7 Epic Wisconsin Road Trips You Can Do This Summer

Let’s go on a few Wisconsin road trips!

You all know how much I love my home state of Wisconsin right?  As a travel blogger-I’m always itching to get on the road and discover places in Wisconsin to review and write about. So when I had a full week to spend exploring, some days on my own, and some days with Rick and Megan, I made up a list of 7 Wisconsin road trips to destinations that would make for an adventurous week.

Mini day trips it is!

After doing some research and trying to coordinate our family’s schedules, I decided to take on 7 Wisconsin road trips in 7 days.  It was nearly impossible to find a resort that had openings, and the fact that our daughter Megan had planned a camping trip with some friends the weekend, solidified this choice.  I was excited since I had a whole list of places to visit.

My list of 7 Wisconsin road trips in 7 days

I am kind of lucky in that we live in a relativity east-central area of Wisconsin.  I live an hour from Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Appleton, so I am able to reach many of the places on my list within a couple of hours.  All of them I could tackle on my own, but I knew for sure that 2 days would be family days since those were the only days Megan would be with us. So here goes-my 7 suggested road trips in Wisconsin in 7 days.

1. Day one:  Kenosha is one city in Wisconsin that is so underrated. I’ll admit I followed the crowd as I bypassed this city on the border. In the past, the extent of my seeing Kenosha consisted of driving to the suburban rail line (Metra) to take it to the center of Chicago.  Kenosha is the northernmost stop for Metra and an economical and stress-free way to get to Chicago.  No parking, no traffic.  It’s how I travel to Chicago most times and what I recommend to those that want to make the trek to the city.  After a closer look in 2016 though, I saw an entirely different side to Kenosha.  One that I never knew.  The Kenosha for the traveler.  A Kenosha full of great museums, wonderful food, great shopping, and a scenic lakefront. On day one of my 7 Wisconsin road trips, I had a fabulous lunch at Waterfront Warehouse, visited the Kenosha Public Museum, and had time to roam the lakefront and take lots of pictures.  As I left at the end of the day, I had to stop at the newly renovated Mars Cheese Castle for some goodies to take home
2. Day two: Door County and Washington Island I have been to the “Door” before, but never to Washington Island, or that I remember as my Dad pointed out to me that many years ago I took my first plane ride over to Washington Island. That was some 50 odd years ago, so I thought it was time to make a return visit!  I really didn’t know much about what the island had to offer other than the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm. I love lavender and heard you could get lavender ice cream there, so I put Washington Island on my list. Of course, there are a few more things to see there, my favorite being Schoolhouse Beach, but all in all, you can see the main points of the island in the 90-minute tour add-on when you take the passenger ferry across from Gils Rock. Or better yet, take your time and get a little exercise and either bring your own bike or rent one when you get to the island.  On our way back, we stopped at Sister Bay and watched the goats on the roof at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and went inside for a late lunch of Swedish Meatballs! (Very Good).
3. Day three ATVing at Pembine  This was purely a family day.  Our favorite thing to do is load up our ATVs and head up to northern Wisconsin for some trail riding. Our favorite spot is Marinette County right off of HWY 141.  There is a great network of trails in this area of Wisconsin that offer a mix of road running, logging roads, and rugged trails.  We opted to take the Menominee River trail as that one is a mostly rugged trail with a great view of the river. We love to ride during the week because the trails are not as busy as the weekend and most times we only meet one or two riders plus, your chances of seeing some wildlife increase with fewer machines riding through the woods.
4. Day four Milwaukee I really enjoy heading to Milwaukee when I need my “city” fix. On this particular visit, I went solo. I wanted to walk along Wisconsin Avenue to view the temporary sculptures exhibited by artists around the world. There are 22 sculptures in all that is displayed until October, walk down to the lakefront, hit up a boutique Goodwill store in the Third Ward called Retique, and make a stop at Purple Door Ice Cream shop for some ice cream known for their funky flavors.  All this on foot, which is my favorite way to explore a city.  Milwaukee is perfect to see on foot since it’s pretty compact.
5. Day five Marinette County Waterfalls Tour  Recently featured on Discover Wisconsin, I have been wanting to take the self-guided waterfalls tour for a long time. There are 14 waterfalls all located on the Menominee, Pike, and Peshtigo rivers. Many people have never heard of this and that is honestly such a shame.  This tour showcases the beauty of nature.  Some are easily accessible, but some you have to navigate some rugged terrain to see.  I was going to do this solo but actually was so happy I had a friend with me.  Finding some of these spots was not easy and she served as a great navigator while I drove. As far as picture-worthy trips, this is the finest! We ended up only doing 9, but we were happy with that (it rained all day!) and I will return at some point and finish the whole tour. If you want to take a guided Waterfalls Tour, check out Waterfall Caravan and book one according to your ability level. I am hoping to try this tour in the future.
6. Day six Fischer Creek State Recreation Area Also known as Fischer Creek Conservation area, this is part of the Manitowoc County Park System. This road trip was the closest to where I live.  I had not been here in YEARS and after going I have no idea why.  Located between Sheboygan and Manitowoc Wisconsin on the Lake Michigan shore, this park has great views of the Lake, a nice trail to walk, and a nice beach area with lots of smooth stones to see how many times you can skip them across the water. I will be returning on a hot summer day with a book, a picnic lunch, and my feet in the water to cool off.
7. Day seven Cave Point County Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park Another spot I have never been to and have wanted to check out for a long time is Cave Point.  Also in Door County, these parks offer picnic areas, lots of places to hike, breathtaking views, and if you are adventurous, some fun cliff jumping into the lake.  Also a great spot for fishing, scuba divers, (for underwater caves), and photographers.  Oh and travel bloggers!! The hiking trail in Cave Point hooks up with the Black trail in Whitefish Dunes State Park.

These 7 day Wisconsin Road trips have an excellent mix of urban, nature, active, and food-related things. Having done it, it’s a great itinerary that can be combined to do in fewer days.  This way, you can spend as much time as you want to do what you like at each spot.

And if that’s not enough, why not add in a little Wisconsin road trip to Beloit too!

Wisconsin is a great place to explore.  We Wisconsinites and many from our neighboring states know this, but we want to spread the word to the rest of the world that Wisconsin has it all…and so much more!

If you want to read more about Door County go here.

Get out there and explore!