Local Area and Activities
Hiking, biking, simply relaxing on the back porch watching the cranes and listening to the owls and whip-poor-wills are some of the best ways to spend one's time here. Winter stays offer the possibility of cross-country skiing on nearby trails, snow shoeing in the prairies behind the house, or simply relaxing by the wood stove with a good book. You can find additional local information at this links page.
Monticello The little village of Monticello is a short bike ride away, along the Sugar River Trail. The village has a nice park and wonderful dining options, including the renowned Dining Room. 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 famous 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.
New Glarus
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. Visitors can tour the New Glarus Brewing Company, home of the best beer in the midwest, and hike or snowshoe in the restored prairies and oak forests of the New Glarus Woods State Park. 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. |
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.
Mineral Point
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.
An interesting new venture in Mineral Point is The Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts. Hands-on workshops are offered throughout the year. Some of the major galleries include:
Spring Green
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. |