WI Kenosha Silver Lake County Park Trails
From Trailville
Silver Lake County Park - Kenosha, Wisconsin
Silver Lake County Park is best know for the swimming beach on Silver Lake, but also has some trails that run through the hilly inland areas. There are about 2.5 miles of wide trails suitable for hiking , cross-country skiing, and mountain biking. There are also some smaller sections of narrow hiking trail.
- Terrain / Scenery: Scenic Park with mostly wide crushed stone or grass covered trails running through some rather hilly terrain.
- Fees / Permits: Entry fee charged from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend while lifeguards are on duty.
- Trail Conditions and updates:. See Discussion Page to view or post trail updates
- Trail Markings: Unmarked
- Official Web Page: http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/publicworks/parks/locations.html
- Getting There: Silver Lake County Park is located West of the city of Kenosha on Silver Lake Road just South of Highway 50. There is a large sign at the entrance. Google Map
Contents |
Silver Lake Trail Map
Park roads and parking areas are represented by the dark gray areas on the map. The numbers in the parking lots represent the picnic/parking area numbers used within the park (you'll see park signs with these numbers). You can access the trails from any of the parking areas within the park.
Yellow on the map represents the main hiking /ski / bike trail. The wide main trail is crushed stone in some places, grass covered in others, and dirt or wood chip covered in others. Green areas represent wooded areas within the park, areas not shown green are open park area (mostly mowed grass park areas). The Orange dashed lines on the map represent where you can connect sections of trails by going through the open park areas. Red represents some narrower (possibly unmaintained) trails within the park. There may be additional trails not shown on this map.
I overlaid the map over a topographic background to show the topography of the park. The location and scale of the park and trails relative to the topographic map is estimated. Also, the topographic map is quite old and is not completely accurate.
Hiking
Even though the area is somewhat hilly, the hiking here is pretty easy due to the wide well-maintained trails (the main trails shown in Yellow). With a mix of woodlands, pines, open grassy areas, plus the old gravel pit and, of course, Silver Lake, this is a rather scenic little hike. There is also a nice overlook along the trail just south of parking area #5. To access the narrower hiking trail (shown red on the map) at the northeast end of the park, you need to walk a short way on the old park road shown on the map.
Cross country skiing:
Though not a lot of miles here, the wide well-maintained trails combined with the hilly terrain make for some pretty good cross country ski trails (the trails are not groomed). The biggest annoyance is the frequent road crossings (park roads). There are some winding downhills here that can be challenging; I think the trickiest one is probably the one a little north of parking area #4. When you get to the big open area west of parking area #3, there is plenty of room to do some additional skiing here. There is a large open hill area (used for sledding) that can be a good place to work on your downhill skills or just play around. Some park roads and parking areas may be closed during the winter.
Fox River County Park is located only a couple miles away from Silver Lake and also provides some trails suitable for cross country skiing. Skiing both parks will give you the equivalent ski experience of a larger trail system.
Mountain Biking:
I wouldn't call this a mountain bike destination, but if you are here with your mountain bike, you will find the trails worth a ride. These are mainly wide well-maintained trails and therefore not technical, but the hills do give you a workout and the short sections of narrow hiking trail (Red on the map) will provide a small amount of more technical riding. Nearby Fox River County Park has a couple more miles of trails. It's about a 2 or 3 mile ride on the road between the parks.
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This page is authored and maintained by Dave Piasecki
