Wild Goose State Trail: WI State Highway 60 to Burnett
The Wild Goose State Trail offers a delightful ride through the rural farm country of east central Wisconsin. It begins 2.2 miles north of the village of Clyman, on Wisconsin State Highway 60. The trailhead there is 1.7 miles east of the intersection of Wisconsin State Highways 16, 26, and 60. It is 5.7 miles west of the Hustisford. Signs clearly mark the trailhead on the north side of the highway.
Amenities are primitive at the trailhead. It has a parking lot, picnic tables, garbage cans, information kiosk, and portable toilet. The crushed limestone trail runs north between a low ridge on the west and Dead Creek to the east. The creek turns away from the trail after 350 yards, but the ridge continues along the trail for 2.5 miles. Meadows and farm fields cover the ridge, while low marshes, filled with cattails and small clusters of trees, grow to the east.
Within the first half mile of the trail, yellow signs inform bicyclists of an upcoming shooting range. The range is on the ridge to the left of the trail, and 0.8 mile from the trailhead. Gunfire is often heard on weekends, especially in autumn.
Paralleling the bicycle trail is a horse path. It travels next to the trail, occasionally intersecting it. The two paths converge to cross over roads and bridge streams. The 14-mile horse path runs from the trailhead, past the town of Burnett, to Pautsch Road.
After a slight uphill climb for 4.5 miles, the Wild Goose State Trail arrives in Juneau. The trail winds past the large factory complex of Sensient Technologies Corporation. Sensient makes colors, flavors, and fragrances used in food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.
After crossing County Road S in Juneau, an information kiosk is found. The trail surface is paved from that intersection for a half mile north. Bicyclists may want to stop at Juneau’s Wild Goose Park. It has a picnic shelter, drinking water, flush toilets, playground, and athletic fields. One of the interesting features of Wild Goose Park is that it offers overnight camping for hikers and bikers on the trail. Campers may pick from designated campsites, with self-registration and payment located at the picnic shelter. The cost is $10 per night.
Wild Goose Park in Juneau is a great place to start or end a bicycle ride. Its paved parking lot is found off N. Hyland Street. Traveling by car, turn north on N. Hyland Street from County Road S (E. Center Street) in Juneau. The park is on the left after 0.3 mile.
Named “Victory” by settlers in 1845, Dodge County’s seat of government was later renamed for Paul Juneau, the son of Solomon Juneau. The elder Juneau was a French-Canadian fur trader who founded Milwaukee. The son, Paul Juneau, was born in 1822 near Milwaukee, and later came to Dodge County. Along with his father (who settled in Theresa), the two served as liaisons between local Native Americans and white settlers. Paul Juneau died at age 36 in 1858, and his grave is in the Juneau Cemetery. Juneau was incorporated as a village in 1865 and as a city in 1879.
Leaving Juneau, the Wild Goose Trail runs congruent to Wisconsin State Highway 26 for 3 miles. While the highway is not always visible, traffic can easily be heard. After passing the Dodge County Airport, a trailhead appears at the intersection of Wisconsin State Highways 26 and 33. An information kiosk, self-registration station, and picnic tables are found there. Bicyclists should use caution when crossing Wisconsin State Highway 33.
Three miles north of Juneau, the Wild Goose Trail runs through Minnesota Junction. This small community was named for the place where an east-west Milwaukee Road line, expected to extend to Minnesota, intersected a north–south Chicago and Northwestern Railroad line. The north–south line was abandoned in 1984, and is now the Wild Goose State Trail. The trail still crosses the operational east–west Wisconsin and Southern Railroad line. Bicyclists should exercise care when crossing these tracks.
While the trail is surrounded by trees and bushes, the landscape becomes more agricultural in the 3.5 miles from Minnesota Junction to Burnett. When crossing County Road E, bicyclists may want to diverge from the trail and bike 350 yards west to Nitschke County Park. Park lands include 39 preserved animal effigy, conical, and linear mounds believed to have been constructed between 800-1100 AD.
Back on the trail, its entrance into Burnett is marked by old railroad cars left on a side rail by the grain elevator. The trail then swerves onto Depot Street. To reach the trailhead, cyclists turn left (west) at the intersection of Depot and Main Street, and bike 0.3 mile to a small town park. Just off Main Street, the park stands next to the town hall and volunteer fire department. A covered picnic shelter, flush toilets, playground, and athletic field are found there next to babbling Spring Brook. It is 11.6 miles from Wisconsin State Highway 60 to the town park in Burnett. Burnett was named for Ellsworth Burnett, a government surveyor who was killed nearby in 1836.
Map of trailheads and addresses along this section of the trail.
When traveling to Burnett by car, take County Road B east from U.S. Highway 151 in Beaver Dam and drive 5.5 miles to Wisconsin State Highway 26. Turn left (north) and proceed 0.6 miles to Main Street in Burnett. Turn left (west) on Main Street to reach the town park.
Trail last ridden and documented in August, 2020.