The EIroy-Spurta 
     
    
   
   
    
     State Trail 
     
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     BY GARY SCHNEIDER 
     
    
   
   
    
     Lots of applause is due for the Island Nature Trust's recent work to 
     
     draw more attention to the tourist potential of some of our natural areas. 
     
     The combination of preservation and attracting tourists can go hand in 
     
     hand, although they sometimes seem to be two different sides of a story. 
     
    

    
     On March 2, the Nature Trust made a presentation to the Conservative 
     
     Task Force on Transportation and continued their case for protecting 
     
     scenic roads. The use of abandoned railroad tracks for hiking, cross— 
     
     country skiing and snowmobiling trails. As I heard the report on CBC radio, 
     
     I remembered how other places have combined preservation and tourism. 
     
    

    
     Stuck in the southwest part of Wisconsin, in a rural area, the Sparta— 
     
     Elroy Trail is a success story that deserves more attention. The railroad 
     
     was built in 1873 and in the early 1900's traffic consisted of six daily 
     
     passenger trains and 40-50 freight trains along the 32 miles of track. The 
     
     next part of the story is common to many areas — traffic declined until 
     
     1964, when the last train ran on the line. Many of the small towns along 
     
     the line faced a similar decline, both in population and economic health. 
     
     But the Department of natural Resources acquired the land after the railroad 
     
     removed the tracks and in 1972 the Elroy—Kendall—Wilton-Norwalk—Sparta Hike 
     
     and Bike Trail was added to the National Bike trail route. The roadbed 
     
     was surfaced with crushed limestone and the bridges were planked and pro— 
     
     tected by railings. There are three wonderful tunnels on the route, the 
     
     longest being .75 miles long - it's quite exciting to be walking your 
     
     bicycle through these, the only light coming from either end, water con- 
     
     stantly dripping and the rocks playing tricks with your voice. While the . 
     
     tunnels are a definite drawing card, they also provided a lot of problems 
     
     and expense because they needed a lot of restoration. 
     
    
   
   
    
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