As much as you love Milwaukee, let's face it, sometimes you just gotta get away for a day or a weekend. You can't spend every waking moment shopping the Third Ward, bar hopping on Water Street or whiling away your day in a warm cafe.
Here are some ideas for enjoying Wisconsin (and some neighboring states) throughout the year. The only rule was that the journey has to be beyond a half hour, and within three hours from Milwaukee. Add your favorites using the talkback feature below.
- Take the ferry (SS Badger or Lake Express) to Michigan
- Visit House on the Rock
- Check out the Baraboo Circus Museum
- Tour Taliesin
- Hike the Kettle Moraine
- Descend into the Cave of the Mounds
- Go back in time at Old World Wisconsin
- Visit poet Lorine Niedecker's house in Fort Atkinson
- Go to the bathroom at Kolher Art Museum in Sheboygan
- Watch birds at the Bong Rec. Area
- See the greats at Packers Hall of Fame
- Camp at Peninsula State Park
- Visit Rock Island
- Eat fondue in New Glarus
- Canoe the Wisconsin Dells
- Raft on the Wolf River
- Go outlet shopping in Johnson Creek or Kenosha
- Take a road trip to Ikea in Schaumburg, Ill.
- See a movie at the drive-in in Jefferson
- Slather it on at the Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb
- Shop Chicago's Magnificent Mile
- Cruise Lake Geneva
- Get your kicks at The Shoe Box in Black Earth
- Take the Leinie's Tour in Chippewa Falls
- Check out the waterfalls in Marinette County
- Climb Rib Mountain in Wausau
- Ski Little Swiss
- Tour Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac
- Get your beer on at Oktoberfest in La Crosse
- Attend Cranberry Festival in Tomah
- Scream at Great America
- See great art at the Art Institute in Chicago
- Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, too
- Shop on State Street in Madison
- Slurp ice cream or have a snack on the newly rennovated Terrace at the UW-Madison Union
- Chat with the farmers at the Dane County Farmer's Market
- Munch on buttery ears at Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie
- Rev it up at the Iola Old Car Show!
- Go to a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater
- Get your sea legs at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc
- Marvel at the weird planes at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh
- Hike around the reservoir in Harrington Beach State Park
- Climb the bluffs at Devil's Lake State Park
- Eat apple pie in a bag at the Elegant Farmer
- See a show at The Fireside
- Go cherry picking in Door County
- Visit the Rhinestone Cowboy House at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan
- See the goats on the roof at Al Johnson's in Door County
- Climb Holy Hill
- Make a pilgrimage to Kenosha to the birthplace of America’s most celebrated filmmaker, Orson Welles.
- Belly up to the shed and grab a burger and old fashioned ice cream at Wedl's in Jefferson
- Explore Green Lake
- Learn about cows and milk at Hoard Dairy Museum in Fort Atkinson
- Imagine what things used to look like at the pyramid city of Aztalan, near Fort Atkinson
- Buy a Garden Star lawn ornament in Kenosha
- Check the time at the world's largest grandfather clock in Kewaunee
- Go back to the future at Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory in Wisconsin Dells
- Visit Frank Lloyd Wright's great SC Johnson building in Racine
- Disappear into the Houdini exhibit at The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton
- See a play under the stars at the American Players Theater in Spring Green
- Tap into the world's largest six-pack in La Crosse
- Have lunch at the Thorpedo in Thorpe
- Take in some old time baseball at Wade House in Greenbush
- Shop for pottery in Cambridge
- Kick back at The Osthoff resort in Elkhart Lake
- Drink at the Bayside Tavern in Fish Creek
- Pile one on at the Hamburger Hall of Fame in Seymour
- Tip back a drink in the cocktail lounge at Mars Cheese Castle
- Enroll for classes at University of Lawsonomy
- Get all medieval at the Bristol Renaissance Faire
- Find great bargains at Seven-Mile Fair!
- Treat yourself to the spa at the Kohler Waters Spa
- Go antiquing in Galena, Ill.
- Meet the elves at Santa's Village in Dundee, Ill.
- Do the Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Oak Park, Ill.
- Ride the rides at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay
- Do Halloween on State Street in Madison
- Skateboard at the outdoor skate parks in Green Bay
- Eat a sundae in Two Rivers, the birthplace of said confection
- Zoom into Slinger speedway
- See the Temple Lipizzaner horses in Wadsworth, Ill.
- Commune with nature at Nicolet National Forest
- Tour the State Capitol Building in Madison
- Check out the Road Kill Museum in Madison
- Charter a fishing boat on Lake Michigan
- Hear a concert under the stars at Ravinia
- Pet the donkey at the Apple Holler in Sturtevant
- Unearth some old treasures at Cedarburg's Maxwell Street Days
- Golf at Blackwolf Run in Kohler
- Tour the Cornish miners' cottages and shop for art in Mineral Point
- See if anyone in Brooklyn, Wis. knows Spike Lee personally
- Stargaze at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay
- Ride Kenosha's downtown streetcar
- Eat gelato on Main Street in Waukesha
- See Kenosha County's Chiwaukee Prairie, the most intact coastal wetland in southeastern Wisconsin
- Check out how cheese is made at Cedar Grove cheese factory in Plain (north of Spring Green)
- Visit Belleville, the UFO capital of the world, for UFO Day in October
- Ride the historic train at East Troy Electric Railroad Museum
- See the acclaimed collection of decorative arts at Racine Art Museum
- Cheer or jeer the birthplace of the Republican Party in Ripon