Ahnapee Trail: 31 miles for 31 years

Last weekend, we decided to go for a bike ride since naturally our "nice" days are now numbered with the onset of fall.  Last Sunday had temperatures in the lows 70s, but it was still pretty cloudy and breezy.  Nonetheless, it makes for good biking weather when the sun is not beating down on you. We felt like biking somewhere new, so we decided to try out the Ahnapee State Trail (pronounced ANN ah pee).  The mainstem of the trail (around 16 miles) runs from Algoma on the Lake Michigan shore in Kewaunee County to the northwest to Sturgeon Bay on the Door Peninsula.  The route is the old railway for the Ahnapee & Western railway.

We drove east to the city of Algoma (which originally was called Ahnapee, or "land of the great gray wolf") with the intention of riding "some" of the trail and turning around whenever we felt like it.  Reviews suggested that the trail was pretty bumpy and not well-maintained since it is also used for trail riding with horses.  We set off on our bikes from Algoma and had a nice ride through farmland and forest along the Ahnapee River for several miles, and through a few small communities.  The trail itself was fairly remote without much in the way of rest stops or points of interest on the way, but was in pretty good condition despite the crushed gravel surfacing.  By the time we made it to the 12 mile point, it made sense (at the time) to just keep going the last few miles to Sturgeon Bay, making the outbound trip about 1.5 hours total.  Another factor in the decision to keep going was the fact that the Ahnapee Trail is a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, one of the long distance trails we try to visit as part of our Wisconsin travels.  This 16 mile stretch was a new segment for us, plus it was nice to have the opportunity to do a section by bike.  We took a break in the parking area in Sturgeon Bay, and turned around to head back to Algoma.

Needless the say the wind shifted and was working against us (pretty flat so not "uphill both ways", but into the wind both ways!), plus fatigue set in by the time we set out for the return trip.  We did see lots of wildlife including porcupine, deer, a garter snake, and even stopped to observe some sandhill cranes near the trail.  It was not crowded and for most of the ride, we had the place to ourselves.  The one thing we did not account for was to bring enough water for a 30 mile bike ride.  There were no points along the route to fill up since the two parks we did pass did not have running water.  Even so, we made it back to the truck in one piece (barely) and finished the last of the water.  After a little moaning and groaning and wondering why we did such a thing to ourselves, we realized we had biked 31 miles round trip- coincidence?  I think not.

Next stop was Ahnapee Brewery to grab a celebratory beverage right before they closed and a quick view of the Algoma Lighthouse.  Then, back to Green Bay to get ready for another busy week.

Several cool murals in town

Algoma Light on Lake Michigan