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Bash on a bike trail

Kick up your wheels at a small-town fall festival.

By the start of September, temperatures cool down and everyone starts thinking the same thing: Time to plan a weekend bike trip.

Autumn is a great time to try out a new bike trail, not only because of fall colors and invigorating weather but because so many small towns throw harvest festivals in September and October.

Food always is the main draw, and there's nothing bicycle tourists like more than food. Grape harvests result in wine festivals and Oktoberfests in a river of beer; that goes over pretty well, too.

So why not pair a bike ride with a fun little festival? Here are some ideas for 2009.

Wisconsin bike trails

Elroy-Sparta Trail in southwest Wisconsin: Sept. 11-12, Ben Biken BBQ Bash in Sparta (that's Ben pictured), the northern trailhead of this 32-mile, three-tunnel trail in southwest Wisconsin. Add three other trails for a 101-mile system.

Old Abe State Trail in western Wisconsin: Aug. 22-23, Chippewa River Rendezvous in Cornell. Sept. 4-7, Lion's Sturgeon Festival in Jim Falls. Sept. 18-20, Oktoberfest in Chippewa Falls.

Follow the Chippewa River on this 19½-mile trail between Chippewa Falls and Cornell, named for a ferocious Civil War mascot; see A trail for Old Abe.

Sugar River State Trail in southern Wisconsin: Sept. 4-6, Wilhelm Tell Festival in New Glarus. Sept. 25-27, Octoberfest in New Glarus. Sept. 26, Autumn Fest and Sugar River Tour, Brodhead. Oct. 3, Fall Festival in Albany.

Since this 23-mile trail goes through  Wisconsin cheese country, food is bountiful and heritage strong; see Swiss at heart.

Military Ridge State Trail west of Madison: Sept. 12, Thirsty Troll Brewfest in Mount Horeb. Sept. 19-20, Festival of Mounds in Blue Mounds. Oct. 3-4, Fall Heritage Festival in Mount Horeb. For more, see Mount Horeb tourism.

This 40-mile trail heads west from the Madison suburb of Fitchburg (linked to Capital City Trail) to Dodgeville.

Badger State Trail south of Madison: Oct. 3, Tour de Cheese Country from Monroe.

Monroe is party central on this 32-mile trail from Madison's exurbs to the Illinois border. It intersects with the Sugar River at Monticello; see A slice of cheese country.

Interurban Trail north of Milwaukee: Aug. 21-22, Paramount Blues Festival in Grafton. Sept. 19, Candlelight Hike in Harrington Beach State Park near Belgium. Sept. 19-20, Wine & Harvest Festival in Cedarburg.

This paved 30-mile trail follows an old trolley line from the northern suburbs of Milwaukee to the tourist towns of Cedarburg and Port Washington on Lake Michigan; see Bicycling eastern Wisconsin.

Minnesota bike trails

Paul Bunyan State Trail in northern Minnesota: Sept. 11-12, Pine River Heritage Days. Sept. 12, Ethnic Fest in Walker. Sept. 19, Nisswa Festival and Smokin' Hot BBQ. Sept. 25-27, Chainsaw Sculpting Invitational in Hackensack.

The Minnesota lakes country through which this trail cuts is unjustly forsaken when summer ends; in many places, the fall color is as good or better than the display on the North Shore. It's 71 miles from Brainerd/Baxter to Walker; see Bicycling the Bunyan.

Root River and Harmony-Preston Valley state trails in southeast Minnesota: Sept. 26, Fall Fest in Preston. Oct. 2-4, Fall Foliage Days in Harmony. Oct. 10, Harvest Moon Festival in Lanesboro.

Southeast Minnesota and its bike trails, the 42-mile Root River and 18-mile Harmony-Preston Valley, are favorite destinations in fall; see  Bicycling in bluff country.

Willard Munger State Trail in eastern Minnesota: Aug. 29, Smokin' Rib Fest in the eastern Minnesota town of Hinckley.

Hinckley is the southern trailhead of the Munger, one of the longest paved trails in the nation. It starts in Hinckley near the green-frame Fire Museum and continues to Willow River along a rail corridor that was the scene of a dramatic rescue in 1894. From Barnum, the trail follows Minnesota 61 into Carlton.

The next 14½ miles, through gorgeous Jay Cooke State Park, may be the most scenic stretch of trail in the state. For tourism information, call Hinckley at 800-996-4566.

Last updated on June 13, 2009