Wisconsin tourist tips

Hello,

my husband, toddler & I are going to Wisconsin for a few weeks this summer and I was hoping to get recommendations on things to see and do.
We will start in Madison and make our way to Minneapolis - so really *anything* in between these 2 cities that is worth a gander (i.e lakes, fairs, museums, weird architecture, good fish fries, favorite brews..)
We are flexible in our plans so if a particular town is really charming/fun we could stay a few days.
I actually don't need tips on Minneapolis or Madison, just the points in between please.
Thanks mucho.

I was at the Swiss Valley area back when I was in staying in Illinois for a couple of weeks. It is just south of Madison and the town is called New Glarus. It is a nice little town to stop by in. If you are a cheese fan watch out they have loads of it there and it is tasty stuff. The most bizarre I tried while I was there was a mix of chedder and blue cheese (great). If you like nice beer the new glarus brewing company is also very good. They should have their edelpils up and running again with the new brewery operating and the craft brewery doing all sorts of interesting things. The town itself is quite a bit of fun. While in madison check out the Great Dane brew pub really nice selection of beers don't bother with the food their though unlike average american brewpubs the food (from my one experience there) stinks but the beer was good. It is just off the square by the capital building.

Edit: oh and I am sure the swiss valley will be entertaining for the tot as well.

I spent a summer in Madison many moons ago. Cheese, more cheese. Beer, bad beer, and more bad beer.

A few things between Madison and the Twin Cities: WI Dells - water parks, mini golf, lots of cheesy tourist attractions (but can be a lot of fun), Devil's Lake State Park - great hiking, lovely views, Wildcat State Park - hiking, relaxing canoeing on the Kickapoo River, Osseo WI for the Norske Nook restaurant - cult status, great pies, great breakfast (try a lefse wrap!), La Crosse, WI - nice WI city on the Mississippi River, A drive through Amish Country can be nice - the scenery is lovely and you can stop and buy quilts/furniture/candy at some Amish houses, oh, and the Wollersheim Winery in Prarie du Sac is lovely - nice wine, lovely area, and they offer a nice tour. For a good fish fry, stop at any little town on a Friday evening. And New Glarus beer is quite tasty.

I grew up directly between Madison and Minneapolis (Tomah, WI to be exact, if you have a map handy), so if you want some more concrete tips, PM me!

I'm actually starting to look forward to the trip now! Thanks Iain & Alyson.

I have some stuff I have to get done, but I'll get back to you. Are you sure you don't want to spend some time in the Milwaukee area or head northeast up to Door County?

Quickly off the top of my head there's the Dells- waterparks galore, they also have the Tommy Bartlett waterski show and some "museum" type thing, the ducks (amphibious vehicles) that go down the river and it's quite pretty with the cliffs, there's also Circus World Museum in Baraboo (supposedly the Circus got some of it's roots here, who knows).
There's a bike trail that the name escapes me at the moment. Up in Chippewa Falls there's the Lennie's brewery. Along with the rest that people mentioned above.

When this summer are you going? There are random festivals and events.

If you want to reconsider throwing in some time in Milwaukee or Door County I'd highly recommend it. Milwaukee has the Imax, Public Museum, and Discovery World Museum (good for kids and still fun for adults), and Pier Wisconsin too. The Milwaukee Art Museum with the awesome Santiago Calatrava addition, the lakefront, numerous festivals (basically every weekend they start end May and continue through September including Jazz in the Park in Cathedral Square (Free) every Thursday, River Rhythms in Piere Marquette Park every Wednesday (free) and River Flicks in the same park some random friday nights throughout the summer (free), along with random art shows and neighborhood festivals and farmer's markets.
Door County is gorgeous with State Parks, cute B&Bs, golf resorts, art gallerys, fish boils, boating, cute boutiques, hiking, etc.

As boring as WI may seem to people there's heaps to do (year round), but especially in the summer May-September/October.

I'll get back to you about things to do in the western part of the state (it's hillier there and it is pretty), but if you have time I'd consider some things in the Southeastern area.

