Things to Do
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Bridge on the Sugar River Bike Trail
Sugar River Bike Trail near the farm
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Bicycling
This is one of the best areas in the midwest
for biking, both trail and on-road. The house is less than a quarter of
a mile from the 23-mile
Sugar River Trail, one of Wisconsin's first "Rails to Trails"
projects. Taking you through rolling hills, wetlands, river bottoms, oak
savanna and state wildlife areas, the trail offers opportunities for
biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.
From the house, Brodhead and its covered bridge are 12 miles to the
south, the lovely village of
Monticello
is about 5 miles to the north and
New Glarus
is another 6 miles. You can stop in villages along the way for lunch and
snacks, and Monticello has a swimming pool for cooling off. Bikes are
available for free here at the house, and we will gladly arrange shuttle
service for those who don't want to bike back.
For those who prefer road cycling, the paved farm roads of southern
Wisconsin are ideal. These roads are extremely quiet - often, fewer than
20 cars per day use them - so the cycling is peaceful. Many days, we
don't see a single car on some of these roads.
We can provide maps and directions for our favorite routes, some of
which are gentle and level, while others challenge a strong rider with
steep hills. All the routes are scenic, winding through farmland and
forest, along trout creeks and through wetlands. Several of the routes
begin at the house, while others begin a short drive away. Shuttles can
be arranged, if you want to do a one-way route.
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Fishing & Canoeing
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The Little Sugar River
One of the local flyfishing areas, Dougherty Creek
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Southern Wisconsin has many trout streams -
warm, slow waters rather than the fast cold waters of the North. Within
about 10 miles of the house, the Wisconsin Department of Natural
resources has marked 12 trout streams suitable for fly fishing; these
sites can be found on the DNR
fly fishing map, and
include:
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Bushnell Creek (Brown trout)
Near County Highway J,
northeast of Monroe |
Dougherty Creek (Brown trout)
West of Monticello |
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County Road FF (Brown trout)
Near the road in S10, T3N, R7E |
Hammerly Creek (Brown, Brook
trout)
Southeast of Monroe, north of Highway 39 |
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Liberty Creek (Brown trout)
South of Brooklyn, north of Highway 59 |
Marsh Creek (Brown trout)
Southeast of Albany |
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New Glarus Branch (Brown trout)
Between S23-24, T4N, R7E |
Sawmill Creek (Brown trout)
West of New Glarus, south of Highway 39 |
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Sylvester Creek (Brown trout)
Near the road in S22, T2N, R8E |
Tipperary Creek (Story Creek)
(Brook, rainbow trout)
West of Brooklyn, intersects Highway 92 |
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Ward Creek (Brown trout)
East of New Glarus |
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Within walking distance of the farm, local farmers take their
grandchildren to the bridge near the house to fish on warm summer
evenings. A few miles away, Albany Lake is a popular place for boating
and fishing.
Although the Little Sugar River is too small for boating, a few miles
away, the Sugar River offers fine canoe and kayak routes, ranging from 3
easy miles to 12 challenging miles. We can arrange shuttles, or you can
drop a bike in the village of Albany and bike back to the boat landing.
Within a half-hour drive, excellent canoeing is possible on the Yahara
River, Badfish Creek and the Pecatonica River. We have a canoe and two
recreational kayaks to borrow. Rental shops in Albany carry inner
tubes for lazy floats down the Sugar River.
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Day Trips
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New Glarus
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Village of New Glarus
Visitors can tour the
New
Glarus Brewing Company, home of the best beer in the midwest, and
hike in the restored prairies and oak forests of the
New Glarus Woods State Park. |
Ten miles away, the Swiss settlement of
New Glarus
offers authentic Swiss cuisine, folk festivals, and a restored Swiss
village. The
Swiss
Historical Village
has 14 reconstructed
pioneer buildings, and offers a sense of how Swiss immigrants to
New Glarus experienced their new home in 1845. The Swiss Historical Village is open
from 10 am to 4 pm, May 1 to Oct. 31.
New Glarus is well-known for its Swiss festivals,
including the
Heidi festival
in the spring, and the
Wilhelm Tell
festival over Labor Day weekend. The Heidi Festival,
from June 27-29, 2003,
offers the 39th annual performance of
Johanna Spyri's play, Heidi.
Two golf courses are close to New Glarus and
Brodhead, and both have all times available for non-members. Call the Argue-ment Golf Course in
New Glarus ( |
Spring Green
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Taliesin |
Take a scenic afternoon drive to
Spring
Green, home of Frank Lloyd Wright for may years. You can tour the
extraordinary architecture and workshops of
Taliesin, eat lunch in Wright's cafe on the Wisconsin River, or
watch Shakespeare in the outdoor
American Players Theatre.
The Wisconsin River offers canoeing, fishing and sunbathing on broad
sandbars. The strange vision of House on the Rock is only a few miles
further, on the way to the Land's End factory in Dodgeville. |
Mineral Point
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An interesting new venture in Mineral Point is
The Shake Rag
Alley Center for the Arts. Hands-on workshops are offered
throughout the year. |
Forty five minutes from the Little Sugar
River Farm is the beautifully restored mining town of Mineral Point, now
a center for galleries and studios. Interesting architecture, tours of
the old mine district, art galleries, restaurants, and excellent artists' workshops are all available. The town's
website
has abundant and well-organized information about the artists, their
galleries and studios, and special gallery tours.
Some of the major galleries include:
Johnston Gallery
WebSite:
www.johnstongallery.com
Bruce Howdle Gallery
WebSite:
www.brucehowdle.com
Green Lantern Studios: Phone:
987.4178
WebSite:
www.greenlanternstudios.com
Chestnut Hill Studio 608.987.3335
Website:
www.chestnuthillstudio.com
Prairie Oak Artisans
Phone: 608.987.3757
Website:
www.prairieoakartisans.com
The Spotted Dog Gallery Phone:
608.987.2855
Website:
www.cabezasstudios.com
Longbranch Gallery, 203 Commerce, a showcase for
rustic furniture, folk and fine art. Phone: 608.987.4499
Website:
www.longbranchgallery.com |
Monroe
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Restored prairie near Monroe |
Twenty minutes south of the Little River
Farm, you will find
Monroe, the county seat of
Green
County. Here, you can walk around the square — one of the prettiest
in Wisconsin. After that, visit
Baumgartner's--a trademark bar and cheese store--tour a cheese
factory and watch a movie at the Sky-Vu Drive-In movie theater, one of the last remaining in the
Midwest. |
Madison
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The Capitol: image from
UW-Madison |
30 miles north of the Little Sugar River Farm is the university town of
Madison, set on an isthmus between four lakes. Saturdays during the
summer you can wander around the
Dane County Farmers' Market, one of the largest in the nation. Or,
you can walk down State Street to the university's
Memorial Union, which has a wonderful lake-front terrace — a great
spot to people-watch and listen to live music on hot summer.
For an entertaining perspective on Madison,
click here for an article that originally appeared in the
Minneapolis/St Paul Magazine. Visit
Trip Advisor to read more articles about Madison. |
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