Wisconsin is laced with rich railroad history, and in some communities, old railroad depots have found new life as visitor centers. These old railroad platforms are part museum and part travel library, and in Sparta, Wisconsin, the old depot is also a place to launch a bicycle adventure like no other. The Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center is the gateway to two awesome bike trails, and it’s a Wisconsin historic site you should put on your Wisconsin travel bucket list. Here’s what you need to know.
Sparta is a small city of 10,000 in Monroe County, Wisconsin. It’s an older Wisconsin town, first settled around 1850.
Freight trains still pass Sparta, and on the south side of town, you can step right into Sparta’s rich railroad history.
Like many old Wisconsin cities, the railroad played an important role in Sparta’s growth and development. The town grew with the arrival of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad in 1858, and the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1873.
The depot has its original rail platform, but don’t wait for a steam train to pull up - this is a place to leave on two wheels. The depot is right on the country’s first rail-trail conversion.
The Sparta Chamber of Commerce hosts a wealth of local and regional travel information in a beautiful old railroad depot. The Chicago Northwestern Railroad Station was built in 1915 and renovated in 1992.
If you ride west from the depot, you can travel the La Crosse River State Trail – it travels 22 miles to La Crosse.
Head the other way for another sort of adventure – the Elroy-Sparta Trail travels over 32 miles and passes through three dark and spooky rail tunnels!
I’ve ridden both these trails, and I recently revisited the depo - it’s pretty awesome. Learn more on the Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce website. Be sure to get all your trail biking gear at REI. There are so many fun places to visit in Wisconsin.
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