I came here to do a small hike on a cold Saturday. I hiked the 1.5 mile trail loop around the river and lake. I admit, At first I tried to do the 5 mile trail by Crystal Ridge, but struggled to find it, possibly I parked in the wrong area? I'm not sure, so I looked up a different trail using my AllTrails app and it took me over to this one. It was a very nice little trail with some beautiful scenery. Although, there was some construction happening, it was very nice. We started on a trail through some large trees. I could imagine it will be gorgeous in the fall. This trail took us along a river, which led to a large waterfall with rushing water. I love the sound of rushing water! We then went around a large lake to make the loop complete. Overall, I thought it was a very nice hike and I would do it again! read more

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Great trail!! In conjunction with the Crystal Ride Mountain Bike trail, this is a great way to spend a couple of hours. The websites say it is a "easy to moderate" level single track trail. That may be so for an experienced riders, but I would recommend riders to have a solid technical base before riding these trails. I used to do a lot of Mt. bike riding back in college, but have been away from it for a long time focusing on road riding. This was a great trail for getting back in the swing of mountain biking. The trails really kept our interest and provided a good number of challenges. There is plenty of parking at Crystal Ridge. Trail is fairly new and not too well known yet, so it was not crowded. Condition obviously varies with the weather. If there is one thing that needs improvement, I would say that the trails could be marked better. There are markings at most intersections, but often times you can go for quite a while without seeing one. Hats off to the Metro Mountain Bikers for all of their hard work on the trail! Go to this link for a map and trail condition details: http://trailville.com/wiki/WI_Milwaukee_Whitnall_Park_Alpha_Trail Additional link to Milwaukee County's website with trial info: http://county.milwaukee.gov/MountainBikeTrail8288.htm read more

Decent trails overall, but have to agree that markings could be much better- other than that, will be visiting this place again next Spring.

All things considered, this is a nice little loop. The entire loop system straddles Whitnall Park and Crystal Ridge Ski Area, making for an approximate 5 mile loop if you choose to ride both sections. I find it easiest to access the trail head by parking in the Whitnall Park Golf Course lot and heading across 92nd street, where the Toboggan run is located. If the gate is closed, stay off the trail. You might find conditions suitable for riding, but you'll rut the trail and ruin everyone's lines for a week. The trails are well maintained by MMB, the Milwaukee chapter of WORBA amd they seem to make yearly improvements to the trail. I'll agree with Brian, some of the trail markings leave something to be desired, and it is not uncommon to see a rider going the wrong way near trail crossings. Level of difficulty is pretty low, but I always seem to have trouble at an area of switchbacks nonetheless. Mostly, this trail is just fun. Easy enough to keep your feet on the pedals and tight enough to keep things interesting. read more