School Gardens of Madison
City Tour, 14 miles
Overview
The Wisconsin School Garden Initiative encourages you to grab a camera and hop on your bike for this picturesque ride featuring youth gardens on Madison's north side. In addition to being great scenery, youth gardens offer a host of benefits. They provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables, create opportunities to be active outside, and introduce children to ecological principles. This route highlights three youth gardens: Gompers Elementary, Lake View Elementary, and the Troy Kids' Garden that all combine produce, education, and fun!
Click image for PDF map
Logistics
Route Map
Bikes
BIKE SHARE
Madison BCycle - $5 for 30 minutes or $15 for a day pass (includes unlimited 60 minute rides)
RENTALS
Budget Bikes - $10+ daily for hybrid, mountain, road, vintage, trailer, trail-a-bike with helmet, lock and map
Red Bike Project - FREE bike rental from Budget Bicycle when available
What to bring?
Camera
Route Highlights
A. Manna Cafe & Bakery 611 N Sherman Ave | (608) 663-5500 | www.mannacafe.com
Staple of Madison's north neighborhood, Manna Cafe provides a great breakfast to energize your bike ride.
B. Governor's Mansion 99 Cambridge Rd
Built in 1920 for a wealthy industrialist, the mansion changed hands a few times before being purchased by the state in 1949 for use as the Governor’s official residence. Free public tours available Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm between April and August.
C. Troy Gardens 500 Troy Dr | www.communitygroundworks.org
Community GroundWorks is a nonprofit organization that connects people to nature and local food. Through hands-on education, children and adults learn gardening, urban farming, healthful eating and to care for natural areas. Organized in Madison, Wisconsin in 2001 as The Friends of Troy Gardens, Community GroundWorks serves diverse communities and schools across the region.
D. Troy Kids' Garden 502 Troy Dr
Troy Kids' Garden provides gardening, arts, nutrition, and environmental education to over 1,000 young people from the Madison area annually. Explore the Garden by visiting the chickens, performing on the living stage, strolling through the themed raised beds, or resting under the shade of the culinary arts shelter.
E. Samuel Gompers Elementary School 1502 Wyoming Way | (608) 204-4520 | gompersweb.madison.k12.wi.us
In 2011, Fiskar's Project Orange Thumb and other partners brought almost 100 volunteers to transform an empty field into the Black Hawk school-community garden.
F. Lakeview Elementary School | (608) 204-4040 | www.lakeviewgarden.blogspot.com
Lake View's garden features raised beds, a garlic patch, fruit trees... and a one-of-a-kind Pazillion! Lake View School Forest and Outdoor Classroom is open during non school hours. The Pazillion is a great place to rest after hiking the woods or biking the area.
School's tree inventory prepared by Evan Slocum of Urban Tree Alliance
Lake View’s Path to the Outdoor Classroom (Video)
G. Ale Asylum Brewery 2002 Pankratz St | (608) 663-3926 | www.aleasylum.com
Relatively young, regionally respected Madison brewery that outgrew its original location and built a larger brewery and taproom facility on the East side of town near the airport. Their “Satisfaction Jacksin” is a pretty fantastic Double IPA.
H. Tenney Park Locks 1500 N Sherman Ave | (608) 266-4364 | www.countyofdane.com
Great place to watch the sunset over Madison and Lake Mendota.
