Monroe: Trails, Nature and History

Trails and Connections

The La Crosse River State Trail is a 22-mile rail trail with a crushed limestone surface in Monroe County. In Sparta, a bridge connects it to the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, which runs through Norwalk, Wilton and Kendall. The Tomah Recreational Trail offers a different kind of route: this four-mile paved, multi-use trail runs between Lake Tomah and Veterans Park.

Nature and Hiking

McMullen Memorial County Park has 88 campsites and includes 50-acre Lake Wazeda. Gas-powered motors are not allowed on the lake, but electric trolling motors are. This distinction between motor types provides practical guidance when planning activities around the lake.

Eureka Maple Woods is on a steep, north-facing slope above Timber Coulee Creek. The area was designated a Wisconsin State Natural Area in 1989. At Mill Bluff State Park, more than two miles of trails offer views of mesas, buttes and rock pinnacles. The park also includes Camel's Bluff, a 1.25-mile hiking loop. The figures show two different scales: a trail network with scenic views and a clearly defined loop.

Museums, History and Special Places

The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum is on the second floor of the historic Masonic Temple in Sparta, Wisconsin. It traces the development of transportation through bicycles, aviation and space travel. Its location in a historic building and its subject matter bring together two distinct aspects of Sparta.

Wegner Grotto is a designated historic site that attracts thousands of visitors each year. Its patriotic and religious monuments were created between 1929 and 1942. At Wegner Grotto County Park, concrete sculptures are part of the landscape, decorated with pieces of glass and found objects.

The garden railroad at the Little Falls Railroad & Doll Museum has more than 500 feet of track. G-scale steam locomotives run along it through Monroe County. The Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center offers a different regional focus: historic sorting mills, photographs and artifacts illustrate the history and development of cranberry growing. Interactive exhibits also include a cranberry harvesting game.

The Little Red School House, originally called Watermill School, was built in 1864 and is located five miles northeast of Tomah, Wisconsin. Its original name and construction date give the historic building a specific time frame.

Fort McCoy and Getting There

The Fort McCoy Commemorative Area includes buildings from the World War II era that illustrate soldiers' lives in the 1940s. The History Center displays memorabilia related to the facility's role in World War I and World War II, the Korean War, the operations of the Cuban Refugee Resettlement Center and Operation Desert Storm. More than 70 pieces of equipment, dating from World War II to the present, are on display at the Equipment Park.

For self-guided tours, the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area is open to the public from June through August on the second and fourth Fridays, from 12 to 4 p.m. Installation operations may take precedence over the published schedule, so check that it is open before traveling. Monroe County offers easy access to Interstates 90 and 94. When choosing a hotel, first decide which destinations matter for your trip, then compare the specific accommodation location with your choices.

More Destinations

Explore more destinations: Tomah, Sparta, Kendall, Kewaunee County, Lincoln County, Pierce, Wood County and Dodge County.

For the broader travel overview: Wisconsin.