So how much time will you have and what part of summer?

Travel Wisconsin

Hi Mere, you gave me some good info..thanks. I would love to go to M'walkie but we just don't have the time. I was there in the early 90s and really liked it. We have 2 weeks, smack in the middle of July.

New Glarus is great. Stop at the Swiss Valley Apple Orchard right outside of town. I know the family that owns it. Kris, Craig and Sven are the three brothers.. one of them will be wandering around. They all have kids so the place is pretty child friendly and they have great icecream and apple pie. I think the place is still open.. I have not been there for four years...

Make sure to go to Wisconsin Dells.. that is lots of fun for children. Also think about going to Devils lake. Ringling brother's circus is not too far away from there.

I am going to get homesick reading this thread.

calling everybody with wisconsinality!

I need help on one more aspect of our trip. A strange turn of events has given us FOUR days in Steven's Point.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure its a nice place, just four days seems ... well.. long.

Any tips on SP? Restaurants, attractions, bike paths, strange bits of americana? Or, anything in the surrounding area?

Also, what is the general attitude towards children in WI? Are they scowled at, like in Berlin?

its the US- most places are child friendly, especially restaurants, generally get a kids menu and always something for them to scribble with.

From Stevens point. drive 130 miles north and stay here. It's idyllic and child friendly. Boyds Mason lake resort

If you're in New Glarus, take a short hop over to Mt. Horeb and visit the Mustard Museum. You could easily do both towns in the same day.

Your toddler might like Ella's Deli in Madison, on East Washington Avenue about halfway between the capitol building and I-94. They have a carousel out front, and fun ice cream sundaes and good food generally for all ages. Madison also has a free zoo on the east side.

Wisconsin Dells, as someone mentioned (mere, probably) has lots of fun water parks for all ages. I'd be sure and spend a couple of days there.

Wisconsin is also a big producer of cranberries. Warrens, north of the Dells off I-94, has a Cranberry Discovery Center.

The beer is better now than PES experienced. New Glarus Brewery and the Capital Brewing Company make really good beers. Point Beer, made in Stevens Point, should definitely be avoided, IMHO.

Don't forget to check out the Mississippi River; there are some lovely state parks on the Wisconsin side near Prairie du Chien. Stillwater, MN is a town on the other side near the Twin Cities with some "historical" flavor and a railroad museum (possibly not as interesting for European kids as American kids, who rarely ride trains anymore.)

St. Paul, MN has a fun Children's Museum right downtown. At the moment there's a special Curious George exhibit on. The Como Park Zoo, also in St. Paul, is free, and the Minnesota Zoo is also fun for kids (south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, in Apple Valley.)

hi nicole,
boyd's lake looks really fun and simple. sadly, they are all booked out for july.
When I phone back the owner is going to give us some other recs that are nearby and similar-ish to Boyd's. thanks

cinzia, I love the idea of a cranberry discovery center and mustard museum. we will plan that. and yes, we'll def. have to drink some new glarus. If you guys are ever in Berlin I owe you a couple of beers. Though I promise not to make you suffer through Schultheiss.

carm, you are right. I just had a rough morning with some scowling widows in line at schlecker.

Ah! I would really advise against the cranberry discovery center - it's teeny-tiny, and the village of Warrens really doesn't have anything to offer, i.e. the town is really ugly and boring. Don't go out of your way to stop there, and there's so many other more interesting little towns and scenery in the area. Don't go to Warrens.

Disclamer: I grew up about 5 miles from Warrens.

I'll add that I've never been to Warrens, but since I live in the Twin Cities now and my parents live outside Madison, I do that drive quite often and it looks like a place I'll stop in someday for a driving break. Then again, I love cranberries.

How long since you've been there, though, AlysonJoan? It might have changed quite a bit. The Discovery Center website is really very nice. I was really surprised at the number of indoor water parks and other new amusements that have sprung up around the Dells in the past few years, so things do change quickly.