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Milwaukee County's Oak Leaf Trail: A History
Milwaukee loves the Oak Leaf Trail, a 125-mile path connecting the major Milwaukee County parks. But many don't know the history behind the trail.
Believing parks to be the "lungs of the people," long-range thinkers like Charles Whitnall advocated for the verdant spaces the trail would later snake through. To promote biking as an alternative to precious gasoline during wartime, Harold "Zip" Morgan designed a route that 1960s riders built on. Years later, bicycling enthusiasts worked overtime with local leadership to get a 76-mile route ready for the country's bicentennial, creating the beloved 76 Bike Trail. Join local author Jill Rothenbueler Maher as she uncovers the previously untold stories of a Milwaukee County treasure.
Believing parks to be the "lungs of the people," long-range thinkers like Charles Whitnall advocated for the verdant spaces the trail would later snake through. To promote biking as an alternative to precious gasoline during wartime, Harold "Zip" Morgan designed a route that 1960s riders built on. Years later, bicycling enthusiasts worked overtime with local leadership to get a 76-mile route ready for the country's bicentennial, creating the beloved 76 Bike Trail. Join local author Jill Rothenbueler Maher as she uncovers the previously untold stories of a Milwaukee County treasure.
176 pages, Paperback
Published April 8, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 26, 2019
This interesting book loses a star because, as a history trail guide, it needs a map! Try this one: https://county.milwaukee.gov/County-F...
Native tribes, such as the Sauk and Menomonee, wore the early trails around here, eventually morphing into Kinnickinnic Avenue among others.
Fast forward to the sixties when adults awakened to bicycles as a form of transportation that did not pollute while offering exercise. Wisconsin opened the first rail-to-bike trail projects in the mid-sixties, with one from Elroy to Sparta.
The Oak Leaf Trail includes railroad rights of way, such as the North Shore from downtown Milwaukee through Shorewood and Estabrook Park.
Americans renewed their taste for healthy living in the seventies. Gaylord Nelson led the first Earth Day, generating interest in conservation and the outdoors. Then the energy crisis of the seventies forced people to rethink their reliance on cars. Wheel and Sprocket began the next year with Trek following a few years later. Milwaukee bicyclists got an official route in seventy-six, the year of the bicentennial.
The Beerline Trail opened nine years ago from downtown to Riverwest on a right-of-way that carried fresh beer from the breweries to thirsty people around the country.
Three years ago, a pedestrian bridge replaced a train trestle from the twenties that crossed Capitol Drive where the Oak Leaf Trail Bridge now arches over the busy thoroughfare. The Ghost Train, part of that replacement, opened as public art with an illuminated soundscape recreating the light and sound of the train traveling sixty miles an hour. http://villageofshorewood.org/742/The... I live across the river from the installation, enjoying the sounds every evening knowing that former residents here heard the actual train from this ninety-year-old walk-up.
Heading south from there, the trail follows the Milwaukee River, passing through wooded areas such as Cambridge Woods as well as parks with views of Lake Michigan then wheeling past the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Amelia Kegel and her brother own Wheel and Sprocket, the chain of bicycle shops founded by her dad. On bike rides, she merges with the outdoors, writes Kegel in her introduction.
Interesting book. It’s great to see so much bicycling around here. (But we need to get bikes, scooters and other wheelies off the sidewalks! I work downtown five days a week. Why do pedestrians need to get out of the way for speeding bikers? A group of five bicyclists recently wove through the walkers. There’s no enforcement. It’s disheartening to see bike cops on sidewalks.)
Native tribes, such as the Sauk and Menomonee, wore the early trails around here, eventually morphing into Kinnickinnic Avenue among others.
Fast forward to the sixties when adults awakened to bicycles as a form of transportation that did not pollute while offering exercise. Wisconsin opened the first rail-to-bike trail projects in the mid-sixties, with one from Elroy to Sparta.
The Oak Leaf Trail includes railroad rights of way, such as the North Shore from downtown Milwaukee through Shorewood and Estabrook Park.
Americans renewed their taste for healthy living in the seventies. Gaylord Nelson led the first Earth Day, generating interest in conservation and the outdoors. Then the energy crisis of the seventies forced people to rethink their reliance on cars. Wheel and Sprocket began the next year with Trek following a few years later. Milwaukee bicyclists got an official route in seventy-six, the year of the bicentennial.
The Beerline Trail opened nine years ago from downtown to Riverwest on a right-of-way that carried fresh beer from the breweries to thirsty people around the country.
Three years ago, a pedestrian bridge replaced a train trestle from the twenties that crossed Capitol Drive where the Oak Leaf Trail Bridge now arches over the busy thoroughfare. The Ghost Train, part of that replacement, opened as public art with an illuminated soundscape recreating the light and sound of the train traveling sixty miles an hour. http://villageofshorewood.org/742/The... I live across the river from the installation, enjoying the sounds every evening knowing that former residents here heard the actual train from this ninety-year-old walk-up.
Heading south from there, the trail follows the Milwaukee River, passing through wooded areas such as Cambridge Woods as well as parks with views of Lake Michigan then wheeling past the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Amelia Kegel and her brother own Wheel and Sprocket, the chain of bicycle shops founded by her dad. On bike rides, she merges with the outdoors, writes Kegel in her introduction.
Interesting book. It’s great to see so much bicycling around here. (But we need to get bikes, scooters and other wheelies off the sidewalks! I work downtown five days a week. Why do pedestrians need to get out of the way for speeding bikers? A group of five bicyclists recently wove through the walkers. There’s no enforcement. It’s disheartening to see bike cops on sidewalks.)
January 18, 2021
I enjoyed reading the inside stories along with the public and private efforts to build and preserve the trail. Easy to read and illustrated with great photographs and a few paintings.
May 2, 2024
A great bit of Milwaukee County history. It was fun to discover how the Oak Leaf Trail began and gives hope that it will not only continue, but will expand even more.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews