after the four counties it traverses: Winnebago + Outagamie + Waupaca + Shawano.) The Wiouwash Trail connects into Oshkosh on the Tribal Heritage Crossing
Day 12: Green Circle, Tomorrow River, and Newton Blackmore State Trails
I started today with my mom (and support crew) on the Green Circle State Trail, which makes a loop around Stevens Point. It is a collection of multiple trails that has been a community effort to get started and has been such a resource today! The Green Circle is the
Events
Want to meet Sarah, connect with other Team Knowles-Nelson advocates, or just talk trails? Here’s where to find her along the way:
October 22, 2026 – Finish Line Celebration, Menomonie
In The News
Statewide Bike Ride Highlights Land At Risk
The Door County Pulse covers Sarah Widder’s ride across all 44 state trails, which she hopes will help make renewing Knowles-Nelson a bipartisan priority this legislative session.
A Race For Conservation: Run Wild at Potawatomi State Park
The Friends of Potawatomi State Park’s annual Run Wild race took on new significance this year, with Sarah Widder stopping mid-ride to rally support for Knowles-Nelson reauthorization at a park that has relied on the program for years.
Explore
Wisconsin is home to 44 state trails, covering more than 1,700 miles of former rail corridors, converted highways, and scenic routes from border to border.
They connect small towns, state parks, and natural areas, and they’re managed by the Wisconsin DNR for hiking, biking, snowmobiling, and horseback riding depending on the trail.
State trails rely on a mix of state funding, user passes, and local Friends groups to stay maintained, which is exactly the kind of investment the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has supported for decades.
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks is the statewide umbrella organization supporting the volunteer “Friends” groups behind individual state parks and trails. They help these local groups fundraise, recruit volunteers, and take on the trail maintenance, signage, and small capital projects that keep Wisconsin’s trails in good shape.
Want to get involved where you live? Find your local Friends group and see how to pitch in.
See All Friends Groups
- Friends of the 400 State Trail
- Friends of the Ahnapee State Trail
- Friends of the Fox River Trail
- Friends of Gandy Dancer State Trail
- Friends of the Great Sauk State Trail
- Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail
- Friends of Military Ridge Trail
- Friends of the Mountain Bay Trail
- Friends of the Red Cedar State Trail
- Friends of the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail
- Friends of the Badger and Sugar River State Trails
- Friends of Tuscobia Trail
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- Bong Naturalist Association
- Equestrian Friends of Governor Knowles State Forest
- Friends of Aztalan State Park
- Friends of Bird Sanctuary
- Friends of Blue Mounds State Park
- Friends of Brunet Island State Park
- Friends of Buckthorn State Park
- Friends of Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area
- Friends of Cedarburg Bog
- Friends of Copper Falls State Park
- Friends of Council Grounds State Park
- Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park
- Friends of Governor Dodge State Park
- Friends of Governor Nelson State Park
- Friends of Governor Thompson State Park
- Friends of Harrington Beach State Park
- Friends of Hartman Creek State Park
- Friends of Havenwoods State Forest
- Friends of High Cliff State Park
- Friends of Horicon Marsh
- Friends of Interstate and Straight Lake State Parks
- Friends of Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit
- Friends of Kettle Moraine State Forest – Southern Unit
- Friends of Kohler Andrae State Park
- Friends of Lake Wissota
- Friends of Lakeshore State Park
- Friends of Lapham Peak
- Friends of MacKenzie Education Center
- Friends of Merrick State Park/TURTLES
- Friends of Mirror Lake State Park
- Friends of Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area
- Friends of Navarino Nature Center
- Friends of New Glarus Woods State Park
- Friends of Pattison and Amnicon Falls State Parks
- Friends of Peninsula State Park
- Friends of Perrot State Park
- Friends of Pike Lake
- Friends of Point Beach State Forest
- Friends of Potawatomi State Park inc
- Friends of Rib Mountain SP
- Friends of Rock Island State Park
- Friends of Sandhill Inc
- Friends of Stonefield/Nelson Dewey State Park
- Friends of Vernon Marsh
- Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park
- Friends of Wildcat Mountain State Park
- Friends of Willow River and Kinnickinnic State Parks
- Friends of Wyalusing State Park
- Friends of Yellowstone Lake State Park
- Heritage Hill State Historical Park
- Newport Wilderness Society
- Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy
Team Knowles Nelson doesn’t ride alone. These are some of the bike advocacy groups, land trusts, and conservation partners working alongside us across Wisconsin. partners helping make Wisconsin more bikeable, on state trails and beyond.
