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rails
to
trails
u
spring/summer.12
12
of paved trail in the new Lakeshore State
Park, a 17-acre manmade island that
convinces me Lake Michigan is really an
inland ocean, with its vast vista of blue-
green water and winds strong enough to
whip up whitecaps.
Leaving the park, I follow the rail-trail
on city streets into the Third Ward. (The
trail is well marked, but it’s a good idea
to download a map from the Friends of
Hank Aaron State Trail website because
baseball fans sometimes steal the signs
as Aaron souvenirs.) This section is
Milwaukee’s answer to SoHo. It brims
with restaurants, offices and galleries in
handsome loft buildings, with a lingering
spirit of
la dolce vita
left over from the
neighborhood’s days as Little Italy.
I’m tempted out of the saddle by the
Milwaukee Public Market, a few blocks
off the trail on Water Street. In this
European-style food hall, local vendors
offer everything from sushi to pastry, not
to mention heaps of Wisconsin’s signa-
ture cheeses and sausages. I enjoy a pesto
chicken sandwich from Rupena’s Butcher
Shop, but hard as I try, I cannot justify a
stop this early at nearby Benelux, a bike-
themed bistro with 170 Belgian beers
served on a gorgeous rooftop patio, or the
Milwaukee Ale House, a brewpub with
outdoor seating right on the river. Both
must wait until I come back to the Third
Ward after my ride.
I cross the Young Street Bridge (so
named though the street is Broadway)
into the Fifth Ward—where young artists,
activists, restaurateurs
and entrepreneurs
who can no longer
afford the Third
Ward set up shop. I
follow the trail to the Harley-Davidson
Museum, whose striking building cap-
tures the industrial elegance of America’s
most iconic motorcycle. From here the
trail separates from the street, carrying
me along the river and past landmarks of
Milwaukee’s industrial past, such as the
Falk gearworks, which has been operating
on the site for more than a century.
Strudel and Home Runs
Just past a historical marker detailing the
history of the Milwaukee Road shops, the
trail takes a short side trip along the river
to Miller Park, downhill from the Miller
Brewery and home of the Milwaukee
Brewers baseball team. In 2000, Miller
Park replaced County Stadium, where
Aaron played for the Milwaukee Braves
and later the Brewers. Next door at the
much smaller Helfaer Field ballpark,
where youth teams play, home plate is
on the exact spot where Hank Aaron
794
894
43
43
94
94
94
harley-
davidson museum
milwaukee
amtrak
discovery
world
milwaukee
artmuseum
341
181
Map for reference only. Not for navigation.
Menomonee River
Lake
Michigan
mitchell
park
lakeshore
state park
thirdward
silver city
veterans
park
41
41
18
45
map illustration by daniellemarks.com
miller brewery
miller park
wisconsin state fair park
vamedical
center
west allis
west milwaukee
milwaukee
Schlinger Ave.
70th St.
35th St.
56th St.
68th St.
Selig Dr.
27th St.
32nd St.
25th St.
16th St.
6th St.
1st St.
2nd St.
6th St.
Milwaukee St.
Emmber Ln.
84th St.
89th St.
76th St.
92nd St.
94th Pl.
Greenfield Ave.
Florida St.
Pittsburgh
Ave.
Chicago St.
Wisconsin Ave.
Greenfield Ave.
Dickinson St.
Blue Mound Rd.
Wisconsin Ave.
National Ave.
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WISCONSIN
miles
0
1
1/2
More than 400,000
people live within a
15-minute bike ride of
the Hank Aaron trail,
which connects to some
of the most popular
parks in the city.