Ozaukee Interurban
The Ozaukee Interurban Trail. To view a larger map, click here.
The Interurban trail in Ozaukee County is a sort of window into a bygone era, a time before the car was king and when rail was the way to travel. Light rail electric “trolley” lines spiderwebbed out from major cities to connect smaller cities and villages together. The Interurban often traveled along its own right of way. The Northern Route of the line ran from Milwaukee to Sheboygan, passing through numerous villages along the way. The rail line ceased operation in 1951.
While the loss of the trains is bemoaned by some, the silver lining has been the Rails to Trails program by which many miles of abandoned rail and light rail right-of-way across the country have been resurrected as recreational trails. In Wisconsin, we now have access to areas of the state we would not get to see by automobile.
The Ozaukee Interurban Trail is a 30 mile paved recreation trail running north to south through Ozaukee County and passing through 8 different communities.
Photo by Paul Gutelius.
Opened in 2002, the trail continues to be enhanced and improved, with information kiosks peppered along the route, mile markers and even dog waste stations. The biggest improvement to date, though, is the bridge over I-43 north of Grafton.
The southern half of the trail passes through numerous villages. This requires cautious riding as there are many road crossings. North of Highland Rd. in Mequon the trail crosses railroad tracks. Fences have been installed at the crossing to slow riders down before crossing. Soon after the crossing, the trail passes a power substation, takes a sharp left up a hill and then a sharp right. If you are coming south, this turn comes unexpectedly, so be aware. As the trail passes through the various villages on the route, it does follow city streets once in a while.
In Cedarburg, the railroad station still stands along with the Thru-Truss Bridge, built over the Cedar Creek in 1907. In Grafton, you have the option of taking the “thru route” and or the “river route.” Take your pick; either route is great.
In Port Washington you will go from trail to city street and back to trail several times. On the northern end of the city, you will pass by Allen Edmonds shoes, famous for making the clown shoes worn by Ernest Borgnine in the Great Circus Parade.
North of Port Washington, the trail becomes more rural and wide open as it heads through Belgium to the county line.
As always, enjoy the ride.
I always assumed that County Line Road was where the South end the the Interurban started. But the other day, I noticed that the trail continues south from County Line Road. Curious, I set out to find out how far South. Even the clerk in the DNR office in the basement of the Brown Deer City Hall didn’t quite have it right. She told me that I could park my car in the City Hall lot and take a path through the park (I believe it is Village Park.) “There, beyond the playground equipment”, she said, “is the start of the trail.” Well-intentioned advice, but not quite accurate, because, on inspection, I saw that the trail still went South from there. So, what is the answer to this mystery? If you really want to start at the southern-most part of the Interurban, you access it from the parking lot of Otto’s Liqueur shop on Brown Deer Road. The shop does have a sign posted asking cyclists not to park in their lot (who can blame them?) but to park one block west in the Brown Deer Industrial Park area. Anyway…it is a beautiful trail, but like all trails, it is nice to know where it really, truly, begins!
After checking with the City Cyclist, the Ozaukee County Interurban Trail begins at the county line. The trail which you speak of in Brown Deer is the Brown Deer Recreation Trail which connects with the Interurban. Thanks for the advice on parking at the industrial park and not at Otto’s Liquor if you want to start in Milwaukee County.
I concede that the Interurban officially starts where the City Cyclist says it does; at the county line. South of there, Brown Deer probably pays the upkeep, north of it, the money comes, no doubt from other municipalities. But as a bit of a geographical antiquary, I can’t help but have the conviction (cranky and wrong-headed as it may be) that the real beginning of the interurban lies even *further* south of Brown Deer Road, all the way down to to Wells Street or Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Of course, I can only start pedaling from there in my imagination, but I certainly don’t need my imagination to start as far south as realistically possible; a few yards east of OTTO”S parking lot. There was a time when the Milwaukee Northern Engines pulled cars (perhaps full of Bluesman from Chicago who had weekend gigs in Port Washington and Sheboygan) on that very pavement. Trail names may be named by the cities who maintain them, but they may also, with dignity, keep the names used by the people, long gone, who went north from Milwaukee, and Chicago.
FYI: As of mid-August 2011, Phase I of the connector between the Oak Leaf Trail and the Ozaukee Interurban is now open–and its a very nice trail! Riding south, one can now take the Interurban to County Line Rd., the Brown Deer Trail to Brown Deer, and the Phase I connector to Brown Deer Park. From the park, it is an easy ride on very low-traffic roads (first Range Line Rd. south, then Green Tree Rd. east) to the Oak Leaf Trail at Kletzsch Park. From there, one can take the Milwaukee River Parkway/Oak Leaf Trail all the way to the MAM. Or, if one is interested in riding north, one could park at Brown Deer Park and catch the new connector north.
Here’s a map of the Phase I connector and the subsequent proposed phases that have not yet been completed:
http://overthebarsinmilwaukee.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/oak-leaf-trail-ext.jpg
Here’s information on the timelines for the subsequent phases:
http://overthebarsinmilwaukee.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/oak-leaf-trail-to-interurban-update/
Also, FYI, if you’re not interested in starting at Brown Deer Park (or farther south) but just want to take the Brown Deer Trail/Oz Trail, I wouldn’t park at Otto’s. One could either park at Kohl Park (see jpg map) or at the office park across from the Audi dealer just east of the trail head. Otto’s parking lot is usually quite congested and not very bike-friendly.