Switchback Trail, Levis Mounds, Wisconsin

This trail is a part of the Levis Mounds trail system.

Switchback is a beautiful trail that works perfectly as a 1.3 mile link between Cliffhanger and Toad Road.  While it doesn't climb to the top of the mound, it winds up and down the side of the hill over the course of its length.  Really, Switchback is a very mixed bag of a trail.  It contains:

• sections of short, steep climbs
• swoopy downhills on loamy soil
• sandy pits
• technical rocky sections 
• classic Levis Mound sandstone outcroppings
• bench-cut sidehill trails
• oh, and some switchbacks.

The original section of switchbacks for which the trail was name were closed down for several years and completely bypassed by what is now the main trail.  They were reopened, but the bypass around them flows so much better with the current trail that the old switchbacks get very little traffic.  That's a good thing, because they can't withstand a serious beating.  However, if you keep your eyes peeled for the turn off, there is an opportunity to take on a challenging climb through a long series of tight, textbook switchbacks!

What is now really the most interesting feature of the commonly ridden trail is the swoopy downhill that I caught on video below:



Bottom Line
Switchback is 1.3 miles of absolute sweetness! Be prepared for anything!