Biking Through Milwaukee

You could say that the birth of Milwaukee’s bike trails took place on June 17, 1939, when a group of eight cycling enthusiasts, city officials and a reporter embarked on a 68 mile “test run” of a bike trail around Milwaukee County. They traveled along various types of roads and trails stopping at several throughout the county. They were the first to travel what would become today’s Oak Leaf Trail, a system of over 135 miles of bike trails in Milwaukee County. 

That initial “trail” wasn’t officially recognized by the County until 1965. In 1974 the County made an important move to add an abandoned railway line from the north side of the city to downtown along the lakefront where the Milwaukee Art Museum now stands. The collection of trails were officially named the Oak Leaf Trail in 1996 after over a dozen more miles were added. Today, besides its own collection of nine trails, you can connect to other trails such as the Hank Aaron Trail which runs east-west from downtown past American Family Field, State Fair Park and the Zoo. You can also head west on the New Berlin-West Allis Trail, south on the MRK Trail and north on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail. 

The Oak Leaf Trail is all about connection,” says Milwaukee County Parks Director Guy Smith. “It brings a diverse community of trail users together, including cyclists, dog walkers, birders, commuters and runners [and] provides a literal connection between the 19 municipalities in Milwaukee County.”

As a traveler to our Airbnbs in Milwaukee, you may not have your bikes with you. Not to worry, we’ve got a great local bike rental option. Bublr Bikes is Greater Milwaukee's nonprofit bikeshare program. With Bublr Bikes, you can take a bike from any Bublr Station, enjoy a ride to a local attraction, beer garden, or across town, and return the bike to any convenient Bublr Station.  There are over 100 stations in the Milwaukee area. Pricing starts at just 25 cents per minute or $24 for a full-day pass. The website includes videos about how to access and use your bike.  Visit https://bublrbikes.org/

For those of you curious about the name, Bublr comes from the fact that many Milwaukeeans call water fountains bubblers. This came started when a device attached to a faucet to let humans drink from it made the water “bubble” forth for drinking. Newspapers in 1910 referenced these fountains as “sanitary bubblers,” “fountain bubblers” or “water bubblers.” By the early 1920s the prefixes fell away and we were left with bubblers. 

Find the safest streets to bike on with the City of Milwaukee’s street safety map.

For getting around the city safely, the City of Milwaukee has identified 145 miles of streets for designated bike lanes. To date, over 85 miles have been implemented. If you’re curious as to the safety of streets for biking, they have also developed this map that rates each street for bike safety. Each street is rated from 1 (lowest biking stress) to four (highest biking stress) based on how many cars use the street and whether or not there is a bike lane. It’s a great help in getting around safely.  https://mapmkeonline.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=25f76878080648479fd24d29908e8716