This is one I have been avoiding as it is just a straight line from Hwy 15 in Grand Chute to Winneconne Ave in Neenah. Eventually though I have to rip off the Band-Aid.
Key Features
- Total Length: The main stretch of the CB Trail spans approximately 7.3 miles.
- Key Corridor Boundaries: It runs vertically along County Road CB (West Bypass), connecting Winneconne Avenue (County JJ) near Neenah/Town of Neenah at its southern end to College Avenue (County CA) and up toward Grand Chute at its northern end.
- Paved Asphalt Surface: The trail is fully paved with asphalt, making it smooth and accessible year-round for walking, running, road cycling, and inline skating.
- Multi-Use Double-Direction Path: Designed as an off-street multi-use trail, it safely separates non-motorized traffic from vehicular travel along the high-volume West Bypass corridor.
- Fox Cities Paper Trail Connection: The CB Trail serves as a crucial western segment of the broader 50+ mile Fox Cities Paper Trail, which loops around the entire metropolitan area.
- Direct Airport Access: The trail passes right alongside Appleton International Airport (ATW), providing a unique vantage point for plane-spotting and connecting local neighborhood paths to the airport business corridor.
- Inter-System Connectors: It intersects several prominent regional trail connections, including the Shady Lane Trail and local paths leading toward the Loop the Little Lake Trail network.
- Flat, Low-Grade Terrain: Following the naturally gentle topography of the Fox River Valley, the trail is almost completely flat, making it exceptionally approachable for all age groups and fitness levels.
- Diverse Scenery: Moving along the Fox Crossing segment, trail users pass through a mix of suburban residential neighborhoods, industrial/technology parks, active agricultural pockets, and restored prairie buffers.
- Commuter Corridor: Beyond recreation, the trail is heavily utilized by local commuters traveling between the western residential subdivisions of Fox Crossing/Neenah and major commercial hubs along College Avenue and the Fox River Mall corridor.
Review
We did the hike today, yesterday when we would normally do the hike the weather was rainy. So we decided to take the hike after church. Which was a difficult decision for us. We generally like to watch the Packers play on Sundays in the afternoon. However this year we don’t have much hope for the year.
So we decided to take this walk and for go watching the travesty that was the game at that time. I grabbed my gear and we headed out.
For this hike we decided to start out at the municipal building for Fox Crossing. The plan was to hike south from the municipal building along Hwy CB until we cross under the Hwy 10 overpass. We would then take the Friendship Trail west to Irish Rd. Then we would follow Irish Road back north to Shady Ln, where we would turn back east and return to our car.
Joining us for this hike was our son and oldest daughter. I strapped the GoPro on my wife’s backpack strap and powered up my camera. Seeing that there was half a battery charge on my camera I grabbed a second battery and we left.
Immediately I started taking some pictures of the sky. The weather predicted a mostly cloudy day but we could see a good amount of blue sky. So I took some pictures of the clouds and of a giant bolder off the parking lot of the municipal building.
We continued south taking pictures and my wife would stop for some shots of the greenery. We slowly made our way south. A peregrine falcon zipped past us almost immediately.
Eventually we made our way as planned to the Friendship Trail. I took a few shots of the boardwalk that runs over the swampy forest right next to CB. We made our way west. About halfway down the trail my son and daughter spotted some turkeys in the trees between the trail and a subdivision. I took a few shots with the hopes of one of them turning out later.
My children then decided to take a detour off of the main trail. While most of the trail up to this point was paved, this trail was into a developing subdivision. So this side trail was rocky. But it followed the edge of a large retention pond. The pond separated the existing subdivision from this new development. Though none of the houses had been built yet.
We continued on through the development to Jacobsen Rd. From there we continued west to Irish Rd and then north. The hike north was unfortunately not on an official path. We hiked along the road.
Eventually we returned to our car. And home where I hoped to be able to review my photos and the video. Unfortunately this is when I discovered that my camera did not have a SD Card in it. It is supposed to tell me that it has no card. I had enough cards to use a different one than I had been using.
So all of pictures I took were never saved. Pictures of the bolder by the municipal building. Pictures of a vibrant red flower by the retention pond. Pictures of some Sand Hill Cranes at the quarry near the municipal building. And most disappointing the pictures of the turkeys, one of which I believed would be great.
So even though I thought this hike would be disappointing it was great hike. The clouds got thicker and we feared it would rain but the path was great. There are a lot of trails leading into the surrounding subdivisions that Fox Crossing is building. The network of trails is good and it looks like they will continue to develop the trails. I hope to continue to walk these trails in the future.
I was able to get some video from the GoPro. And the Packers did win. Please enjoy the videos and hopefully I will have some good photos next week. Thanks again and leave a message in the comments.