Two weeks in Wisconsin.
  The Badger State for 13 days.
  Short Summary.
  Day 1 From home to Madison. Madison, Wisconsin
  Day 2 Madison, then to Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  Day 3 Day in Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  Day 4 Milwaukee, then to Sturgeon Bay Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
  Day 5 Day in Door County Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
  Day 6 From Door County to Green Bay, Kenshena, then Lac du Flambeau Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin
  Day 7 From Lac du Flambeau to Bayfield to Madeline Island Apostle Islands or Bayfield
  Day 8 From Apostle Islands to Hayward to Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Dells
  Day 9 Day in Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Dells
  Day 10 From Wisconsin Dells to House on the Rock Spring Green, Wisconsin
  Day 11 From House on the Rock to Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
  Day 12 Prairie du Chien to Dickeyville to Galena, Illinois Galena, Illinois
  Day 13 Return home. home
 

See our list of trips.

My Travel Resources Page
  Full Description
  Day 1 Saturday Drive 205 miles (3 hours 30 minutes) from Springfield to the Anderson Japanese Garden in Rockford, Illinois. If we leave at 9:00 a.m., we can have a couple hours in the garden and eat lunch at the Asian restaurant there. Then, around 2:30 we can drive over to the Burpee Natural History Museum. It’s about 80 miles (90 minutes) from Rockford to Madison, Wisconsin.

Stay in Madison, Wisconsin.

Stay either at the Mansion Hill Inn, the Edgewater, the Best Western Inn on the Park, or some other motel or hotel. There is a HI hostel in Madison.

  Day 2 Sunday Day in Madison to see local sights. The four best things to see on a Sunday in the summer would be the Capitol building, the State Historical Museum, the Chazen Museum of Art, and the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Around 6:00 we can drive to Milwaukee, which is about 80 miles away and requires about a 90 minute drive. In Milwaukee stay at either a hostel (at McCormick Hall) or an older hotel (such as the Ambassador Hotel or the Knickerbocker on the Lake).
  Day 3 Monday Day in Milwaukee. The Public Museum is open on Monday. Second night in Milwaukee.
  Day 4 Tuesday First part of the day in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Art Museum and the Pabst Mansion are open. It’s about 160 miles (3 hours) from Milwaukee to Sturgeon Bay, so a 2:00 p.m. departure from Milwaukee will allow a 5:00 p.m. arrival in Sturgeon Bay. If camping, the Potawatomi State Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park are most appropriate. motels and other accommodations to consider include the Leathem Smith Lodge, the Inn at Cedar Crossing, Holiday Motel, and Lake Lane Cottages.
  Day 5 Wednesday Day in Door County.  Be sure to play at a beach and go hiking in Potawatomi State Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park. In Sturgeon Bay visit the Door County Maritime Museum and the Door County Museum. Second night in Door County.
  Day 6 Thursday Morning drive to Keshena, Wisconsin, passing through Green Bay (total of 95 miles of driving, about 2 hours). Stop in Green Bay to perhaps see the National Railroad Museum, the Hazelwood Historic Home, and the New Zoo. A 9:00 a.m. departure from Door County and a three hour stop in Green Bay will mean a 2:00 p.m. arrival at the Logging Camp and Museum near Keshena.  After seeing the Menominee Indian attractions such as the forestry museum we drive about 120 miles (about 3 hours) to Lac du Flambeau, where we can stay at Lake of the Torches Resort. Lake of the Torches Resort on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation.
  Day 7 Friday This morning we take a tour of Waswagoning. In the early afternoon drive 105 miles (2 hours 15 minutes) to Bayfield, and then take a ferry to Madeline Island or one of the other Apostle Islands. Either camp or stay out on the island for the night or return to Bayfield on an evening ferry. Camping on Madeline Island at Big Bay State Park or another of the Apostle Islands. If not camping, then the Inn on Madeline Island or something in Bayfield.
  Day 8 Saturday Morning in the Apostle Islands area. It’s about 306 miles (5.5 hours driving) from the Apostle Islands down to the Wisconsin Dells.  Leaving Bayfield at 1:00 p.m., and stopping for two hours in Hayward, Wisconsin at the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, we would arrive in Wisconsin Dells at 8:30 p.m. Camping is possible at Mirror Lake or Rocky Arbor State Parks. Holiday Shores Campground is also possible. For a stay in a resort or motel, consider Thunder Valley Inn, Robin Hood Resort, Chula Vista, Pine Aire, or Meadowbrook.
  Day 9 Sunday Day to have fun in Wisconsin Dells. Second night in Wisconsin Dells.
  Day 10 Monday Day at the Dells, then drive to House on the Rock.  The drive is about 60 miles, and will require 90 minutes of driving. House on the Rock.
  Day 11 Tuesday Morning to see House on the Rock. Allow about four or five hours, so plan on 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., then use the afternoon to drive to Prairie du Chien (about 65 miles, about 1 hour and 15 minutes of driving). Arrive in Prairie du Chien around 3:45 p.m. Continue on from Prairie du Chien about 6 miles to Effigy Mounds National Monument (visitor center open until 4:30 p.m.) and visit that site for an hour or two. Then return to Prairie du Chien for dinner and to spend the night. Walk around the town and admire the sculpture park and perhaps play a round of miniature golf. Prairie du Chien.
  Day 12 Wednesday

Drive along the River Road. See Grotto in Dickeyville. stop in Dubuque, Iowa.   Dubuque is a river town where Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois meet. There are some things to do there.
10:00 a.m. departure from Prairie du Chien.
Noon to 2:00 p.m. at Dickeyville Grotto.
2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa. While in Dubuque probably ride the Fenelon Place Elevator and go to see the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.
Arrive in Galena, Illinois around 6:00 p.m.
Stay in a Bed & Breakfast such as Abbey's High Street.

