Southern Wisconsin Trails list & map resources

*This is very much a live list, I will be updating with more info, descriptions, and more links as time allows, always looking for more!*

If I can figure out how to make an interactive map I will, but this has been on my mind since moving to Wisconsin.  Here's a list of the trails we like to run, pretty much all of these are within an hour drive from the Madison area, so they're all good.

West of Madison
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Military Ridge (from the Verona Park & Ride)  Military Ridge - Google

• Pancake flat, but dirt, also on the south side of town, for long run days I'll just run here. 
• Dirt, so if you need to just do some long mindless miles, this is easier on the joints. 
• Bikes, a lot of them sometimes, just obey the trail rules and you'll be fine. 
• A few road crossings, but otherwise you can zone out
• You are pretty exposed for most of this, and besides Verona, and then Mt Horeb, no real options for water, so pack accordingly. 
• I've done 32+ miles out here in the heat of summer and early spring when there's still snow 
• Skiers do frequent this in the winter, so I've not gone out there or messed with their tracks.

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Donald Park  Donald Park - Google

• South side of town, so for us all of a 20 minute drive.  
• Horses and hikers only, no bikes or skiers, so it stays pretty low key.  
• Lots of double track, some areas of single track, a few good climbs and a lot of interconnected trails and options.  
• You're pretty isolated, I've done some night training out here to acclimate better. 
• I think I've done 15+ out here, but by then I did start to feel like I was running circles.  

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Blue Mound State Park   Blue Mound - Google

• Wikipedia states this is the "largest hill in the southern half of the state"
• Tons of trails to explore
• Lots of single track, much of this is listed as Mountain Bike trails, so plan accordingly (note on the maps, I use many map sources, but open cycle, being a bike focused map, tends to show these trails quite well for my use)
• Elevation, both accumulated on the trails, but if you need that final push you can run up & down the primary paths or road. 
• In the winter we ran, some of the paths were well worn, others were untouched (on the west side of the hill), so we had to power our way through many miles of deep snow
• So far I've done around 15 miles out here (and pulled about 2700' of gain)

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Governor Dodge State Park  Governor Dodge - Google

• This one is pretty new to me, a bit farther west, but often less people 
• I just ran 22 out here, the outer loop is a horse trail and around 15 miles, so plenty of trail without repeating. 
• Not the biggest, but a substantial amount of elevation can be gotten for the area, and some respectable ascents & descents. 
• Bonus, they have a concession stand that sells pretty phenomenal ice cream :)

In Madison
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Pheasant Branch Conservancy  Pheasant Branch - Google

• Ok, I'll be honest, I don't come back here anymore, but when I first moved here and had no idea what was what, I came here often to run and learn, it's about a 5K loop on mostly dirt with a touch of terrain. 
• Good to get out in a social place
• North side of town, was convenient for my previous job. 

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UW Arboretum  UW Arboretum - Google

• Right here in the middle of town, again about a 10 minute drive for me. 
• Flatter, there is a little bit of elevation but overall, no big climbs. 
• Lots of single track weaving through the forest
• Pretty populated but no dogs allowed and no bikes on trail. 
• While very hidden, there is a bathroom here. 
• You're near the lakes and ponds, so often bugs, but often deer and frogs and wildlife as well. 
• Maps are available in a big newspaper format, print one up and pack it and you can weave around and explore. 
• I think I've done around 10 out here, started to feel like I was circling, but it's convenient and nice flat trail when you aren't trying go max out elevation. 
• Skiers do come here in the winter so I haven't tried running it 

North of Madison
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Devil's Lake Devil's Lake - Google

• "The" place to go, I won't lie, it's a great place, but it's accessible so a lot of people show up on nice days/weekends. 
• Lots of trails to choose from. 
• Just running bluff to bluff circles will get you about 5 miles & 1000' of gain, so if you want to hammer your knees, there you go (my record is 3 loops in a row)
• The bluffs are the most popular places, and strangely, are mostly asphalt.  But, once you get off of that, you can find a lot of double and single track. 
• Run all the way to Parfrey's Glen to stretch out some distance. 
• Secret bonus, I was shown if you run past Parfrey's about a mile you can hit some ski slopes and really practice your hill game (Devil's Head Resort)
• Not many of these trails are groomed in the winter, so have at it. 
• And I'm pretty positive no bikes are allowed, I've never seen one and it's a very populated area. 
• Cell service sucks, but the terrain changes weather a bit, so I've been up here many times as storms have blown over and barely touched the area. 
• Lots of views, bluffs, hikers, and forest.  
• So far I've clocked close to 30 miles out here, and except for trying to time it right, I never felt like I had to run circles to get my miles (except that last 1/4 mile in the parking lot)

East of Madison
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Kettle Moraine, Scuppernong Trail Head  Kettle Moraine, Scuppernong - Google

• A smaller section of trails that I first learned about during the North Face Endurance Challenge races. 
• Lots of variety
• Bathrooms

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Kettle Moraine, Nordic Trail Head (& John Muir Trail)  Kettle Moraine, Nordic Trail Head - Google

• My go to for sure, one of my favorites
• Lots of variety, all wide trails, no bikes allowed. 
• Bathrooms and a warming shelter. 
• Outer loop is close to 9 miles, and I think I get 800' of gain (I'll check on that later)
• Connects to the Ice Age Trail so you can always really stretch out and go forever. 
• Mostly runnable with a few certain walking hills for me. 
• Bonus, across the street is the John Muir Mt Bike Trail, so A) no bikes come to Nordic, and B) you can run those just backwards.  It is Mt Bike single track so it's hard dirt and an interesting time, but if you want an adventure and don't mind stopping to get out of the way for bikes, you can add 10 more real quick. 
• Lots of pine forests, lots of tree cover, not that much exposed in comparison. 
• A few races start/finish here, for good reason. 
• Inner network of shorter trails to add some change. 
• Also a place I've done backwards loops at night to try and adjust. 
• I've ran 32+ out here (a few loops and out and back on ice age), I love it. It never feels crowded. 

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Kettle Moraine, Lapham Peak  Kettle Moraine Lapham Peak - Google

• This is a new one for us, we just ran it for the first time recently. 
• We ran 10 miles and got 1000' of gain, so respectable (for Wisconsin). 
• Lots of wide trail, pretty standard for the course, but some single track as well
• About an hour east of Madison

South of Madison

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Ice Age Trail, Montrose Segment  Ice Age, Montrose - Google

• I've only ran here once with a friend, it's a pretty straightforward jump onto the ice age, we did out and back of around 12 miles I think right before Christmas. 
• Plenty of single track
• Remote, so not crowded (when I went)
• Like a lot of the ice age, you feel like you're running through old farm land and hills, but a nice way to change it up. 

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On the list but not yet visited:

Kettle Moraine North Segment  Kettle North - Google 
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Brown County Reforestation Camp  Brown County Reforestation - Google
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Pike Lake  Pike Lake - Google
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Indian Lake  Indian Lake - Google
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Additional sources for maps.

The Ice Age Trail Alliance has a pretty great map showing the whole map for the whole state here:  

Iceagetrail maps

As always, my favorite for true map building if you have the time is Cal Topo, you can build your own, export GPX files, import, etc, really helps for learning a new race.  I think you get to make 5 maps for free with an email address, easy enough, right?

 Caltopo.com/map