Around New Glarus Woods

There are activities to suit every taste in the communities surrounding the New Glarus Woods State Park.

New Glarus

Swiss habits, unique foods, cultural activities, and architecture continue to flavor the village of New Glarus [exit DNR] since the Swiss settlement. Annually, the traditional bonds with Switzerland are renewed during the numerous weekend festivals, the largest being the "Willhelm Tell Festival." The Swiss Village Museum is a favorite attraction, and the Swiss character is seen in the Village Business district, where decorated businesses offer flowered balconies, painted murals, and traditional architecture and adornment.

Accommodations, activities, dining, events, and more [exit DNR]

Sugar River and Ice Age Trails

The Sugar River State Trail is a 23-mile long, 265-acre, recreation trail that connects New Glarus Woods with four small communities: New Glarus, Monticello, Albany, and Brodhead.

The Sugar River State Trail from Bump Road to Exeter Crossing Road is part of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The Ice Age Trail eventually will wind more than 1,000 miles through Wisconsin, along the terminal edge of the Wisconsin lobe of the last glacier to cover the state. More 500 miles of the Ice Age Trail are open to the public.

Browntown-Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area

About 25 miles southwest of New Glarus Woods via state highways 69 and 11 is Browntown-Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area, which has two lakes for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and sailing.

Badger State Trail

The Badger State Trail, when completed, will be a 40-mile long recreation trail linking Illinois's Jane Addams Trail at the state line, the Sugar River State Trail near Monticello, and the Madison city limits, where it connects with the Military Ridge and Capital City state trails and the Madison bikeway system.

The trail is on the abandoned Illinois Central Gulf railroad right-of-way, which includes 39 bridges and a 930-foot-long tunnel that was constructed in 1887.

For more information, ask:

New Glarus Woods State Park
W5446 County Highway NN
P.O. Box 805
New Glarus WI 53574.
(608) 527-2335