Don’t blink: LaGrange, WI

If you blink for a one second while traveling at 60 mph, you will travel 88 feet while your eyes are closed. LaGrange, WI is a town so small, it would take just one lazy blink to pass through the entirety of the town with your eyes closed.

Yeah, LaGrange may be unbelievably small, but with fabulous mountain biking, a nearby beach, small town Wisconsin charm, and an uber-unique café – all an hour’s drive from Madison – it is killer daytrip material. There are few better ways to exploit a beautiful summer or autumn day and you’ll be back in Madison by sunset.

LaGrange lies along Highway 12 southeast of Whitewater, 2 miles from the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, a beautiful swath of glacially-morphed rolling, wooded hills containing two well-maintained systems of trail loops (the John Muir and Emma Carlin trail systems) which total about 36 miles of trails for mountain bikers with even more options for hikers. Hiking is popular on the trails, but mountain biking is surely the most exciting way to experience the terrain and will allow you to see more of the forest in a day.

From the “haven’t ridden a bike since the seventh grade” types to spandex-clad all-terrain cyclo-geeks, South Kettles is a great place to go for an off-road ride. The singletrack, meaning narrow, naturally challenging trails for mountain bikers, at South Kettles twists and turns through the forest along the undulating contours of the glaciated terrain. The trails are generally made of hardpack dirt and devoid of very challenging obstacles. Compared to other area trails that are rockier and challenge the technical bike-handling skills of experienced riders, South Kettle’s well-designed singletrack is quite manageable even for a non-mountain biker that is in shape and eager to try real off-road riding, yet it still challengs advanced riders to carry their speed as they careen through turn after turn. The John Muir parking area and trailhead has a shelter, picnic tables, a fire pit, grills, bathrooms, drinking water, a hose for dirty bikes, many nearby campsites, and free trail maps.

The trails are especially beautiful when the autumnal explosion of color in the Southern Kettles paints the trees and forest floor with intense fall hues. Beginners unsure of their ability and stamina should stick to the Red, Orange, and White trail loops of the John Muir trail system, which entail less challenging terrain and more manageable distances, ranging from 1.5-5.3 miles. Those with more confidence should tackle the slightly more challenging and isolated 10 mile Blue loop, which winds through sandy second-growth pine groves, hilly hardwood forests, and meadows filled with wildflowers. Those who consider themselves expert riders in excellent condition should prove it by riding the Blue loop to the gnarled 2-way Connector Trail to the Emma Carlin trail system. After sampling some of the short trail loops there, then head back down the Connector Trail and through the remainder of the Blue loop to the parking lot for a burly 24-29 mile ride. The trails require a trail pass ($3 daily, $10 yearly) and a State Park parking pass ($5 daily, $20 yearly), both are good at any State Park in Wisconsin.

Saddled right up to the crossroads of Highway 12 and County H (a.k.a. downtown LaGrange) is the one of a kind LaGrange General Store. The General Store combines a great deli, natural foods store, café, and a great beer and wine selection with a small, full-service bike/ski shop known as Backyard Bikes. The well-worn wood-toned interior has pleasant tables both inside and on the back porch under umbrellas. The friendly wrenches (mechanics) in the bike shop rent top-quality, gender-specific Gary Fisher front suspension mountain bikes, which handle the local terrain with ease, for $29 as well as heavier-duty full-suspension mountain bikes for $39-45. They also rent super comfortable hybrid bikes to those looking for a more relaxing ride cruising the picturesque local country roads.

The wide variety of salads, soups, and sandwiches at the General Store are best enjoyed with the General Store’s “Famous” smoothie of sunflower seeds, honey, peach juice, and banana. The Southern Kettle Moraine Unit will also be host to the Fall Color Festival mountain bike race on October 2 where you can race, meet the pro’s, and attend various mountain bike clinics.

Before returning your bike rental, cruise down Highway H, then right on Kettle Moraine Drive to the nice beach at Whitewater Lake for a well-deserved dip (two miles from the General Store). To make even more use of your day exploring rural southeastern Wisconsin, stop at one of the many diner/cafés you will pass by in Fort Atkinson or Whitewater for breakfast on your way to La Grange. To end the day in style, touch down at Chef Robert Hughes’ hot new restaurant, Serendipity, in Cambridge for a nice dinner. If all goes according to plan you’ll be back in Madtown in plenty of time for a full night out at the bars, which, after such an active day, you will have earned.