Review Date
October 10, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: chustig ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Rock Lake is a very appropriate name. VERY ROCKY in many parts. Challenging, but very ridable in most parts. I got my front wheel stuck and went over the bars once, but that's part of the fun, right?

There is also some not so rocky, up and down, turny, downhilly stuff. Fun and flowy in those parts. :)

I chose to ride around "Wall Street" because it was my first time, and it looked a little sketchy. I went down the hill to check it out. Looks like you could just get back and go right down it, but there's a small gap maybe midway down that could stop a front wheel. I recommend scoping it out from the bottom before trying it. Maybe if I go back, I will try it.

I did not try the Hildebrand loop. I wasn't aware of what it was until after I had been there. The person with me directed me around it. Guess I'll have to go back and try it. :)

Sweet trail. Probably the best one in Cable, but I haven't ridden them all.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Makwa trail it fun. Two way trail, 12 miles one way.
Fish Hatchery trail is on the other end of Makwa. It's good too, but I like Makwa better. I haven't been on them all, but it sounds like there's 4 good all singletrack trails in the immediate area.

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Review Date
August 9, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: lamiam ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I rode this trail while on vacation in Wisconsin this past week. I chose it based on reviews here. What a fabulous trail! I rode everything except for the Hildebrand Loop. I was wary of that as my aerobic fitness is very good, but my skills are intermediate. I rode in the counter clockwise direction and found that my choice was a good one as the last ½ of the trail was far more technical. I had to carry the bike over about 5 obstacles, but none were terribly difficult. I was being pretty careful out in the wilderness alone. The trails were undulating, well packed and scenic. A great workout. It looked like some very recent work had been done. A chute named “Wall Street” looked like it had just been built. That puppy is definitely not for the faint of heart. I opted for the go around, but stopped to admire it. It made my vacation! Thanks CAMBA! I am buying one or your jerseys to support your efforts.

Recommended Route:
I rode all of the loop except for Hildebrand as I thought it might be too technical for me. When finished I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I rode to the first cutoff for one final bit of riding. That gave me about 14.7 miles.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Rode Lowes Creek in Eau Claire earlier in the week. This was also very nice. Rode Hatchery Creek the year before and it was also nice. Still prefer Rock lake over those 2.

Review Date
June 5, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: jberg_21 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
awsome trail! killer singletrack! great views! I want to go back bext year.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Ojibwe trail at Tellemark Lodge

Review Date
March 29, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: mudforlunch ,  Downhiller

Summary:
I rode this trail in October of 2007 for the first time. Best trail in Wisconsin that I have ridden so far, great isolated middle of nowhere technical enough that I ate dirt twice (damn fallen trees) singletrack. This trail is rad as hell, and quite the workout. Do yourself a favor and hit it up, but make sure to enjoy a nice cold PBR when youre done. I did Patsy Lake the day before this one and was dissapointed, but Rock Lake is worth it.

Recommended Route:
Rock lake trailhead.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
The one Im building off of GG.

Review Date
September 27, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: Former Cheesehead ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Certainly the best ride in Northern Wisconsin and maybe the entire upper Midwest! Exceptionally well marked (other than a few tricky intersections) and a really testimony to the CAMBA group and the power of trail advocacy and proper management.

My best description would be flowy, moderately technical singletrack through a forest. The trail has a ton of corners and turns and great elevation gain/lose. I think the technical abilities required would challenge/entertain an intermediate biker and the scenery and flow keep the experts and advanced riders coming back. I also believe a beginner rider would be significantly challenged, but still capable of riding this trail.

Recommended Route:
Go to either the New Moon Bike Shop in Hayward or the Springbrook Bike Shop in Seeley and purchase the CAMBA Map Packet. Direction in the packet will lead you to the trailhead. From there, you have tons of options for loops and routes of varying duration. Although, I'd recommend incorporating a route to Rock Lake.

I did encounter one poorly marked intersection early on that sent me in the wrong direction and required me to ride against the flow of traffic for several miles. It was about 1.5 miles into the trail at a spot where 3-4 trails intersected. The good news is that you only go about a mile at any one time before coming to another extremely well marked intersection. This holds true for the entire network of trails. So you never really get lost... you may just get off your intended route.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Hatchery Creek is a lot of fun and shorter.