A Traveling Feast
A Tri-State Tourism Council Driving Tour
The tri-state area offers an autumnal feast for your eyes and your palate. Cheese, sausage and chocolate shops, plus wineries and breweries are sprinkled amongst some of the Midwest’s most colorful terrain.
Click here for detailed driving directions
Click here for a map
Begin your driving tour at Cassville, Wisconsin, on the banks of the world-reknown Mississippi River. Board the Cassville Car Ferry and enjoy a unique and spectacular river ride to the state of Iowa. At Balltown, stop at Breitbach’s Country Dining for great food served amid hundreds of country collectibles. Insider’s tip: Breitbach’s luncheon buffet is so popular it attracts motor coaches from throughout the Midwest. Follow US Highway 52 Durango and Stone Cliff Winery. At this popular local winery you are sure to find something to please everyone’s palate. Follow Highway 52 into the city of Dubuque and stop at Bricktown Brewery to sample some of their home brews. Insider’s tip: “Laughing Ass” brew is the local favorite. Just down the street is Grape Harbor, a wonderful wine and gift shop that also features a wine bar and live entertainment in a non-smoking atmosphere.
Follow Highway 61 south to Maquoketa, then Highway 64 to Baldwin, where you will enjoy delicious wines and the beautiful vineyards of Tabor Winery. Back to Maquoketa, consider overnighting at the Squiers Manor Bed & Breakfast. Settle into Victorian elegance and enjoy an evening dessert and a full breakfast the following morning. Just south of Maquoketa, leave Highway 61 for Highway 136 heading east.
Crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois at Fulton, visit the 90-foot-high Dutch Windmill, manufactured in the Netherlands and erected in Fulton by Dutch craftsmen. Witness the process that produces a variety of stone-ground flours, available in the retail shop, which will bring a taste of the old country to your recipes. Insider’s tip: South Beach dieters will love these whole grain flours!
Heading north on the Great River Road, stop at one of the numerous farm stands along the scenic route near Thomson, ‘melon capital of the world.’ At the indoor/outdoor McGinnis Melon Market, ask the clerk how to ‘thump’ a melon to determine its ripeness. Time to call it a night? Check into the Thomsom House Villager Lodge, where you can enjoy a leisurely dinner as well.
Need to stretch your legs? Meander through the Pulford Antique Mall or shop Main Street Savanna. Just north of town is the Mississippi Palisades State Park where great hiking trails elevate you to an eagle’s eye viewpoint at breath-taking scenic overlooks atop the limestone bluffs.
Continuing north on the Great River Road, head inland at Scenic Ridge Rd., then to Massbach Ridge Rd. Visit Massbach Ridge Winery and enjoy a glass of locally produced wine from the scenic terrace overlooking the vineyard. Massbach Rd. just north of the winery follows a ridgetop that arguably affords the most bucolic rural vista in all of Jo Daviess County.
In the village of Stockton, birthplace of the giant J.L. Kraft food company, stop at Yesteryear’s Treasures for a taste of fine chocolates and Karen’s Kitchen for breakfast or lunch in an award-winning historically restored mercantile store-turned restaurant. Insider’s tip: Karen’s Sunday morning all-you-can-eat brunch is a not only pleases the palate, but also the wallet!
Heading east on Highway 20, stop at Kolb-Lena Cheese’s retail shop for fine regional cheeses and dairy products. Insider’s tip: the Alouette cheese spreads are divine, and check the sale bin for their mild and creamy Delico baby swiss.
Ready to give your eyes and tummy a rest for the night? Lena KOA Campground offers a swimming pool and camping cottages as well as traditional campsites. Near the village of Lena, visit Lena Maid Meats and Lena Mercantile Co. and Eatery, which has a great tea room in an antique shop setting. Just outside Lena, stop at Torkelson Cheese for more local delicacies.
Follow the original horse-drawn coach route from Lena to Galena on scenic Stagecoach Trail to historic Warren. Visit The Olde Hotel for fine dining, including a local favorite: Sunday morning Champaign Brunch.
Continuing west on Stagecoach Trail, visit the Galena Cellars Vineyard Tasting Room and experience a walk through the winery and bottling area, followed by a wine sensory program.
Galena’s Main Street is a wonderful collection of specialty shops tucked into charming mid-18 th century architecture. Working your way north from the large green floodgates (yes, they really work!), visit the Galena Meat Market for farm fresh meats and Galena River Wine & Cheese for a wide variety of gourmet products, including Chef Ivo’s famous Galena Canning Company brand. Got a sweet tooth? Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Great American Popcorn will satisfy your every desire. Remember the sugar-coated fruit flavored gel treat named Chuckles? It was invented by the owner of Galena’s Kandy Kitchen. Insider’s tip: the Kandy Kitchen’s gourmet jelly beans are yummy, ranging from popular fruit flavors to the disgusting but tasty Harry Potter varieties.
