Let’s talk rails to trails, as in converting abandoned railway lines into multi-use pathways. Did you know the idea was first sparked by a woman and the first rail-to-trail conversion was done in Wisconsin? Well, yeah, of course to both, right?
Here’s the story…
During the 1900s, automobiles had become so ingrained in American life that by mid-century the railroad industry was in decline, necessitating the abandonment of many of its lines (between 1930 and 1970, it abandoned an estimated 38,000 miles of rail lines). One day, 70-year-old May Theilgaard Watts noticed an unused right-of-way from Chicago’s electric railroad days. Esteemed naturalist and innovative-thinker that she was, Watts suggested converting it to a public footpath. In September 1963 she wrote a “Voice of the People” to the Chicago Tribune, which ultimately got the Illinois Prairie Path and the rails-to-trails movement rolling.
About this time things were also in motion across the border in Wisconsin. The Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) put up for abandonment a section of its 400 Line, which ran from Chicago to Minneapolis. The piece to be abandoned was the Elroy to Sparta corridor in the western part of the state. In 1964, upon encouragement from locals, Wisconsin purchased this right-of-way and formalized the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, which is widely acknowledged as the first rail-to-trail conversion in the United States.
Today there are 2,423 rail trails throughout the United States and a formalized Rail-to-Trails Conservancy preserves unused rail corridors by transforming them into rail trails. How cool is this!
Here in Wisconsin we have an amazing 111 rail trails criss-crossing the state. And while the Elroy-Sparta is definitely fun because of its many tunnels, for my husband and me the Glacial Drumlin is most meaningful. It’s home. With an access point just eight miles from our house, you can find us any given day walking or biking parts of its 53 miles. On our bucket list: a thru ride from Cottage Grove to Waukesha—my husband is retired after all!
My Latest Project
Because we know the Glacial Drumlin Trail like the creases in our boots, I’ve been working on a point-to-point, art-quality map. I’d actually hoped to have it done in time for Celebrate Trails Day but, as they say, life gets in the way (did I mention my husband is now retired?). Hang on, the map is coming soon.
In the meantime, enjoy some scenery from my recent outing on the Glacial Drumlin Trail near Cottage Grove. And don’t forget Saturday, April 26 is Celebrate Trails Day! Get out there, enjoy the glorious spring, and celebrate a rails-to-trail near you!
I heard red-winged blackbirds, sandhill cranes, geese, and spring peeper frogs.
Wood violet, dandelion, and creeping charlie—the first flowers of spring.
When you come upon kitties half way through the trail and they follow you the rest of the way.
