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1. Hank Aaron Trail at Lakeshore State Park

DOWNTOWN LAKEFRONT

Length: 2.4 mi.
Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 42 ft.
Cost: None

The 14-mile Hank Aaron State Trail stretches from the county line, past American Family Field to the Lake Michigan shoreline at Discovery World. Pier Wisconsin is where you’ll start this smaller loop segment, which takes you through the city’s only state park. Awaiting beyond the sunburst-lined footbridge is one of the best skyline views in the city and the red Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse.

2. Oak Leaf Trail Lake Park Loop

UPPER EAST SIDE

Length: 1.3 mi.
Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 75 ft.
Cost: None

Frederick Law Olmsted is the visionary landscape architect who designed Milwaukee’s “Grand Necklace of Parks,” including this exceptionally preserved crowning example of his work. It’s home to a little over a mile of the the Oak Leaf Trail, which mostly skirts the edge of the park and passes the picturesque North Point Lighthouse. Just last year, the beloved, newly rehabbed pedestrian bridge over Ravine Road finally reopened. 

3. Beerline Trail

RIVERWEST

Length: 3.7 mi.
Type: Point to point
Elevation Gain: Varies
Cost: None

The southern end of this urban trek along the western bank of the Milwaukee River is near the sites of many of Milwaukee’s oldest breweries. The former railroad line takes you through park, residential and industrial sections of the city’s most eclectic neighborhood. Local food and drink legends – Lakefront Brewery, Pizza Man, Colectivo Coffee and Café Corazón – are just steps from the fully paved trail. 

4. Three Bridges Park Mitchell Park Trails

MENOMONEE VALLEY

Length: Up to 2.7 mi.
Type: Loops
Elevation Gain: Varies
Cost: None

A collection of paths, including some segments of the Hank Aaron Trail, dot these 24 acres of green space reclaimed from a railyard. Start at the Mitchell Park Domes and meander through paved paths that take you to a lagoon, the Menomonee River and, of course, the park’s namesake bridges. You’ll pass dozens of community gardens and greenhouses throughout your journey, which suit pollinators like birds, bees and butterflies. This trail also connects the Urban Ecology Center. 

5. Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum Loop

RIVERSIDE PARK

Length: 1.2 mi.
Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 75 ft.
Cost: None

Through the towering stone arch at the end of East Park Place is a wilderness area so vast, you’ll forget that you’re in the heart of the city. With this living tree museum’s trails, you’ll pass through an oak savanna, frolic in a wildflower prairie and follow the flow of the Milwaukee River. The loop hooks up with the Urban Ecology Center, where you can grab a free cup of coffee or tea and learn about their nature programming.

A Hike I Love

6. Havenwoods State Forest

MILWAUKEE

Length: 6 mi.
Type: Loops
Elevation Gain: 193 ft.
Cost: None

Tucked away in the northwestern part of the city is Wisconsin’s only urban state forest. The biodiversity is what makes these trails shine, and Langmyer recommends watching the plant varieties and wildlife shift as you move from grassland to woods to wetlands. “Havenwoods State Forest is an oasis,” Langmyer says. “[You’ll] forget you’re still in Milwaukee.”