Ah, fall. It's the favorite season of many in Wisconsin. Mine happens to be summer, but fall is a close second. After all, the weather's usually crisp and beautiful (this week's weather notwithstanding) and the leaves turn from green to a vibrant mixture of yellows, reds, oranges, browns, and more. In many areas of the state, scenic drives await for you to enjoy these colors along with the scenery and towns along the way. Mariah Haberman and I cover a series of those drives in this new episode of The Cabin, the official podcast of Discover Wisconsin.
This has been a highly requested topic from listeners, so we cover fall colors in our Campfire Conversation. Our recommendations include Highway 77 from Minong to Mellen, part of the Great Divide Scenic Highway through the North Woods; Highway 107 along the Wisconsin River from Merrill to Tomahawk; Highway 86 west from Tomahawk to Timms Hill (the highest natural point in Wisconsin); up the road from Wausau into Rib Mountain State Park up to Granite Peak; Highway 131 through the Driftless, along the 11 crossings of the Kickapoo River and through the Kickapoo Valley Reserve; Highway 101 through Florence County, between Florence and US 8. We also recommend the Lake Superior Scenic Byway (Highway 13) and then the Bayfield Peninsula tour, where you start in Ashland and make your way north of Bayfield to Brule River State Forest. You can also combine these recommendations for the “Hilltop Tour” - Wausau (Rib Mt State Park) → Ogema (Timms Hill) → Neillsville (The Highground) to finish at the Black River State Forest, which puts you close to Black River Falls and lets you jump on I-94 for a quick drive back home if needed. And, to give some love to the southern part of the state (where the leaves turn a little later), we recommend Snake Road around Lake Geneva and the 20 miles of rustic roads nearby, including Rustic Road Routes 11, 12 and 36 in Walworth County. The Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive closer to home is pretty nice by early to mid-October, too!
We also jump back into our Behind-the-Scenes segment, talking about out upcoming Discover Wisconsin TV episode about Minocqua. The show's Motion Media Manager Teddy Maier joins us to dive into the episode and share some back stories with all of us. And yes, my cow costume and participation in the 5K Rump Roast Run comes up in this. Moo.
Check out our latest episode of The Cabin below, or link to it on iHeartRadio or Apple Podcasts to enjoy any time you wish!
Photo credits: Eric Paulsen, StateTrunkTour.com. Used with permission.