Hiking trails near Sparta, Wisconsin

64 official trails lie within 25 miles of Sparta — 208 miles in total, 53 rated easy and 1 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.

The biggest climb nearby gains 592 ft; the median trail gains 144 ft.

Open the map on Sparta

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Elroy-Sparta State Trail	33.3	592 ft	Hard	5 min · 1 mi
West Ridge Trail	5.7	293 ft	Moderate	56 min · 35 mi
ORANGE (ORA Community Trail Farm)	2.5	365 ft	Moderate	40 min · 27 mi
Hay Valley Trail	3.8	356 ft	Moderate	50 min · 29 mi
Vista	2.5	531 ft	Moderate	44 min · 30 mi
Lake Loop	3.0	213 ft	Moderate	42 min · 23 mi
Purple Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park)	2.8	282 ft	Moderate	47 min · 27 mi
Wild Cat	3.4	196 ft	Moderate	1 h 02 min · 33 mi
La Crosse River State Trail	22.7	143 ft	Moderate	29 min · 24 mi
Yellow Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park)	2.9	337 ft	Moderate	47 min · 27 mi
North Loop (Black River State Forest)	3.5	155 ft	Easy	1 h 01 min · 33 mi
Central	3.9	179 ft	Easy	54 min · 33 mi
Old Settlers Loop Trail	2.1	289 ft	Easy	42 min · 25 mi
Ridge	2.0	227 ft	Easy	53 min · 32 mi
Orange Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park)	1.8	370 ft	Easy	50 min · 28 mi
Red Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park)	1.2	324 ft	Easy	45 min · 25 mi
Hanson Rock Trail	1.8	336 ft	Easy	59 min · 35 mi
Rock Johnson Trail	2.1	288 ft	Easy	44 min · 25 mi
Link (Black River State Forest)	2.4	135 ft	Easy	56 min · 33 mi
Ridge Crest	1.2	421 ft	Easy	45 min · 29 mi
golgotha	1.1	416 ft	Easy	32 min · 24 mi
Mt Pisgah Hemlock Trail	1.2	373 ft	Easy	45 min · 26 mi
Big Valley Trail	2.5	159 ft	Easy	49 min · 28 mi
Purple East	1.4	324 ft	Easy	38 min · 27 mi

Quick picks near Sparta

Easy and short: North Loop (Black River State Forest) — 3.5 mi, rated easy, 24 mi from town
Biggest climb: Elroy-Sparta State Trail — 592 ft over 33.3 mi, 1 mi from town
Longest: Elroy-Sparta State Trail — 33.3 mi, 1 mi from town

What the trails reach

Waterfalls: Foundation Trail to Ni-ho-kha-wa-ne-ey-ja

Summits: Purple Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park) to Wildcat Mountain; Wild Cat to Wildcat Mound; Yellow Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park) to Wildcat Mountain; Orange Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park) to Wildcat Mountain

Lakes: Elroy-Sparta State Trail to McCrary Lake 4.61; Lake Loop to Jersey Valley Lake 8; Foundation Trail to Black River Flowage 1610; Pigeon creek campground link to Pigeon Creek Flowage

Viewpoints: ORANGE (ORA Community Trail Farm) to VIEWPOINT; Vista to Vista Prairie; Purple Trail (Wildcat Mountain State Park) to Billings Creek Overlook; Old Settlers Loop Trail to Taylor Hollow Overlook

Beaches: Mississippi River to Pettibone Beach

Nearby towns: La Crosse (22 mi) · Winona (43 mi) · Baraboo (63 mi) · Chippewa Falls (74 mi)

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