Posts Tagged ‘400 trail’

We began our 3 day bike trip through rural west-central Wisconsin in a downpour.  In fact it rained on and off much of the first 2 days with the sun waiting to show its face until the morning of our very last day.  You may think that’s a bad thing, but in truth biking in the rain can feel better than biking under a hot sun.  The heavy clouds and wet landscape also added color and shadow to the environment that would have otherwise been lost in a white summer glare. There were sections of the trail that seemed more like they were winding their way through Panama than the heart of cow country.  All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to take in Wisconsin’s amazing Elroy-Sparta and 400 Bike trails.

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Now you’d never thought the day would come.  That day when a bunch of cranes are standing right in front of you and you simply put your camera away.  That’s how things began when we were out riding on the 400 trail this weekend.  “Just more cranes”, I said.

As that first pair of cranes flew off and I pondered the fact that I didn’t even feel the urge to take their picture, I saw 4 more far up the trail in the distance.  4 together seemed a bit rare. Maybe they were young.  I wondered, if I could take advantage of that old “chick parent” call I learned back when I worked at the International Crane Foundation here in Baraboo.  Read the rest of this entry »

You don’t need a big area event, “blow out sale” or  33% discount to have a fun family weekend in Sauk County.  In fact this would be a great weekend to get outdoors and see something you’ve never seen before.  Take this rock for example.  We took 3 steps off the beaten path and wondered if we’d suddenly discovered a Fossil.  How cool is that?

Now here’s the thing.  This rock we found along the 400 trail just north of LaValle may not contain a fossil at all.  It could just be some weird little 2 foot long geological quirk. It is odd though that another rock just a couple feet away seems to have the top of the “mold” as it were. (See Bel0w).  Either way it made for some fun speculation with our 9 year old who was hoping it may be part of a T-Rex, while we told him how here in our part of the state fossils tend to represent plants and animals from the bottom of a shallow sea. Of course we would have never had our fun discussion and wild speculations had we not decided to go for a bike ride on the 400, or if we would have just ridden past the fresh stone collapse instead of stopping to investigate.  Adventures are everywhere of course, thing is you have to sometimes stop what your doing, get off the path and explore a bit to find them.

(Apparent top section of the shape above – the length of the shape is almost 2 ft.)

So what do think?  Is this a fossil?  Maybe over the weekend you could grab your bikes and go have a look for yourself!   Whatever you do this weekend let’s hope you get a chance have a little adventure and to discover something new.. even if it’s only new to you.

The 22 mile 400 Trail between Reedsburg and Elroy never actually closes, however most cyclists & hikers do tend to stay away when it’s covered in snow.  Well, it’s time to load up the bikes, as the 400 trail is once again ready to ride.  The best part, is that this time of year they wildlife is out in force taking in the new spring weather just like the rest of us.

On Sunday we were able to watch Sandhill Cranes, a hawk, two Turkey Vultures & a river otter all frolicking around one small lake from our vantage point along the trail. In fact, as you can see (below) we had to wait a bit while a pair of cranes crossed in front of us.  Fantastic.

We were prepared for the trails to be in bad conditions having just been under heavy snow not so long ago, however we found them to be in good shape for the most part.  There were some slightly muddy areas and the generally damp track did put a little drag under your wheels, but really, nothing to complain about.

Trail passes are $4 daily or $20 per year and will not be available at any of the outlets along the trail until May.  We were directed by one local outlet to simply, “enjoy” until then.  We did.

More Information

• 400 Trail information @ DevilsLakeWisconsin.com
• Official 400 Trail Website
• Wisconsin DNR Admission Fees