2. Cassville/Prairie du Chien The Mississippi River and two state parks (Nelson Dewey and Wyalusing) offer a wide variety of recreational choices, including boating, hiking, and eagle watching. Visit Stonefield and Villa Louis State Historic Sites to learn about early European settlers to Wisconsin. Other points of interest: Kickapoo Indian Caverns, St. John Mine, Cassville Ferry, and Fort Crawford Museum.

3. Cedarburg/Port Washington For shoppers and antique collectors, historic downtown Cedarburg offers many opportunities to indulge. For family, there's Cedar Creek Settlement, Pioneer Village, and Family Farm. Picnic at Covered Bridge Park, featuring Wisconsin's last remaining historical covered bridge. Nearby Port Washington, located on Lake Michigan, has charm of a New England fishing village. Visit Lighthouse Museum and Pier Street.

4. Chippewa Falls Rolling hills in heart of central Wisconsin provide a beautiful backdrop. Take a tour of Leinenkugel's Brewery or Cook-Rutledge Museum. For kids, visit Irvine Park zoo or nearby Fort Bon Secours to see historical reenactments of French fur trade era. For outdoor enthusiasts, bike on Old Abe State Bike Trail or hike in Lake Wissota State Park.

5. Dodgeville/Mineral Point/Spring Green In Mineral Point, visit Pendarvis Historic Site to see how early Cornish lead miners lived. Shop on historic High Street, and stop in at Red Rooster Cafe for a pastie. Outside of Dodgeville, visit Folklore Village, then spend rest of day swimming and hiking at Governor Dodge State Park. Just down road, visit one-of-a-kind House on Rock. Near Spring Green, see Shakespeare performed outdoors at American Player's Theatre and tour Taliesin, estate and architectural school built by Frank Lloyd Wright.

As a kid, farm dogs and I would set foot onto a gravel road, which led us to hilly driveway of an abandoned farm. Then we’d follow a tractor-flattened swath of field that eventually linked up with woods.

We’d disappear onto a path that had been cleared of roots and limbs many years earlier, swat at a few deer flies and end up in a small cornfield that was surrounded by towering trees – cedars, tamaracks, maples – their rustling a splendid accompaniment on a breezy day. This was Sheboygan County Marsh, and my father owned 30 acres of it during most of his adult life.

Today this wildlife area is 13,000 acres. Most still is wilderness and low-profile. There’s a push to designate it as an archaeological site on National Register of Historic Places. For more, call 920-876-2535.

Want to climb as high as you can? Then go to Price County and Timm’s Hill, which at 1,952 feet above sea level is highest summit in state. Find it on County Trunk C, off Highway 86, not far from Rib Lake. The hiking trail, which can be picked up on C, is 6 miles, roundtrip.

Climb observation tower and get an overview of area’s topography. People who want to avoid hilly hiking can walk shorter loops on level ground and approach Timm’s and Pearson lakes. For details, call 800-269-4505.

Point Beach State Forest, Manitowoc County, has 10 miles of wooded trails that lead to Lake Michigan, plus 6 miles of sandy beach for walking (easy trekking, and a particularly nice setting for romantic interludes). It is possible to walk on beach to Two Rivers, which would take a couple of hours. You also can walk up to, but not into, Rawley Point Lighthouse, whose beacon can be seen almost 20 miles from shore. The structure has been around since 1894. For more, call 920-794-7480.

Big Manitou Falls, south of Superior, is state’s highest waterfall. It is 165 feet, a part of Black River and highlight of Pattison State Park, which is on Highway 35.