Take This Way, Not That Way – Madison to Green Bay

I’m going to start a new series of blog posts, titled “Take This Way, Not That Way”, in an effort to hammer home my message that life is indeed too short to take the fast way. Whether you’re going to be making a pit stop or not, some routes are just better travelled than others, even if they take you a bit longer. To kick off this series, I’m going to start with the route between Madison and Green Bay.

Since I’ve travelled between Dane and Brown Counties probably more than any other place in my life, I felt like this was a good route to start this series with. In all my experiments (I’m a science teacher, so yes, I’ve done numerous ‘experiments’ with the different possible routes, fully complete with ACTUAL data) I believe I’ve found the best possible route between these two areas.

Let’s start with some of my ground rules I have for this series:
1) The backroads should always be considered, within reason.
– The backroads are what this blog is all about, but at the end of the day you still need to get to your destination. Assuming you’re not going too far out of your way, or in opposite/opposing directions, take the backroads.
2) Country roads and county highways take priority over interstate and major highways.
– Similar to rule number 1, but for emphasis, the main route to and from should be no bigger than a County Highway. There’s more to look at, usually safer (there are a LOT of bad drivers out on the main highways in this state), and typically better and more unique pit stops.
3) The general direction you’re going in to get to your destination should still be the main direction you actually take.
– If you need to go northwest, then the majority of your route should go that direction. If you take a crazy amount of detours, you’re going to be tacking on an extra 2 hours or so. An extra 30 minutes to an hour is fine, assuming you leave early enough and plan for it, but approaching 2 hours can get to be a long day in the car, not to mention you’ll have a very difficult time convincing any passengers to go along with those 2 extra hours. Now if you have some activities and pit stops planned, that might be a different story, but generally speaking with one or less pit stops, you want to keep the detour to no longer than 30-45 minutes.
4) Taking your new route is great, but try and explore it.
– Getting off the beaten path is the whole point. Now stop at that antique store you just drove past, or get an ice cream cone at the summer-only ice cream stand. If you don’t want to stop/don’t have time to stop, that’s fine too, but make some mental notes of the cool places you see. If it’s a route you’ll be taking again, stop somewhere new each time.

Now, on to the path between Madison and Green Bay. There are three possible routes when you take into consideration that even if you’re not taking the fastest way, you still do need to get there, so taking a complex system of backroads usually isn’t feasible. Option A: 151N to 41N. Under no reasonable circumstance should this be your path. 41 itself is usually filled with the worst drivers in the state. If there is even an ounce of traffic, be prepared for the worst 2 hour drive of your life. And… Geography of Nowhere style (that’s a book… worth a read), it is super boring from a viewing standpoint. The ugliest section of this state is the section of 41 between Oshkosh and Appleton. The ONLY possible explanation you could have to take this way is that you’re driving without any directions and this is the only way you can go without getting lost. Otherwise… DON’T DO IT!. Option B: 151N to 26N to 41N. Better than option 1, but not by much. Nicer views, especially on 26, don’t get me wrong, but you still have to drive on 41 and it’s just not worth it. And if you’re someone with a heavy foot on the gas pedal, Rosendale is dangerous.

Option C: The east side of Lake Winnebago. This is the correct route. It can get a bit lengthy with directions, so we’ll go over it in detail. I’ll be describing this route from Madison to Green Bay (or really just Dane County to Brown County, for those that can’t read between the lines). Taking 151N is the obvious starting point for us, and if you’re eager to make a few early stops, Columbus and Beaver Dam are two pretty great cities. Schultz’s Cheese Haus, located right on 151 just south of Beaver Dam is everything you could ask for in a cheese store. Once you get to Fond du Lac though, the real drive starts, and best parts of this trip shine. Once you pass the intersection of 151 and 41, you’re going to keep going north on 151. Just south of Pipe will be your first “attraction” or pit stop possibility, The Little Farmer. In the fall this is the place to be. An Apple Orchard with dozens of other things to do, including a corn maze, cows to pet, pick your own apples, country store, antiques/knick knacks, this place has it all. Got kids? You’re going to probably want to make this place an annual visit. No kids? Still worth it for the country store and fall vibes.

