A Perfect Peninsula
For an exquisite fall-foliage experience in Wisconsin, there is no better destination than Door County, a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. At 18 miles wide and nearly 70 miles long, the peninsula is covered with dense forests that turn to brilliant shades of red, gold and yellow during the autumn season.
Door County is a popular vacation destination, and the small towns throughout the county offer wonderful visitor experiences. Groups can have a drink at Island Orchard Cider, soak in the fall spirit at the Egg Harbor Pumpkin Patch or experience a different sort of island culture on a visit to Washington Island, which sits off the tip of the peninsula and is reachable by ferry.
There are several places to experience nature. Peninsula State Park is a highlight for outdoors lovers. Its 3,776 acres of pristine forest sit along the Green Bay shoreline, and the park has a scenic driving loop and numerous hiking trails for visitors to enjoy the fall color.
A Capitol Market
Monday through Friday, the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison look like most government locations, buzzing with politicians and policymakers. But on Saturday mornings, politics fall by the wayside as the Capitol grounds, also known as the Square, welcome the largest producers-only farmers market in the country.
The Dane County Farmers’ Market began in 1972, and Saturday on the Square is its signature event. The market starts in April and continues through early November. Visitors can shop and taste the goods of hundreds of farmers and other producers who sell items as varied as duck eggs, sheep-milk cheese, bok choy and wheatgrass.
Since Saturday on the Square runs through early November, groups that visit Madison in the fall can look forward to finding some signature autumn harvest produce for sale. In the last half of November, a special market inside the city’s convention center features more than 50 vendors offering holiday-themed goods.
A Superior Festival
It takes some commitment to drive all the way to Bayfield, a town in northwest Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior that is accessible only by small country roads. But groups that make the trek during the fall are rewarded with spectacular color as well as a highly rated festival.
Now in its 56th year, the Bayfield Apple Festival was named one of the 10 Best Fall Harvest Festivals in the Nation by USA Today in 2015. The three-day festival, scheduled for October 6-8 this year, attracts more than 50,000 visitors from throughout the Midwest.
The festival features more than 60 orchard and food booths selling apples from around Bayfield, as well as apple pies, caramel apples, apple tortes, apple dumplings, apple cider and even apple bratwurst, mustard and butter. There are 140 arts-and-crafts vendors on-site, and the Blue Canvas Orchestra, house band for the local Big Top Chautauqua, provides musical entertainment on a grandstand stage.
