The Fox Cities

Enjoy fine dining on the water in the Fox Cities. Fratellos Waterfront Restaurant serves award-winning wine alongside a Northern Italian-inspired menu, with a fantastic view of the Fox River. Waverly Beach, with its massive patio overlooking Lake Winnebago, offers classic American fare and weekly live music. If you want to get a little more active, there are also plenty of opportunities to kayak both the river and lake. Fox River Kayaking offers guided excursions, and Kayak Wisconsin has self-serve rental kiosks through the Fox Valley. For a more relaxing alternative, River Tyme Boat Tours offers private and public tours of the Fox River, including themed ones like Summer Sunset and Families on the Fox. Appleton is also home to the Milwaukee Brewers’ Single-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The team is known for hosting inventive theme nights, like Margaritaville Night, TV Sitcom Night and Udder Tugger weekend. This summer, downtown Appleton is hosting Mile of Music, a festival that boasts over 700 live music sets in 40 venues over one weekend, Aug. 3-6. The extravaganza even got a shoutout in Rolling Stone last year. foxcities.org

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trail

Frank Lloyd Wright’s impact on architecture can’t be understated – and we’re lucky to have much of his greatest work right here in his home state of Wisconsin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Trail connects nine of his works from Racine County to Richland Center. Thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, a new website has been launched that connects the sites and allows visitors to track their journey (FrankLloydWright Trail.org ). The east end of the trail is the SC Johnson Administration Building and Research Tower, a pair of structures Wright designed from top to bottom, including the furniture. From there, you’ll stop at Wingspread, a fourwinged, prairie-style house. Then it’s over to Milwaukee’s Burnham Block, the earliest example of Wright’s affordable, small-scale dwellings. Madison is home to two of the Trail’s stops – Monona Terrace, which Wright called his “dream civic center” and the First Unitarian Society Meeting House, an internationally recognized icon of religious architecture. The next stop is Spring Green, where you’ll begin your journey at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at Riverview Terrace. Here, you’ll check in for your tour of Taliesin, Wright’s famous home, studio and 800-acre property. Minutes away is his Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center

Lastly, in Richland Center, the town of his birth, you’ll find the impressive brick avant-garde A.D. German Warehouse, topped by a magnificent concrete frieze. FrankLloydWrightTrail.org

The La Crosse Region

La Crosse is home to one of the best restaurants in the state. Lovechild serves outstanding seasonal dishes in an elegant dining room. The eatery – and its ever-changing menu – is worth a visit on its own, but the La Crosse region has plenty more to offer. It’s also a prime destination for outdoor adventures, with hiking, biking and kayaking options to spare. The Great River Landing trailhead kicks off miles of scenic riverside biking, while Grandad Bluff sports one of the most striking views in Wisconsin, with hiking trails leading up to it. For shopping, there’s Down a Country Road, a collection of themed Amish shops selling handmade goods and gifts as well as unique children’s toys. You might want to time a summer visit to La Crosse with one of the season’s major musical events. From June-September, the Rotary Club of La Crosse is hosting the Moon Tunes concert series, with free, weekly concerts at Riverside Park. And from July 13-15, over 20,000 country music fans will head to the La Crosse region for Country Boom , a major festival with headliners like Jo Dee Messina, Kip Moore and Dustin Lynch. To take in even more sights, book a La Crosse Segway Tour alongside the Mississippi River, or a Historic Trolley Tour through downtown La Crosse. explorelacrosse.com

Arts

Destinations

The Bend Theater

West Bend’s historic venue started its life as a Vaudeville theater and “movie palace” in 1929. The theater was a cultural touchstone in the city for decades before closing in 2006. But in 2017, the Historic West Bend Theater set about bringing the eye-catching, vintage venue back to life. The nonprofit invested $4.6 million in restoring the theater, and it officially reopened in 2020. Now it hosts concerts, comedy, classic film screenings, and is available for private parties. In April, it’ll host the Kettle Moraine Blues Fest and the Rush Tribute Project, among others. thebendwi.org

Kohler Arts Center

Sheboygan’s John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) is a nationally acclaimed visual and performing arts complex. The center features contemporary art exhibitions, performances, workshops and community events. The award-winning, artist-designed washrooms put Sheboygan on the map for having the world’s best bathrooms. Admission and parking are completely free. About 3 miles west is JMKAC’s Art Preserve, the world’s first and only museum dedicated to artist-built environments. It also offers free admission and features collections from Milwaukee-area artists Mary Nohl and Eugene Von Bruenchenhein. Weekly throughout the summer, JMKAC hosts the Levitt AMP Sheboygan Music Series on the City Green. And July 15-16, the center hosts its 53rd Midsummer Festival of the Arts, featuring juried artist booths, performances, art-making activities and demonstrations. jmkac.org

Follow the Trail of an Architectural Icon

Mount Horeb

Mount Horeb is the “Troll Capital of the World.” If you visit the village, you’ll find it chock full of the little Scandinavian creatures (in statue form, of course). The trolls date back to the 1970s when Open House Imports, a gift shop that remains open to this day, first put a few on its lawn. Soon the village commissioned a local artist to make more. “Troll hunters” now visit Mount Horeb every year to see them – pick up a troll map yourself at the village welcome center, and buy a troll or two at the Driftless Historium museum gift shop. Besides that whimsical treat, Mount Horeb also has the nearby Cave of the Mounds, filled with breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites. Mount Horeb’s family-friendly, nine-hole Norsk Golf Club is also worth a visit for a round on the links. The village boasts a great winery, Botham Vineyards, and a craft brewery, with a theme befitting its location – The Grumpy Troll. Grab a brew, and then enjoy a sweet treat at its sister business on Main Street, The Sugar Troll candy shop. From there, a walk down Main Street provides plenty of shopping and dining options: Find artisan jewelry at SIFT and Winnow; visit the stylish women’s boutique McFee on Main; shop new and used guitars at Hart House Guitars; and stop for lunch at Sunn Café trollway.com