Must see and do in Wisconsin

[S-n-L]

Hello everyone and thank you advance for your input.

We have never explored Wisconsin and are heading there in July/August on our cross country trip this summer. We can have a few weeks to a month there and would like to get suggestions for what are must see places and must do things. We love to sight-see (especially unusual and kitschy things), go to factory tours, hike, bicycle ride, love anything food and beer.

In addition to what is suggested we do want to check out Milwaukee, Green Bay and Madison. I hear you can get a cheese hat there.

Looking forward to seeing the great things there!

[AJR]

Worth two or more nights camping on the grounds.
https://www.eaa.org/en/airventure

[dodge_guy]

bukhrn wrote:
Wow, only one person mentioned anything related to my favorite, eating cheese curds. :B:B (But that's not restricted to WI.)

And restricted to those of us that can’t process dairy very well! That doesn’t stop me. I still eat them but I’m feeling it in a few hours! LOL

[CharlesinGA]

I have Criss crossed south Western WI several times on the back roads and it is beautiful farm country. The drive on WI highway 35 up the Mississippi River from Prarie du Chien to La Crosse is a very scenic ride along the river with the bluffs overlooking you. There are scenic overlooks on the top of the bluffs and I recall one artesian well flowing from a large pipe next to the road.

Charles

[kknowlton]

Fish boils in Door County (very different than a fish fry). Check out the Great River Road along the Mississippi, southwestern edge of the state. Our favorite Wisconsin SP is there (Wyalusing).

Yes, it's kitschy and touristy but you will never see anything else like the House on the Rock. Even my parents, who HATED kitschy places, loved it. Agreed, Mirror Lake SP is the best CG in the Baraboo/Dells area, but I'll put in a plug for the Wis. Dells KOA (since friends own it. 🙂 ) We enjoyed the Duck rides and the boat rides in the Dells, and if you have an interest in water parks, well, that's water park heaven.

Also agreed that the SPs along Lake Michigan are gems. (And very hard to get into.) Point Beach State Forest's campground is another favorite of ours.

Longdrive, believe it or not, we lived 32 years along the IL/WI border and never ever stopped at Mars Cheese Castle. I kinda wanted to, though. 🙂

[longdrive]

Any Friday night in any town/city here in Wis - Fish Fry. Also is coming up from Il on I94 - everyone stops at HWY 142 and 94 at Mars Cheese Castle. Number one tourists trap in the state ...well, maybe the Dells is number one.

[bukhrn]

Wow, only one person mentioned anything related to my favorite, eating cheese curds. :B:B (But that's not restricted to WI.)

[pirlbeck]

Slip over to north east Iowa and see the Bily Clock Museum.

Bily Clock Museum.

[Bob806]

We've explored quite a bit in Wisconsin. In addition to what others posted, here's some good stops to consider:

Two Rivers...that area has a nice beach and a bike trail to Manitowoc.
Baraboo/Devils Lake State Park
Fond du Lac

I really enjoy the UP of Michigan too, so if you head way north in Wisconsin, stop by there.

[S-n-L]

Thank you all for your replys. Great suggestions. Can't wait to finalize our itinerary.

[Matt_Colie]

House on the Rock is tourist trap museum without any labels.
The Circus Museum in Baraboo is a great stop even when they are not doing shows. This one rates for a 50 mile diversion anytime, but it is a 100 mile museum in the travel season.
The state Museum in Millwaukee is a very good stop.
The Dells is all Tourist stuff. (If it is Tourist Season, why can't we shoot them?)
In Peshtigo (south of Marinette on 41) is the Peshtigo Fire Museum. It is housed in the church that is one of few structures in 1200 square miles to survive the fire(s). It was bigger than the Chicago fire and killed many more, but the telegraph lines went down early so the word didn't even get out for three days and Chicago got top billing. If you haven't read about this, it is a 25 mile museum, if you have, it is a 100 mile.
In Chippewa Falls, there is both the Leinekugle brewery and the Cray Computer museum. Together, they are a 25 mile attraction.
The EAA Museum is a great 50 mile museum for anybody, but if you are an aircraft person.... Maybe 100+.
The drive up and down the Door Peninsula is scenic and a pleasant drive. We did not take the ferry to Washington Island.
There is the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. If you have no interest in railroad stuff, it is still a good stop. If you are a train head, they have five very rare examples to make it a 100 miler.
I bet that there is more that I do not remember right now.

Matt

[Skyberg01]

Wisconsin has a lot of BEER, CHEESE, MOTORCYCLES, and FOOTBALL PLAYERS. It just cannot get any better than that.

[dodge_guy]

If you can time it do the fly in I think in OshKosh. You can get a site on the field and go around and check out all the planes. I don’t know the dates of that.

[VoodooMedicineM]

Harley Davidson factory and museum Milwaukee.

[jplante4]

If you like Frank Lloyd Wright, visit Taliesin