Biking Racine's Lake Michigan Pathway

This trail is advertised as 10 miles in length along Lake Michigan, but only a few of those miles are actually on trail along the lakefront.  I parked at the North Beach Park and headed west past the beach...

...and I was enjoying the lakefront scenery, but after a mile I was on a local street, passing lovely residences, and after another half mile, I wound up on two cul-de-sac dead ends.

So I headed back south, passed the beach again, the sand volleyball area, the wonderful Kids Cove playground, then wound around a marina building, and finally back to the shoreline and harbor areas.

At the confluence of the Root River and Lake Michigan, after passing several condo buildings, you'll find this monument honoring the Underground Railroad of the Civil War.  Slaves would be secretly brought north, and Racine was a location where they were put on ships for the final leg of their freedom journey -- Canada.

The pathway then headed along the lake through General Pershing Park and up the hill to the Gateway Technical College campus where the dedicated bike trail ends.  After that, the Pathway simply follows streets.  Disappointed that the rest of the ride was going to be on roads, I returned to my vehicle and drove to the Muskego-Franklin Trail northwest of here.