The next possible pit stop is just a few more minutes north of The Little Farmer, Ziegler Winery. Good wines, great location, and an awesome venue. In Pipe proper, Al Capones has some amazing food for a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Just a few minutes north of Al Capones you’ll find LaClare Creamery on HH. This is a goat creamery (with cow dairy as well) that has awesome food (fresh and hot), great cheeses, and a plethora of other creamery goodies. You can pet baby goats, eat some lunch outside on the patio, and walk around the stables a bit. They even have a garden store outside. This is seriously one of the coolest, most underrated places in Wisconsin.

Just slight up the road you’ll find a big yellow barn that doubles as an antique store. It’s open nearly every weekend and has some really cool stuff. Next stop would be the Cedar Lodge Restaurant, in Malone, at the intersection of HHH and 151. Great patio for outdoor eating when the weather is nice.

When you get a little past Brothertown, 151 is going to veer off to the East. We’re heading to GB though, so we’re going to stay the path and continue to head north on what will now become 55. There’s no turns or stops you’ll have to make, the road will naturally turn into 55.

Traveling a few more miles north and you’ll hit Stockbridge, with a very cool downtown area. Several boutiques and stores to shop it with knick knacks and other treasures, a great coffee shop (Mud Creek Coffee) with great food, and even a supper club (Gobbler’s Knob), Stockbridge is one of those towns that has a disproportionate amount of things to do given their small size. Stockbridge alone is worth a visit, so this route is a necessity.

Once past Stockbridge you’ll eventually come a ‘T’ in the road and a stop sign. This is where 55 and 114 meet. Take a left to continue north and you’ll pass briefly through Sherwood. Sherwood has two points of interest, the first being Frog Ice Cream. Top 5 Ice Cream stand in the state by the way! This establishment is only open in the summer, and cash only, so plan accordingly. While in Sherwood, if you have plenty of time to spare, you can visit High Cliff State Park as well. Right after Frog, you’re going to come to another fork in the road. Hwy. 55 continues to the left, and to the right is Co. Hwy M. We’re going to branch to the right on M. Shortly we’ll approach The Granary Supper Club, another great place to eat at. About a mile down the road you’ll come to a stop sign. This is the intersection of M and Hwy. 10. Take a right on Hwy. 10, about a half a mile, and you’ll come to a roundabout, which marks the intersection of Hwy. 10 and Hwy. 32/57. Take a left here. One more roundabout and you’ll end up in De Pere. From there, you have a variety of ways to get to Green Bay, or any where in Brown County you’re trying to get. Gnarly Cedar and Ledgestone Vineyards (Combo brewery and winery) is the last official off-the-beaten-path attraction on this route, and worth it.

In fall, this route provides the best views of the three. In every other season, the views are still the best. You get an awesome drive in, around, and through the Niagara Escarpment, fantastic views of Lake Winnebago, and a sense of our state through the roads less travelled. The only time I would ever not take this route would be while during a snow storm. Obviously the main highways will always take priority with snow plows, but then again I don’t find myself driving through snowstorms all that often anyways.

Now, I also mentioned I conducted research and gathered data… and I did. So let’s break it down. By mileage: Option A – 129 miles. Option B – 118 miles. Option C – 108 miles. So the route I’m using here is the least amount of miles. But for those of you that don’t care about the miles, only time, I think you’ll be surprised to find out the time results. By time: Option A – 1 hour 53 minutes. Option B – 1 hour 52 minutes. Option C – 1 hour 57 minutes. So for those that have bashed me for taking this route (you know who you are), claiming it’s too long, it is, on a good day, no more than 5 minutes longer than the fastest of these three routes.

TL;DR:
-Take the route on the east side of Lake Winnebago. It’s prettier, has more options for awesome pit stops, less traffic, overall more peaceful, and only 5 extra minutes out of the way
-Directions: 151 – 55 – M – 10 – 32/57
-Attractions: Schultz’s Cheese Haus, The Little Farmer, Ziegler Winery, Al Capones Restaurant, LaClare Creamery, Mud Creek Coffee, Frog Ice Cream, Gnarly Cedar/Ledgestone Vineyards