Finding treasure along the Milwaukee River

The Milwaukee River provides a beautiful backdrop to life in West Bend—the city was actually named after a bend in the river. West Bend is the Geocaching Capital of the Midwest™, and there are numerous caches hidden within a short distance of the river’s banks. The river crosses through the heart of West Bend and is lined with parks and trails that are popular with geocachers. Here’s a quick tour of some gorgeous geocaching parks and trails near the river.

Start your geocaching adventure just north of town on the Eisenbahn State Trail. This flat and scenic trail is popular with bikers and runners—it’s built on an old railroad bed that follows the Milwaukee River. The trail is about 25 miles long but you won’t have to go far to find some geocaching treasure—there are several caches within walking distance of town. If you have a bike, you may want to ride up the trail to find even more caches.

If you continue south into town on the west side of the river (you can cross at the Baron Avenue Bridge), you’ll find the start of Riverfront Parkway. This pleasant 3.1-mile pedestrian trail passes near several geocaches and has some nice views of the river.

Just west of the Riverfront Parkway, you’ll encounter Regner Park, one of West Bend’s most popular parks. It’s home to nature trails, a swimming area, a fishing pond, ball fields and more. It also hosts the West Bend $1,000 Cache Ba$h each August. You don’t have to wait for the event to find some geocaches though; year-round, you’ll find some carefully hidden in the park. Before you leave the park, you might want to check out the Labyrinth Garden Earth Sculpture. It’s a reflection spot that’s 90 feet in diameter, containing seven circuits lined with flowering plants, herbs and ornamental grasses.

If you follow the river through West Bend through and past downtown you’ll find Riverside Park, a sprawling park that’s filled with recreational facilities including a disc golf course, ball fields, tennis courts and expanses of prairie. Travel through the park along scenic walkways and don’t forget to geocache! It’s a great way to experience this beautiful park.

Because many of the parks along the river are fairly expansive and are spread over several miles, unless you are a very ambitious geocacher you may want to break this tour into more than one day. You’ll find plenty of parking at each of the parks listed, so it’s easy to experience any one of these riverside locations separately. Happy hunting!

Learn more about geocaching in West Bend here and the West Bend $1,000 Cache Ba$h here.