Best Road Trip Routes in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's road trips span Door County's cherry orchards, the Great River Road's Mississippi bluffs, the Apostle Islands lakeshore, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Driftless landscape.

Door County Loop (Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay and North)
From Green Bay north on WI-57 to Sturgeon Bay, then up the peninsula: Cave Point County Park (sea caves in the dolomite cliff), Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek (fish boil restaurants), Ephraim, Sister Bay (goats graze on the Al Johnson's Restaurant roof), and Washington Island (the northernmost community in Wisconsin, accessible by ferry). The return via WI-42 (the bay side) passes Egg Harbor and Jacksonport. Allow 2–3 days; cherry and apple orchards are spectacular in May (blossom) and October.

Great River Road (Wisconsin Section, Prairie du Chien to Prescott)
Following the Mississippi River 250 miles along WI-35 — the route passes La Crosse (the best river town in Wisconsin, with Grandad Bluff rising 590 feet above the river), Trempealeau (the finest preserved 19th-century river town in Wisconsin, with the Trempealeau Hotel — a 1871 hotel still operating), and Alma (the finest overlook of the upper Mississippi at Buena Vista Park — 400 feet above the river). Best in fall for leaf color.

Apostle Islands and Lake Superior Shore
From Superior (at the western end of Lake Superior) east along US-2 to Washburn and Bayfield (the most charming town on Wisconsin's Lake Superior shore), then the ferry to Madeline Island. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore boat tours (Red Cliff, WI) give access to the sea caves. Allow 2–3 days; Bayfield's Apple Festival (first weekend of October) is one of the most popular events in Wisconsin.

Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture Trail
From Madison west to Spring Green (Taliesin — Wright's studio and home), the Hillside School, the Wyoming Valley School, and the Seth Peterson Cottage (a 1958 Wright cottage on Mirror Lake, available for rental). Continue to the First Unitarian Society Meeting House (Madison — one of Wright's finest small buildings). The Alex Jordan's House on the Rock (the eccentric antithesis of Wright, 7 miles from Taliesin) is a must-add.