Wisconsin North Woods
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The forests and lakes of Upper Wisconsin offer a natural abundance and wild beauty that travelers find irresistible.
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This excursion will begin in Rhinelander and end at Superior WI.
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Rhinelander:
Well this wholehearted settlement in our Northwood’s began as a lumbering town. Today the loggers' legacy lives on at the Logging Museum in Pioneer Park, where a reproduction of a 19th century camp featuring massive old growth white pines felled by the loggers crosscut saws.
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Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest
Heading North on Rte. 17 from Rhinelander, the drive approaches the town of Eagle River. Once you enter the city limits, stop at Carl's Wood Art Museum, which features life-size figures of people and animals. (Keep in mind it was entirely carved by a skilled man using a chain saw.)
Take a turn westward on Rte. 70, pick out your favorite WI trees. Some tree growths you'll see include: pines, red maples and balsam firs of our Northwoods. Geologically speaking this gentle terrain was once mountains, but do to elements of erosion our peaks were worn down. In fact note all the lakes we have to offer, you have the ice age to thank for today's excellent catches. When the ice finally retreated, it left the land dotted with hundreds of depressions large and small that we now know as everything from tiny ponds to the Great Lakes.
When you come to Woodruff the drive turns south on Rte 51 to Minocqua, gateway to the region's extraordinary concentration of freshwater lakes. Prime fishermen/women haven for some excellent fishing havens. Also, make sure to take the family to the nightly lumberjack show. When my family went we were very entertained by 2 geese chasing around the lumberjacks who were trying hard to compete to be the top man. During the winter months this region is a snowmobile’s bliss of thousands of miles of trails.
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Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation
Some 200 years ago, a visitor to Lac Du Flambeau might have seen birchbark canoes gliding through the lake shallows to gather wild rice, and hear the occasional bird's song.
The name Lac Du Flambeau was used by 16th century French fur traders and refers to the local Indian's practice of fishing the lake by torchlight. Today the descendants of these Native Americans display a variety of artifacts at the Lac Du Flambeau Chippewa Museum and Cultural Center. The exhibits and demonstrations there highlight beadwork, decoy carving, basketry and moccasin making.
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Hurley
"Hayward, Hurley and Hell," Midwesterners commented at the turn of the century, shaking their heads at the hamlets where loggers and miners came to drown the memory of months in the deep woods or the mines by spending long nights in the saloons. In Hurley, there was quite a rowdy crowd of folks; the Iron county Historical Museum maintains a model 19th century saloon, where you'll find the folks eager to serve cups of cheer.
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Ashland
Even before you see Lake Superior, you'll smell the cool, brisk air that wafts from its surface. When viewed from the overlook on Rte 2 on the way to Ashland, the gigantic lake is blue to the point of blackness: a virtual ocean in the midwest.
Asaph Whittlesey, who founded Ashland in 1854, saw the lake not so much as a thing of serene beauty but as a highway. In its heyday the town shipped out millions of tons of virgin pine, iron ore and brownstone, which had been carried to Ashland's Soo Line Railroad Depot, today is restored as a monument of our past. The commercial buildings of the Second Street Historic District and the 1,800 foot Soo Line Ore Dock stand as sturdy reminders of the town's mercantile roots.
But pristine beauty remains just ahead (well north on Rte 13 to the Bayfield peninsula) the 22 Apostle Islands beckon from the lake. When you come into the Bayfield community it is an excellent spot to put up for a bed and breakfast in one of the very original mansions. Things to check out would include the old county courthouse, built of locally quarried brownstone and the Visitor Center to get your ferry ticket to head over to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
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Apostle Islands
These islands are some of the most pristine vistas I've seen. The 50ft sandstone cliffs line the secluded coves and wildflowers brighten the forests. The Apostles are particularly appealing to water sports such as sailboats and kayakers. Half-day excursions boat trips, departing from Bayfield, feature lovely views of Raspberry Island and it's lighthouse, one of six 19th century beacons in the archipelago. If you'd rather drive, take the 20minute car ferry to Madeline, the only inhabited Apostle and explore on bike or foot the 14 mile long main island, which is fringed with glistening white beaches which you may find an Lake Superiorn Agate.
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Brule River State Forest
West on Rte. 13 past the community of Port Wing is one of the most renowned trout streams east of the Mississippi: the Bois Brule River. Five American Presidents had to test their merits at fishing on this river against the wily brook trout. White water canoes also love the Bois Brule, from its headwaters as it meanders gently, but north of the highway it plunges down a series of brisk rapids. In autumn the forest banks are a patchwork of color.
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Amnicon Falls State Park
After continuing west still on Rte. 13 the drive dips south on Hwy U to Amnicon Falls. Once again a highlight for local geologist. Here a 600 million year old bedrock divides the Amnicon River into three gorgeous 30 foot cascades. The thrust or Reverse Fault is in plain view, along this parks hiking train. A half-mile trail winds to a long covered bridge that vaults the cataract, leading to an island for a hidden picnic spot.
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Superior
This is the final stop of the journey. Superior, is a major seaport thanks to a series of locks and channels, which connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. One of the first things you'll notice is the massive grain and ore freighter entering and leaving the harbor. Believe it or not this "harbor" is 100% naturally made. Take Wisconsin Point Road along mile long sand spit to the lighthouse at the end a popular spot for campers to make use of the driftwood for campfires. From nearby Barkers Island, site of the S.S. Meteor Maritime Museum, visitors can cruise the Superior Duluth harbor.
