Places & Parks in Wisconsin
The places worth your time in Wisconsin, from headline parks to the towns you will actually base in.
Door County
The Door Peninsula reaches into Lake Michigan with about 300 miles of shoreline, 11 lighthouses, and five state parks. Bayside villages run up the west shore: Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, and Sister Bay, with Sturgeon Bay as the year-round hub at the base. Cherry blossoms come mid-May and the harvest runs mid-to-late July. A Scandinavian-style fish boil and a slice of cherry pie are the signature meal. Washington Island sits off the tip via a 30-minute ferry. Peak season is July through October, when fall color and apple orchards bring a second wave.
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Wisconsin Dells
Billed as the Waterpark Capital of the World. Noah's Ark is the largest outdoor waterpark in the country at more than 70 acres, and indoor parks at Kalahari, Wilderness, and Mt. Olympus run year-round, so winter is busy too. Before the waterparks, the draw was the river itself: Upper and Lower Dells boat tours and the amphibious Original Wisconsin Ducks run through sandstone gorges on the Wisconsin River. Easy family base off I-90/94, about an hour north of Madison.
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Apostle Islands
A National Lakeshore of 21 islands plus 12 miles of mainland on Lake Superior off the Bayfield Peninsula. The mainland sandstone sea caves at Meyers Beach are the headline: kayak or cruise into them in summer. The winter ice caves only form when the lake freezes solid enough to walk out, which does not happen every year, so check the park before you plan around them. Madeline Island, the only developed island, runs a ferry from Bayfield and an ice road in deep winter.
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Milwaukee
Wisconsin's largest city, on Lake Michigan. The Milwaukee Art Museum's Calatrava wings open and close over the lakefront, the Harley-Davidson Museum tells the company's hometown story, and the brewing legacy lives on at Lakefront, Pabst, and the Miller tour. Walk the Historic Third Ward and the Public Market, follow the RiverWalk, and time a summer trip around Summerfest on the lakefront in late June and early July.
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Madison
The state capital, built on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The granite-domed Wisconsin State Capitol anchors downtown, the UW-Madison campus and the Memorial Union Terrace sit on the lake, and State Street links the two. The Dane County Farmers' Market wraps the Capitol Square on Saturdays in season and is one of the largest producer-only markets in the country.
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Lake Geneva
A resort town on Geneva Lake, about 90 minutes from both Chicago and Milwaukee. The 21-mile Geneva Lake Shore Path runs the full shoreline past Gilded Age mansions, and the Lake Geneva Cruise Line still runs the original US Mail Boat in summer. Beaches, golf, and big resorts like the Grand Geneva fill up on summer weekends.
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Bayfield
A small Lake Superior harbor town and the gateway to the Apostle Islands. Kayak outfitters and island cruises launch from here, the ferry runs across to Madeline Island, and the hillside apple orchards throw the Bayfield Apple Festival on the first full weekend of October. Big Top Chautauqua puts on shows under a tent through the summer. The practical base for the far north.
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Devil'S Lake State Park
Wisconsin's largest and most-visited state park, near Baraboo and about 15 minutes south of the Dells. A spring-fed lake sits below 500-foot quartzite bluffs, with CCC-era stonework, the East Bluff and Balanced Rock trails, two swimming beaches, and popular rock climbing. It is a link in the Ice Age Trail. A vehicle admission sticker is required.
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Green Bay & Lambeau Field
Home of Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers, the NFL's only community-owned team, playing here since 1957. Stadium tours and the Packers Hall of Fame run year-round in the Lambeau Field Atrium, with the Titletown district next door. The National Railroad Museum and Bay Beach round out a visit. Game-day tickets and rooms book months ahead.
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Cave Of the Mounds
A National Natural Landmark near Blue Mounds, about 20 minutes west of Madison. Guided walks lead through a colorful limestone cavern that was uncovered by a quarry blast in 1939. It holds a steady temperature near 50F year-round, which makes it a reliable rain-or-shine, kid-friendly stop off US-18/151.
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Elkhart Lake
A small resort village in Sheboygan County around a clear, spring-fed lake. Road America, a four-mile road-racing circuit, hosts IndyCar, NASCAR, and vintage weekends just outside town. Historic resorts like the Osthoff and Siebkens have drawn lake crowds for generations, and the Kohler golf courses and Whistling Straits are a short drive away. About an hour north of Milwaukee.
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