100 Best Midwest Small-Town Getaways
Midwest Living editors have been visiting the region's small towns for more than 20 years. Here are our top 100 places to escape for a little shopping, sightseeing and relaxing.
Wisconsin: Lakes, art and more
Cedarburg This town's National Register limestone buildings are as sturdy as the work ethic of their German builders. Now they hold a wealth of shops and galleries.
Lake Geneva Visitors can promenade like the Victorian socialites who founded this pretty resort town on the 21-mile path that winds around the lake, past grand estates.
Spring Green The inspired arts scene includes Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin home and studio and a world-class outdoor theater. The weirdly appealing House on the Rock is nearby.
Elkhart Lake A mix that surprisingly works: classic Victorian town with the four-diamond Osthoff resort and a road-race course with 400 annual events.
Eagle River Summer is for lakeside resorts; winter is for snowmobiling on the extensive trail system.
Mineral Point Artists work among preserved buildings in an 1820s Cornish lead-mining town.
Green Lake This is a quintessential Wisconsin lake town scene: water sports and supper clubs.
New Glarus You'll find a little bit of Switzerland, including Alpine architecture and Heidi and Wilhelm Tell weekends.
Ashland This town is home to Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, ferries to the Apostle Islands and a serious ecoconscious ethic.
Hudson Inns, antiquing and outdoor activities are popular in this pretty town in the St. Croix River Valley.
Port Washington A lighthouse guards a Lake Michigan harbor that also has lakeside lodgings and dining.
Baraboo Location. Location. Location. It's near the Dells, Circus World Museum and 500-foot cliffs in Devil's Lake State Park.
Cambridge See Lake Ripley and the "Salt-glazed Pottery Capital of the World."
(A version of this story appeared in Midwest Living® May/June 2007. It was updated in April 2011.)
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