The Military Ridge State Trail

Stephens’ Falls in Governor Dodge State Park

I recently biked out and back on the Military Ridge State Trail to Governor Dodge State Park. The Military Ridge Trail is a shorter 40-mile rails to trails bike route, but I took my time to stop and take in the scenery along the way.

The Driftless Area of Wisconsin

I don’t fit the stereotype of a “cyclist”. I don’t wear spandex and don’t track my pace with a GPS, because biking isn’t a race to me. My bike touring would be better described as “bike wandering”. It took me 4 days to ride to Governor Dodge State Park and back.

blue mound state park camground along the military ridge state trail.

Two state parks

There are two amazing state parks the trail intersects, Blue Mound State Park and Governor Dodge State Park. Both have nice state park campgrounds and Blue Mound also has a quiet bike campground right off the Military Ridge Trail that is only for hiking-in or biking-in, therefore it’s not busy or noisy.

Blue Mound State Park is the highest hilltop in the entire Driftless Area of Wisconsin. It towers 1000 feet over the nearby Wisconsin River just 11 miles away so it is prominently visible from anywhere in the area. I have to admit I got off and pushed my bike to the top. But the views are rewarding once you are up there.

The observation tower in Blue Mound State Park

Governor Dodge State Park is classic Driftless. Rolling hills, prairies, and valleys fill one of the largest state parks in Wisconsin. There are two manmade lakes in the park as well as a waterfall at one end of a small canyon in the park so there is a lot of Driftless topography to explore. The park has over 40 miles of trails.

The lupines were in bloom at Governor Dodge State Park.

The Military Ridge Trail connects the state parks as well as small towns with mom and pop restaurants. So there are alternatives if you don’t feel like eating the camping food you packed. There’s also hotels for when the weather turns nasty, which it did for me quite a bit on this trip.

The Don Q Inn

The C-97 military cargo plane out front of the Don Q Inn.

In Dodgeville, I took refuge from the stormy weather at the Don Q Inn instead of sleeping in a tent. It’s a unique hotel that is hard to miss with a C-97 cargo plane out front. Before the military surplus plane was purchased by the original owner of the hotel, Don Quinn, it was used by the Ford Motor Company in a 1978 Mercury Cougar TV commercial with Farrah Fawcett. The plane is open to explore inside and still has Farah Faucet’s autograph on the fuselage. The Mercury Cougar logo from the commercial is still painted on the nose of the plane.

The Military Ridge State Trail bike trip. (Photo by Cameron Gillie of Around Wisco)

The aircraft’s one-way final flight was in to the Dodgeville airport which used to be adjacent to the Don Q Inn. It was quite a feat of piloting to land the large cargo plane at the small town airport. The runway was just a few feet wider than the wheels of the plane and the wing had just 20 feet of clearance from an airport hanger. It went off without a hitch with two experienced pilots. The story about the daring C-97 landing at the small town airport made headlines around the Midwest.

The moon landing room at the Don Q Inn

The plane is not the only unique thing about the Don Q Inn. They have themed rooms available –everything from an igloo room to a moon landing room. In the lobby there is a collection of vintage barber chairs. To top it all off, the owners are wonderful people. My stay at the Don Q Inn was a highlight of the trip. It turned out to be the silver lining to a rainy trek.

Two of the current owners of the Don Q Inn T.K. Tashar and Niki Nikita with the collection of barber chairs in the lobby.

Follow along for more stories

The Military Ridge State Trail is just one of many rails to trails bike trails in the Driftless Area. I’m planning on exploring the rest of them over the next few summers. To follow along on these and future adventures subscribe to my newsletter.

Ice Age Trail book

If you haven’t seen it already check out my book from my hike of the entire 1200-mile Ice Age Trail.

Ice Age Trail book

By Cameron Gillie

Cameron Gillie began his photography career as a staff photographer at several daily newspapers. As a photojournalist he documented all aspects of life, everything from the extraordinary to the ordinary, learning to appreciate both equally. Photojournalism is like having a front row seat observing life as it unfolds. He explored life in Colorado while working for the Greeley Tribune and in Florida while working for the Naples Daily News. Leaving the newspaper business to begin a freelance photography career, he continued to follow his curiosity and explore new creative challenges. Cameron has been an exhibitor in art festivals and galleries around his new home in the Midwest, his art taking on many forms over the years. His love of the outdoors inspires him to photograph wildlife and nature, while his fascination with the simplicity of homemade cameras brought him to pinhole photography. Cameron is an avid film photographer using analog vintage cameras. He develops and prints the images in a darkroom in his basement in Madison, Wisconsin. This diverse background in photojournalism and creative photography prepared him for his biggest project ever — hiking the Ice Age Trail and documenting the landscapes, communities, and people of Wisconsin. Cameron enjoyed blending nature photography as well as capturing storytelling images of the interesting people he met along the way.

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