old abe state trail

If you are looking for a smoothly paved no hills trail, this is it! The 10 miles or so from Jim Falls to Cornell is exceptionally scenic along the Chippewa river.

A large piece of this bike trail has been repaved and is great to rollerblade or bike on as you travel along the Chippewa River and through the woods (to Grandmother's House we go!! HAHA).

We took our 9 yr old son biking on the Old Abe Trail on a Thursday morning. We got on at Jim Falls. It took us awhile to figure out how and where to get our Trail Passes because at first we pulled up at the Town Hall there in Jim Falls which was locked. Then we saw the sign for trail parking across the street and then we got over there and it said to purchase your passes at the Cenex (which was next door.) So, finally we got our passes ($4 each for people over 16 yrs) and out on the trail. It was beautiful riding along the water. We liked that it was very flat riding. We rode the 10 miles to Cornell (my son on a 1-speed bike led the whole way,) saw a couple cranes along the way, and checked out the Cobban Bridge along the way, a historical marker and the oldest bridge of its kind in Wisconsin! Once we got to Cornell we had a quick lunch at the Subway right off the trail and got back on the trail back to Jim Falls. Great ride!!! What a deal too for half a day's entertainment!

I have ridden the Old Abe from Chippewa Falls to Cornell before, and the area between Chippewa Falls and Jim Falls needed replacement after the power company finished tower installations next to the trail. The surface is now new, so the surface is fantastic for runners, cyclists and roller blades. Portions of the trail are nicely shaded; north of Jim Falls and to Cornell. The rest of the trail is pretty flat and runs through beautiful countryside!! I highly recommend the ride for new and experienced riders. All users of the trail follow good trail etiquette! Note that Wisconsin state trail passes for those 16 years or older are needed. Annual passes are $20; day passes are $4.

The trail is newly resurfaced in 2012/2013 and in the best of condition. If you get to the north end you can have ice cream at Dylan's Dairy homemade by the proprietor from the 6 cows SHE milks every day!

We biked from Jim Falls to Brunet Island State Park during peak fall colors, and the scenery was gorgeous. The trail was recently repaved, so is nice and smooth. We love that it is paved, and only crosses a few roads. It is very peaceful.

Nice paved trail. Shaded most of the route. Paid a 4 dollar fee per person to use. Well maintained. Would be beautiful in fall with the color change. Flat grade.

We love to bike and enjoyed this trail as unlike so many Wisconsin trails it is actually paved. It has fairly decent views, and was not too crowded. It does however require a paid trail wheel pass, yet too, many Wisconsin trails do.

nice payment great view goes through a jim falls and cornell all the way to Chippewa falls you can hike and bike but there is a fee you need to buy a state of wisconsin trail pass

Nice trail going through the country side. Watch out for the pavement heaves, they'll throw you off your seat. People are friendly, say hi and wave.

Nice paved trail, following the Old Abe flowage. All the maps you see of this trail show a connection with the Chippewa Valley and Red Cedar trails. Be aware that there is no such connection. If you look closely at the maps you will see a section with a slightly different designation which means "future trail". The Old Abe basically dumps you into downtown Chippewa Falls (nice town) with no signage telling you what the deal is. Confusing at best.

Loved the bike trail along the river! Very scenic and a very easy ride. Will bring our bikes again when we travel to Cadott.

The Chippewa River is visible occasionally. In early May the wildflowers were really good. But the pavement is rough in places. Still, it's worth a ride/walk.

Pleasant walk/bike trail along the lake. Easy going.

This is a beautiful trail that runs along the Chippewa River starting just north of Chippewa near Lake Wissota Golf Course and running all the way to Cornell, about a 30 mile bike ride. The path is connected with the bike trail throughout Chippewa Falls, and I have heard rumors that you can get all the way to Eau Claire on it, but I have not taken the time to discover that path. The trail from Chippewa to Jim Falls is very nice. The pavement is still very smooth, and save for the few stop signs at intersections, it flows very nicely. This part of the trail is not directly next to the water, but bikers can still enjoy great wooded scenery. From Jim Falls to the Cobbin Bridge, the trail gets to be a bit washboard-y. Bikers need to look out for frequent bumps, potholes, cracks and other obstacles (sometimes fallen trees...). It is clear that this section of the trail is not as well taken care of. The alternative to this section of trail would be to ride north on Hwy 178, which while it follows the other side of the river and is very pretty, it does have a considerable amount of traffic (that is not overly courteous to bikers) and a low shoulder. From the Cobbin Bridge to Cornell, the bike trail picks up on it's loveliness agian and the hazards are gone.Once you have made it to Cornell, I would reccommend going the extra mile or two and visiting Burnet Island State Park. Really a beautiful end to a lovely ride. Burnet Island is really well taken care of and you can see a lot of wildlife around. It is a very beautiful trail filled with great scenery and interesting stops. If you make it all the way to Cornell, there are a couple cute places to stop for ice cream / lunch: The Main Scoop (opens at noon... so if you're an early rider like me, not ideal. However, if you're a family/ later in the afternoon rider - the ice cream is awesome); Dylans Dairy (a cafe/ ice cream shop/ deli. Opens early and has real food if you're craving something. It also has a great assortment of all sorts of cheese!).