If you’re visiting our city for the first time, you may be aware of our rich brewing tradition, you may have heard about our championship-caliber sports teams or planned a trip to one of our sensational top attractions.

However, insiders have a secret: the Cream City is also an outstanding urban outdoor destination, home to natural wonders right outside your door. Acres and acres of parks and forests are shot through with hiking trails waiting for your bootprints.

Here’s a sampling of options and what each is best for:

City Views

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Look west while hiking at Lakeshore State Park, and you’ll see a cityscape dominated by tall buildings and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Look east and you’ll see Lake Michigan’s blue waters and sailboats bobbing in them. Lakeshore is Wisconsin’s only urban state park, with about two miles of paved trails that offer hikers a refuge from the city – and great views of it. 

Natural Variety

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Just 15 miles west of Milwaukee, Wehr Nature Center goes 5 for 5. Its five miles of trails take you through five natural habitats: forest, wetlands, prairie, oak savannah and Mallard Lake. Beyond the views, Wehr includes fun for everyone. A nature center and adjacent natural play area are hits with the kids. Paved trails make it easy to roll through nature with a stroller or wheelchair. Plus, it’s the only park in the region to offer an all-terrain wheelchair rental. 

Birding

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There’s Athena the barn owl, Tallulah the turkey vulture and Glory the bald eagle. They’re three of the 15 raptors that live at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. These birds of prey inspire wonder and educate visitors. Schlitz, 15 miles up the Lake Michigan shoreline from Downtown, offers about six miles of trails through woods and wetlands. It’s all part of a designated lakeshore migration corridor. Feast your eyes and ears on scaup, goldeneye, gulls, hawks, owls and dark-eyed juncos. In total, there are 260 species. Get out your checklist, and Let’s. Go. Birding!

Bluffs

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The High Life is not just a great Milwaukee beer. It’s an experience waiting for you at Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve Trails and Virmond County Park. The nearby parks, located just north of Milwaukee County along the lakefront, offer bluffs that tower over the surrounding area. Hike up and gaze out at the sweeping views of Lake Michigan. 

Beer

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Hubbard Park and Estabrook Park offer a beer-to-beer hike for those who want some suds with their sweat. The two parks sit about a mile apart on the banks of the Milwaukee River, and each hosts a German-style outdoor beer garden. The Oak Leaf Trail connects them with a paved route accessible to all and off-road trails for the more ambitious. Take your time and raise a stein!