FDL - Elkhart Lake - Kiel - Saint Peter

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Fond Du Lac, WI, US

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Route-overzicht

Scott Hostetter

A full time, year round cycling enthusist, a bike tourer and commuter who hasn't had a driver's license, by choice, since 2004

87 km

685 m

A Wisconsin day ride from FDL thru Glenbeulah, Elkhart Lake, Kiel, St. Anna, Calvary, St. Peter back to FDL

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Routedetails

This a completed paved loop route that is full of Wisconsin dairy land rolling hills, a few short little steep roads around Crystal Lake.  The bulk of this route is on paved county and state roads both with and without shoulders.  State Hwy 67 will be the busiest vehicular traffic section of the ride, but most of Hwy 67 has a wide shoulder; however there are few short sections where ravines come right to the edge of the road so there are guardrails which are installed in place of a paved shoulder meaning for a few briefs sections the rider will be in the traffic lane.  This ride is best suited to an rider with average or high level of experience.  Since I am a year round rider this route can be ridden any time of year, however, to get the most out of the ride anytime during the typical bike riding season (late spring thru mid autumn) is a great time to due this mid range (4-6 hour) day ride.

This day ride begins and ends at the [Winnebago Park and Ride](https://maps.app.goo.gl/fTAjCNGziP6beqNN7) on the Peebles/Prairie Trails. The first segment of this route utilizes the Prairie Trail to Golf Course Road to climb the Ledge (local name for the Niagra Escarpment) that overlooks Lake Winnebago on the eastern shoreline. There's a Fond Du Lac water tower at the top of the ledge on Golf Course Rd. A right turn onto Cty Road UU will lead the rider to the Old Plank Road Trail, which heads east for several miles to Greenbush, Wisconsin.

At the point of turning north and riding across State Hwy 23 at Greenbush the rider has a couple of options.  Hwy 23 has limited access entry for safety, which affects motor vehicles more so than bicycles, however, what it does affect is how the RWGPS software handles routing when crossing over Hwy 23. The software follows all the vehicular traffic rules, but if you look at the heat map lines on the route map you should notice that bike riders are not following the vehicle traffic rules that is because it's actually safer for bicyclists to use the drainage cut outs in the traffic islands to control traffic flow as make shift bike lanes to ride across HWY 23 at the intersection of the road they are routed on. What this means is if you look at the route map very carefully you see that at Greenbush the route wants the rider to turn left onto Sugerbush Rd and immediately turn right onto Hwy 23 to ride 1/4 mile to Cty Road A where the rider must merge into the FAST lane, to exit the Hwy on the left, come to a stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before completing the crossing of Hwy 23 onto Cty Rd. A.  This is very unsafe, but is the legal way according to vehicular traffic flow rules.  Here's the options 1) Make the left turn onto Sugerbush Rd as the route dictates, but do NOT turn right in the eastbound flow of traffic on Hwy 23.  Instead, just cross completely over Hwy 23 making sure to check traffic coming in the westbound lanes before proceeding to completely cross over Hwy 23. Do not continue north on Sugarbush Rd.  Ride on the far left side of the shoulder of HWY 23 (yes, the westbound traffic will be coming at you.  You'll be easy to see) the 1/4 mile to Cty Road A, turn left (north) on Cty Rd. A and continue on the route as usual. (I have done this personally, and it works BUT...2) The BETTER OPTION.  Do not turn left on Sugerbush Rd as the routing software dictates due to traffic rules.  Continue riding east on the Old Plank Trail for a 1/4 mile or so, and turn left on Cty Rd. A and then cross HWY 23 in the same manner as described in 1) using the drainage cut outs as bike lanes, making sure to stop in the middle between the two traffic flows to make sure it's safe to continue crossing the westbound lanes to continue onto Cty Rd. A (I've done this as well and I prefer this option since it removes the 1/4 mile ride east on the westbound shoulder of Hwy 23.  I've included special notes on the Route to help with this issue.  Again..follow the heat maps where other riders, like myself, have gone.  This description makes it sound way worse than it really is, but I need to try to be as detailed at possible.

Now that the drama of crossing State Hwy 23 is complete, the ride continues north with descent width shoulders as you ride into Glenbeulah continuing north on Cty Rd. A, and the same turning east again on Cty Rd. C.  When you turn left onto Cty Rd. CJ there will be a short but fairly steep climb as you begin riding around the shoreline of Crystal Lake.  The shoulder will disappear and be replaced by guardrails because of the sheer drop offs down to the lake's edge.  This road is residential, with pedestrians, dog walkers, and slow moving vehicles as it winds around with a few fairly steep but short climbs. The ride departs the Crystal Lake shoreline when the route veers left onto Cty Rd. J.  The shoulder returns and the ride is pretty easy from that point into Elkhart Lake.

The segment from Elkhart Lake to Kiel is on State Hwy 67 that again is a rolling highway with mostly wide shoulders; however, there is about a @poi[2 mile long segment](149211453) when the highyway is winding though the State forested area where there are some short segments, approximately 4 or 5, where the shoulder narrows quite a bit to give way to guardrails due to some rather steep drop offs and ravines.  The good news is these sections are all pretty short, typically no more than 50 yards or so.  Once the the curves have again returned to a straight away the shoulder remains wide the rest of the way into Kiel.

From Kiel all the way back to Fond Du Lac on the route the county roads @photo[vary as far as shoulder width](16971672), however, these roads don't have a lot of vehicular traffic, and what traffic there is tends to yield a wide berth to cyclists as they pass.  The busiest road on the segment between Kiel and Fond Du Lac is county road WH, which has a descent shoulder for cyclists.

I've included several POIs on the route for options for food and drink, but obviously this is not a comprehensive list for the towns of Elkhart Lake and Kiel, but for the smaller towns on the route I've included what's available on this route.  If you've never experienced a traditional Wisconsin Super Club, then @poi[Schwarz's in St. Anna](148802962) maybe a great stop before finishing off the last 20 or so miles.  If you're holding off to have dinner after the ride, then one of my favorite spots in Fond Du Lac is about 2 miles west down Winnebago Drive from the Trail head parking lot called @poi[Schmitty's Oarhouse Bar & Grill](148804448).

This ride is not extremely difficult, but it's probably best suited for an above average cyclist that is used to riding with vehicular traffic, with lots of rolling hills over the entire route. The winds in this region of Wisconsin are generally (more than 50% of the time) out of a westerly direction.  Typically southwest or northwest and conversely a little less than 50% of the time out of the southest or northest.  I road this route again on Saturday April 5, 2025 and it was a cool (low 40s) with a brisk 15-20 mph northwest wind, which made the return west a good workout.  This is typical for early spring, but the wind speeds as summer gets into gear, unless a weather system is approaching, should average around 5-10 mph.  My point is this predominately east and west route will probably have both a headwind and tailwind component depending on wind direction, and if the winds are over 15mph it can be a bit of workout for any rider.

FDL - Elkhart Lake - Kiel - Saint Peter - FDL LOOP

Route-overzicht

Routedetails

Andere routes van Scott Hostetter

FDL - Elkhart Lake - Kiel - Saint Peter - FDL LOOP

Route-overzicht

Routedetails

Andere routes van Scott Hostetter

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