TRAILS FOR EVERYONE

Committed to building 50 miles of trails in 5 years in the La Crosse region.

The Outdoor Recreation Alliance (ORA Trails) is a 501c3 nonprofit established to create, enhance, and protect majestic trails within the Driftless region.

Volunteer
Donate

ORA Trail Stories

Our first of a video series, ORA Trail Stories, by Keachen Abing. In the premier, Dobby Englebert shares her passion for our local trails. Dobby is a mom, grandmother, is active in Pickleball and has always been a trail user. The recent purchase of an ebike has opened up a whole new world of adventure! You will often see Dobby exploring the Gateway Trails in La Crosse, Wisconsin. When you do, introduce yourself! She is truly an ambassador for our community!

“These are everyone’s trails. So use them! I love these trails.”
-Dobby

Eagle Battalion ROTC Students Build New Bridge on Oak Trail

Thanks to the Eagle Battalion ROTC students for an awesome job building a bridge on Oak trail. They hauled 300 pounds of wood half a mile down the trail and built the bridge in just over an hour. Great example of teamwork.

Bridge Builder Award

ORA was presented the Bridge Builder’s Award at the Mayor’s Neighborhood Conference. ORA has hundreds of Volunteers and Thousands of people who enjoy the local trails and access to Outdoor Recreation to thank for this award! It is humbling to all of us at the Outdoor Recreation Alliance to be a part of this community. There are many deserving Organizations that make the La Crosse Area great place to live and work. Together we all make this community excellent.

Grandad Bluff Trail Project

ORA Trails received the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) Trail Accelerator Grant, from a pool of 12 applicants, to fund the planning of the Grandad Bluff Trail Project. This project will turn an iconic regional landscape with no formal trail access into a community trail system, ripe with opportunities to connect to several nearby public lands. Developing Grandad Bluff Park into a multi-use trail system will provide neighborhood access, alleviate pedestrian road traffic and help clear out litter and invasive species. The closest school to new trailheads is a quarter-mile away.

Read about the Trail Accelerator grant here.

Chad Erickson
Connector Trail

The Chad Erickson Connector Trail runs from Chad Erickson Park to State Road Elementary School. The trail has been in the works for two years and was completed in September thanks to the work of the parents of State Road Elementary School students who created the La Crosse Community Forest. ORA Trails worked with the La Crosse Community Forest to raise $100,000 for the project.

This trail connects young and old with nature and the outdoors and was made possible because of the collaboration between ORA Trails, the La Crosse Community Forest, the City of La Crosse – Parks, Recreation, La Crosse County, and State Road Elementary PTO.

Upper Hixon Trails

ORA Trails, in cooperation with the City of La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department, hired Rock Solid Trail Contracting to repair the Upper Hixon mountain bike trails that were in desperate need of rehab after torrential rains last summer. On Wednesday, July 25th we hosted a Grand Opening and ribbon cutting for the new trails. Watch our video for a preview of the new trails.

 
 
 
 
 
 
1
1

Lueth Park Bicycle Playground

In cooperation with the City of La Crosse, ORA Trails led the efforts for the Lueth Park Revitalization project which includes improved neighborhood access, repairing the skatepark, removing an undersized and underused baseball field, and installing a bicycle playground. We also installed a hard surface pump track that compliments the other improvements and rounds out the project. This park serves as an activity hub and a highlight of the neighborhood, fostering pride and building community.

From Our Community

Testimonials

“
Keachen & Jill Abing

“The trails of the La Crosse area are a true blessing for our entire family. The natural beauty of our area serves as an escape whether for trail running, family time at the pump track, or hitting up some dirt on our bikes!”

“
Gabe & Annie Berendes

“One of the main reasons we chose to live where we do is the fact that we can be on the bike trails within five blocks of our home year round. Our whole family (boys 7 & 9) is able to engage the trails in a way that's unique to each of their levels. This allows us all to love and grow in the sport of mountain biking that is equally challenging and rewarding.”

“
Dan & Jennie Wateski

“On a nice night, we just head to the trails and use them as family time where we can ride and be together. We love that it's just a short drive from where we live and we can be riding on the trails instead of worrying about traffic on the streets. During the school's mountain biking season, we are on the trails daily, even if using just Vista for a quick ride or workout.”

Subscribe to ORA Trails

Enter your email to find out the latest trail news, announcements, events and more!