Northwest of Galena, Highway 84 turns into Hwy 80 coming into Grant County, Wisconsin. In Cuba City, stop at Gile Cheese – family owned since 1946, and Weber Sausage with a wide variety of brats and sausages.
Continue north to the city of Platteville where Swiss Valley makes award-winning baby Swiss cheese. The Governor Dodge Hotel & Convention Center offers comfortable accommodations and Platteville is conveniently located for spectacular fall touring in the southwest Wisconsin area.
A great family activity in the fall is Vesperman Farms just south of Lancaster on Stage Rd. Vesperman Farms has the most complex corn maze in southwest Wisconsin, as well as a “Pick Your Own” pumpkin patch and country store with many items for fall decorating.
From Lancaster follow Highway 61 north toward Fennimore and the Carr Valley Cheese Factory, located on the south side of the town. Continue on Hwy 61 N to Boscobel. From Boscobel turn east on Hwy 133 to Muscoda. Muscoda holds a Morel Mushroom Festival each May and is also home to the Meister Cheese Company (tours available). Three generations have been making cheese since 1923 at Meister Cheese Company. Also in Muscoda is the Oak Ridge Vineyard / Weggy Winery (tours).
From Muscoda, travel south to Spurgeon Vineyards & Winery. Wine ry tours and special events including a Harvest Festival can be enjoyed. Continue your tour to Highland and to Montfort.
On Highway 18 in Montfort, you will find Rural Route One Popcorn with over 15 ready-to-eat scrumptious flavors of popcorn for sale. Also in Montfort is the Union Specialty Cheese Company (tours available).
Continue your Autumn Blaze & Graze tour on Hwy 18 east of Montfort towards Barneveld. Botham Vineyards & Winery offers distinctive regional wines. Continue your tour by retracing to Hwy 18 /151 E. toward Mount Horeb, where you will find the Grumpy Troll Brew Pub located in a historic 1916 creamery building.
Stay the night or eat in the authentic Swiss restaurant at the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant. Insider’s tip: try the fondue, it’s fabulous and fun! The New Glarus Primrose Winery offers tastings. The New Glarus Brewing Company is home to “Spotted Cow” beer and many others.
Continue toward Brodhead to Ten Eyck Orchard, where six generations have farmed on the family-owned farm. The round red barn is a local landmark, and offers over 50 varieties of apples, in addition to Asian pears, pumpkins, squash and other seasonal bounty.
Return to Monroe, home to the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, the oldest brewery in the Midwest and producer of Berghoff Beer. Visit Monroe’s Welcome Center. It has a complete history of the cheese industry in Green County. They also have the latest information on cheese factories available for tour.
Monroe also has 4 cheese factories including Chalet Cheese Cooperative, America’s only Limburger cheese plant. Franklin Cheese Coop is a farmer-owned coop that originated in 1890. At Roth Kase Cheese Factory & Alp n Dell Cheese Store you can sample authentic Gruyere – the one made in the US.
The Autumn Blaze & Graze Tour continues west to visit South Wayne and the Valley View Cheese Factory with its award winning Havarti, Muenster, Brick and Farmer’s Cheeses.
Travel to Wiota and the Zimmerman Cheese Factory whose cheese-making legacy has been passed down for generations.
Continuing toward Shullsburg, visit the Roelli Cheese Store. The Roelli family has been in the cheese business for several generations.
Travel on to Shullsburg and the Shullsburg Creamery’s new tourable cheese factory is a must see. Tours are held in the morning. Shullsburg Cheese is celebrating over 70 years in the business.
The Brewster Hotel is located on W. Water St. near the Gazebo Park in the heart of the historic district. It also houses Brewster Café & Cheese Store where you can enjoy fine dining in an 1886 building. Lafayette Guest Lodging has a variety of lodging choices for your stay in Lafayette County.
Enjoy the scenic drive to Potosi, where you can view the progress of the multi-million dollar restoration of the Potosi Brewery. Driving west on Highway 133 toward Cassville, you will see the massive stone building nestled under a bluff in this small former mining community; it will be the home of the National Brewery Museum of the American Breweriana Association.
Arriving in Cassville, the Autumn Blaze and Graze loop is complete.
IF YOU STAY: Tri-State Lodgings
IF YOU DINE: Tri-State Restaurants
Additional Itineraries:
Picks & Gads |
Smithys to Presidents
|
