Since moving to Florida a couple of years ago, we miss seeing fall colors! We want to take full advantage of a work trip to Milwaukee Oct 4-7 to see gorgeous leaves, by tacking on a couple of nights in a cabin in the woods somewhere we could go hiking, make s'mores on a campfire, and otherwise soak up autumn.
Where do outdoorsy Fodorites recommend? I recall a boat tour through the Wisconsin Dells when I was young, but that was long ago and that area seems to have been built up a lot since those days. Is there anything to do near Rowley Bay, (named after one of my mom's ancestors?)
I'm not sure if we're flying into O'Hare or Milwaukee. I like being able to do everything by train/bike/public transit, but expect we'll have to get a rental car, especially because we want to visit the town near Appleton where my dad grew up.
By the way, "we" who will be traveling are me and my son, who will be celebrating his 10th birthday on this trip.
Fall leaves in Wisconsin
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Anybody? Bueller?
When I was a kid we used to rent a cabin on a lake in Forest County every summer. Beautiful mixes of white birch and firs in the woods. The Nicolet Natl Forest is nearby. You can get there in about two hours from Appleton taking SRs47/55 to Keshena and through the Menominee Indian reservation, which was the highlight of our drive from Chicago.
From Appleton you can also get to Door County in about an hour and a half via US41 and SR57. The peninsula on Green Bay gets raves for its scenery.
Thanks Dave! I want to look into both of those, but my first question is about Door County--are they pine trees or deciduous? Since writing my first post, I've seen that Rowley Bay would not be a good idea, because it's all pine trees, no color!
You will definitely have to rent a car.. easy to do in either city. Unfortunately not a lot of public bus options in WI.
Door County is deciduous and beautiful in the fall!! It's both fortunate and unfortunate you won't be in town for Fall Fest in Sister Bay the following weekend - you'll actually be able to find hotels/cabins this way! All of the towns are very close together and great to visit in the fall. Peninsula State Park is always a favorite and you can easily get up to Ellison Bay from there. Bailey's Harbor also has some cabin options!
Otherwise, if you're interested in going more east, Devil's Lake near Baraboo would be great, and Madison is always beautiful in the fall. There's no camping options in the city but it's a quick drive from Devil's Lake, situated between two beautiful lakes with lots of hiking options. Picnic Point is always beautiful! Hope this helps
First you need to wait a bit and see where the leaves are peaking for that timeframe. It does little good to plan a trip to a particular destination only to find out the leaves have fallen off or have only begun turning.
http://www.travelwisconsin.com/fall-color-report#/Report
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Wisconsin travel.com has a daily color update. Rent a car. Head up to the Tomah Sparta area north west of the dells. Great bike paths and gorgeous color. Dells is comercial but there are plenty of natural things to do. And the comercial area isn't huge. Baraboo bluffs and Devils lake is nearby. Here in Madison, color should be good. Rent a bike or canoe and enjoy. You can do that in downtown Madison. Go to Spring Green 30 min west of Madison, home of frank l wright. Hike Shot tower park, if it isn't too cold rent a canoe on the Wisc river. Old world Wisconsin and 10 chimneys is very close to Milwaukee. You might be able to do that in an hour or two.
Does your son want to do the packer hall of fame? Color will be done in Green Bay by then though.