Seven Waters Trail: Norway to Rochester
The segment of the Seven Waters Trail from Norway to Rochester runs through a mixed landscape of rural and small towns. In some places the countryside is filled with farmsteads and agricultural land. Forests and low marshland are also seen from the path. In Waterford and Rochester, the trail journeys through residential neighborhoods.
This trail section from Richard J. Meyer Park in Norway to Chase Eagle Park in Rochester is 6.3 miles long. The trail surface varies between screened limestone, asphalt emulsion and asphalt blacktop. The gradient along the route is level.
The trail crosses and uses village streets in Waterford and Rochester. A dangerous intersection is at busy Wisconsin State Highway 164. The trail gradient rises to highway level, where there are no crosswalk signals or marked lanes. To increase visibility, cyclists are encouraged to wear fluorescent clothes and use headlights/taillights on their bikes.
In Norway, Richard J. Meyer Park serves as an excellent trailhead. This 18-acre park provides plenty of amenities. It has restrooms, picnic pavilions, walking trails, meadow gardens, a playground, ball diamonds, athletic courts and fields, and a modern rental barn.
To reach the park by car, turn north from Wisconsin State Highway 36 onto Heg Park Road. Drive 0.6 mile and take a slight right (north) onto Loomis Road. Continue 0.2 mile, and turn right on Meyer Drive to head into the park.
At Meyer Park, a spur trail leads from the parking lot to the Seven Waters Trail. Turning right takes trail-goers south toward Waterford and Rochester. The trail travels next to Wisconsin State Highway 36. After 0.8 mile, the path crosses Heg Park Road. In this section, as is common on this trail, a thick corridor of trees and bushes lines the path and interrupts the view of the countryside.
At Heg Park Road, cyclists may want to diverge from the trail and take the road north for 0.4 mile to visit two historic sites. An “Old Muskego” historical marker by Norway Lutheran Church and its cemetery conveys the story of forty emigrants who came from Norway in 1839. After many setbacks, the community eventually flourished.
Across the road to the west is Colonel Heg County Park. It’s a well-outfitted park with restrooms, drinking water, picnic shelters, a playground, and athletic fields. The Norway Historical Society operates a museum and several historical buildings there.
The park honors Colonel Hans Christian Heg, a Norwegian American abolitionist and Union Army officer in the Civil War. Heg commanded the 15th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, known as the Scandinavian Regiment. He died from wounds at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. His homestead was located nearby, and his body was interred at the neighboring cemetery.
After Heg Park Road the Seven Waters Trail continues south, paralleling the highway for 2 miles. It then moves away from the main thoroughfare, only to cross busy Wisconsin State Highway 164. The trail grade rises slightly to meet the road. Cyclists should use caution at this trail intersection, as there are no crosswalk signs or marked lanes.
Because of the tree corridor surrounding the trail, bicyclists may not realize it when they enter Waterford. From Wisconsin State Highway 164, it’s almost a mile to the village’s Main Street. In a historic building on the corner sits Crazy Train Saloon. This structure was originally the depot for the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company’s interurban railway, which ran between Milwaukee and Burlington.
Before white settlement, this area was home to the people of the Potawatomi nation. In 1833, their land was ceded to the U.S. government. Samuel Chapman and Levi Barnes settled here in 1836. Originally a part of Rochester, Waterford was separated in 1847 as a township. The village was incorporated in 1906.
Just before Main Street, the surface of the Seven Waters Trail turns from screened limestone to an asphalt emulsion. The path continues south past an electric substation, through forests and marshy lowlands. After 0.6 mile, it leaves Waterford and enters Rochester.
The trail arrives at Wisconsin State Highways 20 and 83 (Beck Drive). Bike route signs direct trail-goers left (southeast) on Beck Drive for 100 feet, and then right (southwest) onto Evergreen Drive. After 100 feet, the bike route then turns left (south) onto Buck Road. It follows Buck Road through a neighborhood for 175 yards, where a path resumes southward.
Map of trailheads and addresses along this section of the trail.
Trail-goers with an appetite for barbeque may want to depart from the bike route and turn right (north) on Evergreen Drive. It’s a short distance to Big O’s Texas BBQ. The owner is originally from Dallas, Texas, and now serves brisket, pulled pork, chicken, ribs, and more to area residents. The menu includes sandwiches, plates, sides, and desserts.
On the Seven Waters Trail, the blacktop path departs Buck Road and heads south nearly a half mile aside Wisconsin State Highway 36. It then crosses Wind Lake Drainage Canal, and journeys through a light forest in Rochester. It crosses three streets before arriving at Case Eagle Park. While bike route signs do not indicate the path’s direction at the park road, trail-goers should follow it to the right (west).
The park road goes 0.4 mile, past Jean Jacobson Dog Park, to a parking lot and picnic pavilion. Case Eagle Park serves as a solid trailhead. This 239-acre park also has restrooms, a playground, athletic fields and courts, ball diamonds, and a kayak/canoe launch on the Fox River. Views of the Fox River near the dam are quite picturesque.
To reach Case Eagle Park by car, turn west from Wisconsin Highway 36 (Milwaukee Avenue) onto County Highway J (Rochester Street). Drive 0.2 mile to the park entrance on the left (west). Go a half mile, passing the dog park, to reach the parking lot, pavilion and restrooms.
These lands surrounding Rochester were originally home to the Potawatomi nation. In the early 19th century, a group of five “Yankee” families came to live here from Rochester, Vermont. They were staunch abolitionists, and there are claims that the old Union House hotel in Rochester was part of the Underground Railroad. The village was incorporated in 1912, and today supports a coffeehouse and several restaurants.
Trail last ridden and documented in August, 2023.