Green Travel Guide to Southern Wisconsin : Environmentally and Socially Responsible Travel [1 ed.] 9780299235437, 9780299235444

Citation preview

Green Travel Guide to

Southern Wisconsin

Green Travel Guide to

Southern Wisconsin

?/ Environmentally and Socially Responsible Travel

Pat Dillon and Lynne Diebel

the universit y of wisconsin press

The University of Wisconsin Press 1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor Madison, Wisconsin 53711-2059 uwpress.wisc.edu 3 Henrietta Street London wc2e 8lu, England eurospanbookstore.com Copyright © 2010 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews. 5

4

3

2 1

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dillon, Pat (Patricia J.), 1956– Green travel guide to southern Wisconsin : environmentally and socially responsible travel / Pat Dillon and Lynne Diebel. p. cm. Includes index. isbn 978-0-299-23544-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-299-23543-7 (e-book) 1. Wisconsin—Guidebooks. I. Diebel, Lynne Smith. II. Title. f579.3.d55 2010 917.75´0444—dc22 2009040637

In loving memory of Mom and Dad, children of the Great Depression who brought me up green by default —lsd

To my Mom, and in loving memory of my Dad, who sent me outside so often I finally loved being there —p jd

contents

foreword / ix acknowledgments / xi Introduction / 3

Southeast Wisconsin Bicycling Green: Sugar River Area / 9 A Little Town with Heart: Elkhart Lake Area / 21 Sustain in Dane: Madison Area / 27 Bike It, Hike It, Like It: Milwaukee Area / 48 The Ice Age Trail’s Youngest Legacy: Waukesha County Area / 59 Lake Michigan’s Harbor Towns: Port Washington and Sheboygan Area / 70 The Baraboo Hills, a True American Relic: Wisconsin Dells Area / 78

Southwest Wisconsin Back to the Land: Boscobel Area / 91 True Green: Monroe Area / 99 Mississippi River Adventure: Cassville and Potosi Area / 106 Coulee Hideaway: La Crosse Area / 113 Sylvan Workshop: Mineral Point Area / 120 Art and Ancient Heritage: Muscoda Area / 129 Head for the Hills: Sparta Area / 134 Along the Lower Wisconsin: Spring Green Area / 141 New Ideas in the Old Hills: Viroqua Area / 150 resources / 161 directory / 163 index / 189

foreword

In all my travels as tourism secretary, nothing touches my soul in quite the same way as our pristine natural resources. I believe the land, sky, lakes, and rivers define us as a people, inspire us to think differently, and rejuvenate our bodies and spirits. By preserving these precious resources, we make an offering to our children and grandchildren and all others whose path may lead them here someday, ensuring they too will experience the wonders found only in Wisconsin. As a young girl growing up in Wisconsin Dells, I explored the fragrant pine forests, the Wisconsin River with its towering honey-hued bluffs, the community’s naturally cool canyons, and great expanses of farmers’ fields, often at the heels of my photographer father. That secured in me a sentiment that stewardship is the responsibility of each one of us. At the Department of Tourism, we created our own stewardship program, Travel Green Wisconsin, recognizing tourism businesses that are doing their part, in both big ways and small, to be gentle to the environment. When you consider this state’s proud farming heritage, breathtakingly beautiful vistas, and passionate people who have made stewardship their legacy, like Gaylord Nelson, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold, Travel Green Wisconsin was not just a good thing to do, it was the right thing to do. You can imagine my delight, then, when I learned that two books were to be written about green travel in our state. Authors Pat Dillon and Lynne Diebel have combed Wisconsin, unearthing an incredibly wide range of sustainable businesses, destinations, and attractions, from well-known hotels, restaurants, and natural attractions to little-known lodges, markets, and land preserves. I’ve often professed that Wisconsin embraced sustainability long before being “green” became the popular thing to be, and Pat and Lynne have proved that to be true with these wonderful journals of theirs. ix

x

Foreword

Now, with gratitude to the authors of these books, I invite you to get to know the people who grow the food you eat, to complete the cycle of sustainability by buying local, and to tread gently on the earth wherever your travels may take you. That, my friends, is the certain path to protecting all the things we hold dear here in our corner of the world. Travel well. Travel green. Travel Wisconsin. kelli a. trumble Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Tourism

acknowledgments

Thank you, Pat, for having the wonderful idea of writing these books and for being such an outstanding coauthor. And thank you Eva Šolcová, Mark Knickelbine, Melissa Faliveno of Trails Books, and Raphael Kadushin and Adam Mehring at the University of Wisconsin Press for believing in the idea and patiently guiding us through the editing process. To all the farmers, innkeepers, and restaurant owners I visited, thank you for all you do as loyal stewards of this lovely corner of our green earth. Penny Vodak and Margaret Jackson, our trip around Grant County was inspiring; Penny and Greg Vodak, thank you for your test-travel enthusiasm. I thank Rink DaVee for showing me the green face of Mineral Point and Jane Varda of Mazomanie for her invaluable help. Thank you, Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko of Inn Serendipity, for sharing your vision; and Frank Goodman and Nancy Langston, for all that you do to make Green County even greener. Thank you, Camille Zanoni of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, for showing me that our State Natural Areas are indeed a living library of the Wisconsin’s original landscape. I thank my son Matt for answering all my questions about bicycles, rivers, and fish; his partner, Rebecca Gass, for her enthusiastic encouragement; my son Greg for patiently showing me how to decipher the mysteries of technology; and my son James and daughter, Anne, for their long-distance cheerleading. Most of all, I thank my husband, Bob, for his sense of humor, his great photos, and his unfailing support of yet another book project. lsd Thank you, Lynne. Without your patient and guiding hand, this never would have been written. To Kelli Trumble for her generous contribution to these books. To Eva Šolcová, Mark Knickelbine, Melissa Faliveno of Trails Books, xi

xii

Acknowledgments

and Raphael Kadushin and the people at University of Wisconsin Press, for sharing our vision for responsible travel. To the naturalists, foresters, great land stewards, and all the welcoming people throughout Wisconsin who take as good care of me while I travel as they do this beautiful state. To my wonderful daughters, Maura and Nina, who have lovingly accompanied me up and down the Mississippi River, followed me down countless Wisconsin roads, but who have led me down just as many. To Mark Salisbury, who was born on the Mississippi River and shared his love and knowledge of the river with me. To my siblings Michael Dillon, Mary K McCanna, Peggy Johnston, and Ann Moran, who have each taken turns as my navigator while making me laugh, sometimes right off the road. To my dear, sweet mother, Mary Dillon, the reason I keep writing. To Jennifer Buxton, my endlessly patient friend and travel companion. To Dennis Appleton, my dear friend who helped me edit these books. To my friend Ann Rutecki, who introduced me to back-breaking CSA work, and who brings me kohlrabi from the farm. To my dear friend and fellow writer Peg Masterson Edquist, a great travel companion, who helped me research this book. To Kate Galantha, who beautifully captured the Baraboo Hills and the streets of Madison. To my friend and editor Brennan Nardi, who published my first green travel story. To my friend Joanne Riley, who helped me see the forest for the trees. To Arthur Ross at the City of Madison, who helped me make sense out of the Madison bike routes. To Kari Zambon and Chris Zambon, who took me in and made me family. To Carla Minsky, my endlessly optimistic colleague. To Fran DiGraff, who lovingly held my hand through the tall grass. Thank you. pjd

Green Travel Guide to

Southern Wisconsin

Superior

Lake

%$