Galena, Illinois
  Day 13 Thursday In the morning while in Galena visit the Ulysses S. Grant home. Possibly also visit the Belvedere Mansion (11:00 or 11:30 morning tours) and the Dowling House. Leave Galena around 1:00 p.m., and then stop at Mississippi Palisades State Park around 1:45. After a couple hours at the state park, continue on at 3:45 p.m.. Stop in Peoria at 6:15 p.m. for dinner. Continue on at 7:45 p.m., arriving in Springfield at 9:15 p.m. home
  Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2010 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income) (1 Myrfti = 1/10,000th of a median year round full-time income for an American worker. To find the median year-round full-time income used in the calculations, simply divide the dollar cost of something by the Myrfti cost, and multiply the resulting quotient by 10,000. Another way to think of this: if something costs 100 Myrftis, it costs 1% of the median year-round full-time worker's income, at least in America.)
  Day 1 Cost Item Description
Cost in 2011 US$
Cost in % Myrfti for U.S.
     
  Day 10 One night in a room with two queen beds at The House on the Rock.
$158
39.10
  Day 11 Admission to House on the Rock, which is a major attraction in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Ages 18-64 cost $28.50
Age 65+ cost $26.50
Ages 4-17 cost $15.50
Ages 18-64 cost 7.05
Age 65+ cost 6.56
Ages 3-17 cost 3.84
  Day 11 Admission to Effigy Mounds National Monument.
Ages under 15 cost $0
Age 16+ cost $3
Ages under 15 cost 0.00
Age 16+ cost 0.74
  Day 11 Playing miniature golf at Prairie Fun Land.
Per person cost $5
1.24
  Day 11 Dinner. An extra-large Garden Veggie pizza in Prairie du Chien.
$18
4.45
  Day 11 One night in a room with two queen beds at AmericInn Lodge & Suites of Prairie du Chien (estimated tax included). No breakfast expenses on Day 12 because breakfast is included in cost of lodging.
$93.40
23.11
  Day 12 Gas (a full tank)
$45.65
11.30
  Day 12 Cash left for cleaning service in hotel room
$2
0.50
  Day 12 Admission to the Dickeyville Grotto
Free, but plan to make a $5 donation.
1.24
  Day 12 Stop for lunch in Dickeyville or Dubuque. Possibly at the L.May Eatery in Dubuque. Cost estimate estimates tax and tip.
$32.34 per person
8.00
  Day 12 Round-trip tickets for the Fenelon Elevator
Ages 5-12 cost $1
Age 13+ cost $2
Ages 5-12 cost 0.25
Age 13+ cost 0.49
  Day 12 Admission to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

Ages 18-64 cost $15
Age 65+ cost $13
Ages 3-17 cost $10
Ages 18-64 cost 3.71
Age 65+ cost 3.22
Ages 3-17 cost 2.47
  Day 12 Light dinner with sandwiches or grocery store deli foods, or fast food
$10.90 per person
2.70
  Day 12 Night in Galena at a Bed & Breakfast or an Inn. Perhaps Abbey's High Street Bed and Breakfast. Price includes tax estimated. No breakfast expenses on Day 13 because breakfast is included in cost of lodging.
$159 per room
39.35
  Day 12 Admission to Galena History Museum

Ages 19-64 cost $7
Age 65+ cost $6
Ages 10-18 cost $5
Ages 18-64 cost 1.73
Age 65+ cost 1.48
Ages 3-17 cost 1.24
  Day 12 Admission to Belvedere Mansion

Adults cost $12
Children cost $6
Adults cost 2.97
Children cost 1.48
  Day 12 Admission to Dowling House

$7
1.73
  Day 12 Donations at Ulysses S. Grant House

Adults donate $4
Children donate $2
Adults donate 0.99
Children donate 0.49
  Travel during trip. (Method and route of travel)
  Day 1 Travel description Distance Duration of travel
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  Day 11

Driving from House on the Rock to Effigy Mounds is about 80 miles, and will require about 1 hour and 40 minutes of time. If you want to arrive in Effigy Mounds at 4:00, giving you 30 minutes to see the visitor center before it closes, you must leave House on the Rock at 2:20 p.m.

It is 8 miles from the Effigy Mounds to the Fun Park in Prairie du Chien. Allow 15 minutes. A 5:45 p.m. departure for a 6:00 arrival.

It is 3 miles (8 minutes) from the Fun Park to the hotel in downtown Prairie du Chien.

A little over 95 miles of driving. 2 hours driving time total for the day.
  Day 12

Driving from Prairie du Chien to Dickeyville offers two options. One can stick to the major highways on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi and complete the drive in about 1 hour and 15 minutes (54 miles) using US-18 and US-61, or one can take a winding scenic route on the Iowa side of the Mississippi (73 miles), passing through Guttenberg, IA, and required about two hours of driving. If you depart Prairie du Chien at 10:00 a.m., you can be in Dickeyville by noon, and ready to depart there at 2:00

Dubuque is only 12 miles (15 minutes) from Dickeyville. Probably arrive there by 2:30.

The drive from Dubuque to Galena is about 16 miles (25 minutes) on highway US-20.

Approximately 100 miles. 2 hours and 40 minutes or else 1 hour and 55 minutes of driving time, depending upon route to Dickeyville Grotto.
  Day 13 Driving from Galena to Springfield the fastest and shortest route follows the Mississippi River on the Illinois side to I-74, and passes through Galesburg and Peoria on the way to Springfield. Approximately 250 miles. 4 hours and 30 minutes