During our road trip we spent more than two weeks in Wisconsin, and we had some fabulous experiences. Here are some of our highlights and recommendations!

Door County, Wisconsin. Located on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan forming Green Bay, Door County is a beautiful place to visit. The peninsula is dotted with small towns filled with parks, beaches, restaurants, breweries and cideries, galleries, and shops of every kind. The peninsula is known for its pie cherry trees, and there are delicious treats of every kind made with cherries. We especially loved the cherry ice cream, cherry cider, and cherry salsa.  

Kettle Moraine State Forest. We camped in the Southern Unit at Ottawa Lake (open year round if you’re brave enough!), but we visited other sections of the park as well. Our campground was quiet with very private sites, and our site was huge! The campground had easy lake access (we were wishing for our kayaks!), a family of Sandhill Cranes, nearby hiking, magnificent sunsets, and brilliant stars.

Devil’s Lake State Park. Devil’s Lake is the most popular state park in Wisconsin, with up to 3 million visitors a year! Luckily, fall is not the busiest season, so it did not feel crowded. There is lots of hiking in and around the park, as well as beaches for swimming and/or canoeing, kayaking, and SUPing. No motors are allowed in Devil’s Lake.

Near Milwaukee we visited Holy Hill Basilica and National Shrine. It is a gorgeous cathedral perched high up on a hill. There are three chapels in addition to the basilica on the grounds. Visitors can also walk the path of the nearly life-sized stations of the cross and visit the Grotto of Lourdes. Visitors are welcome to attend mass at the basilica, but the tower is not open during mass times. The fall colors were just barely beginning when we visited, but apparently it is one of THE places to see the leaves in the fall in SE Wisconsin. 

Of course, for us a trip to Milwaukee is never complete without a visit to our alma mater, Marquette University, hanging out with our Marquette friends, and a stop at Kopp’s for frozen custard. We think Kopp’s is definitely better than Culver’s, but you should probably try both (in the name of research, of course) in order to make an informed decision.

We loved traveling to Wisconsin in the fall – no crowds, nice temperatures, no humidity. Next time we plan a trip we’d like to come a little later in the fall so we can see all the leaves changing color.  

We hope you’re able to enjoy some uncrowded fall adventures wherever you are, whether they’re for a week or a weekend!