Kettle Grand Tour - Whitewater to North Prairie

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Whitewater, WI, US

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Midwest Routemeister

114 km

586 m

Take a ride through the beautiful Kettle Moraine South State Forest. Starting in Whitewater, Wisconsin, this route takes you through wide open farm fields, rolling hills, curving forested roads and several of Wisconsin's scenic lakes. Stop off at the famous LaGrange General Store for a delicious lunch mid-ride.

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This ride begins and ends at the historic Hamilton Inn B&B in Whitewater, Wisconsin. In days past, the Hamilton House was a fraternity house and was the inspiration for the movie Animal House starring John Belushi, who briefly attended the nearby University of Wisconsin. It's an excellent inn featuring historic rooms and gourmet breakfasts. If you're not staying at the inn, I recommend you park and start the ride at Washington Elementary School, .6 miles East of the Hamilton on W North St @ Fonda St.

Whitewater is a city in Walworth and Jefferson counties in Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Whitewater was founded at the confluence of Whitewater Creek and Spring Brook, and named for the white sand in their beds. Whitewater was a New England settlement, founded by Puritans.

The Southern Kettle Moraine State forest comprises more than 22,000 acres of glacial hills, kettles, lakes, prairie restoration sites, pine woods and hardwood forests, making this a popular area for a wide variety of visitors. The Forest is 30 miles long, extending from just west of North Prairie, southwestward to Whitewater Lake, south of Whitewater. The forest includes 250 miles of hiking trails, almost 100 miles of cross-country ski trails, 130 miles of equestrian trails, 150 miles of snowmobile trails, 75 miles of off-road bicycle trails including 30 miles of singletrack trail, and 750 campsites. Not to mention some of the beast country roads for biking in the Midwest.

Your ride starts heading East on W North St. After a few jogs through town you'll head into the Kettle on @slice[Bluff Rd](d,2665.42,7945.15), one of the main East-West corridors of the forest. Bluff Rd features wide open farm fields, but around the 5 mile mark you'll head North on @slice[Big Spring Dr](d,7945.15,11992.41) and East on @slice[Marsh Rd](d,11992.41,16189.77), into the heart of the Kettle Moraine. Low traffic roads with rolling hills highlight this portion of the route.

Your first sign of civilization is the small town of @point[Palmyra](d,17879.54), which features beautiful @point[Spring Lake](d,18645.92) just on the Northeast side of town. From there you'll head North on @slice[Zion Rd](d,18825.45,22775.7) through forested rolling terrain past @point[Beaver Dam Lake](d,25467.53) on @slice[Highway N](d,25394.42,27213.33) and the @point[Ottowa Lake Recreation Area](d,30847.49) on @slice[County ZZ](d,27213.33,31967.14). More country roads and highways take you to @point[North Prairie](d,44063.45). There is a @poi[BP station](2453540) on the corner of Main St and Hwy 59 at the 27 mile mark - good time for a break to refill your water bottles, as the lunch stop is another 18 miles away.

The route to LaGrange takes you back through rustic roads and highways, again in the heart of the Kettle Forest. Its a mix of rollers with a few challenging climbs thrown in here and there. Midway you'll pass through the towns of @point[Eagle](d,55434.05) and @point[Little Prairie](d,64936.65). The last few miles leading up to LaGrange are on several classic Kettle roads: @slice[Bluff](d,65283.99,68106.25), @slice[Tamarack](d,68106.25,71002.1) and @slice[Greening](d,71002.1,73343.75).

Just South of Greening Rd on County Hwy H is your lunch stop, @poi[The LaGrange General Store](2453539), at around 45 miles. They feature fantastic sandwiches, soup in season and a wide selection of drinks including lots of local craft beers. Enjoy your lunch on the outdoor deck or on picnic tables out back.

Attached to the store is @poi[Backyard Bikes](2453541), a fine local bike shop. Stop in and say hi to Mike the owner if he's in and not off riding his bike. Just North of the shop is the John Muir Trails, a high-quality single-track mountain bike trail system. If you're going to be in the Kettle for a few days, Mike will be happy to rent you a mountain bike to enjoy the excellent, well maintained trails. There's also a group road ride out of the shop on Tuesday nights and Mike furnishes many local road routes on his website.

Heading South from the general store takes you into the Lakes regions of the Kettle with more rolling hills, forests and wide open farm fields, first through @slice[North Lake](d,81127.04,82176.89) and then on to the Kettle Moraine State Park between @slice[Rice Lake and Whitewater Lake](d,97550.17,101258.63). It's a gorgeous part of the ride and well worth a stop at @poi[Whitewater Beach](2456046) for a picture or two.

From Whitewater Lake you'll head West and North on @slice[West Townline](d,101258.63,102373.91), @slice[Engel](d,102369.46,105424.16), @slice[Clover Valley](d,105424.16,110562.8) and @slice[Willis Ray](d,110562.8,111369.02) Rds. On @slice[S Franklin St](d,111375.7,113415.54), which takes you back into town, you'll pass by @point[Cravath Lake](d,111921.66) to your East, which extends North into Whitewater. Franklin will take you through neighborhoods right up to Main St. A short jog to the East and North will take you back onto W North St and the end of your ride.

After the ride, pop on down to the @poi[Second Salem Brewery](2456043) overlooking Lake Cravath. A fine selection of craft beers and pub fare awaits you. Just Southwest of Second Salem on W James St is @poi[Casual Joe's](2456044), featuring some fine barbeque and an excellent and varied craft beer selection. If you're in the mood for fine dining, check out @poi[The Black Sheep](2456045) which features gourmet farm to table fare and they make a mean Moscow Mule.

The Grand Tour takes you through some of the finest roads the Kettle area has to offer. I think you'll fall in love with the area and I hope you come back for more rides.

# Links to Points of Interest

* [Kettle Moraine South State Forest](http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/kms/)
* [Hamilton House B&B](http://www.bandbhamiltonhouse.com/)
* [Backyard Bikes](http://www.backyardbikes.com/)
* [The John Muir Trails](http://www.travelwisconsin.com/mountain-biking/john-muir-trails-204374)
* [Second Salem Brewery](http://secondsalem.com/)
* [Casual Joe's](http://casualjoes.com/)
* [The Black Sheep](http://www.eatatblacksheep.com/)

# More resources
Interested in more rides in the Kettle Moraine area? I've led a week long cycling tour in Whitewater. Feel free to peruse my RwGPS event or borrow my other routes:
* [Whitewater Tour - June 2015](https://ridewithgps.com/events/7094-whitewater-tour-june-2015)

As mentioned, Backyard Bikes has a wide selection of rides out of their shop, check them out here:
* [Backyard Bikes Kettle Maps](https://www.backyardbikes.com/articles/routes-maps-pg181.htm)

# Important Reminders

This ride takes you through low traffic areas on rustic country roads with limited population centers. Carry at least two water bottles, gels or snacks, a cell phone, tools and tubes in the event you have mechanical issues. In my experience, this area is good for riding any day of the week. Don't forget your camera!

Kettle Grand Tour - Whitewater to North Prairie

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