Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The name says it all at M Caboose Cabins (1102 Water St., 608/269-0444,
www.caboosecabins.com , $145)—it warrants a top pick as they really are cabooses, and
you'll never have more fun sleeping in them.
FORT MCCOY
The only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin sprawls around the community of Fort
McCoy for about 60,000 acres. While this isn't particularly impressive to many travelers,
the two recreation areas within the confines are. Whitetail Ridge Recreation Area has
ski areas and Pine View Recreation Area has a beach, boat rentals, mini golf, and a large
campground. A rather comprehensive historical center and equipment park is also on
the base. The historical center is open sporadically; contact the public affairs office (608/
388-2407, www.mccoy.army.mil ) for information and to request a great driving tour guide
of the base.
For more military history, head east along I-90/94, to Camp Douglas and the Volk Field
Air National Guard Training Site Museum (608/427-1280, call for hours), an 1890s-era
log cabin housing a full history of the National Guard, from the Civil War to the present.
The camp also offers tours of the facilities—you can even watch bombing runs. The Hard-
wood Air-to-Ground bombing range's schedule changes; for more information, call 608/
427-1509 for a recording.
In Camp Douglas, find great German food at German Haus Restaurant (208 U.S. 12/
16, 608/427-6542, lunch and dinner Tues.-Sun., from $5), run by an immigrant who came
to learn to cook, fell in love, and well, the rest is history.
Mill Bluff State Park
Along U.S. 12/WIS 16 near Camp Douglas and Volk Field is the underappreciated Mill
Bluff State Park. A geologist's palette, Mill Bluff is one of the region's only true mesas;
most others are a hodgepodge of buttes, or the rarer pinnacle (such as Mill Bluff's Devil's
Needle). Inspiring Mill Bluff was so high that when glacial Lake Wisconsin covered all of
the central part of the state, this mesa and the assorted buttes around it were rocky islands.
The geology is so diverse in this park that it was chosen as one of the nine units of the Ice
Age National Scenic Trail. Petroglyphs have been found on bluff faces.
MM ELROY-SPARTA STATE RECREATIONAL TRAIL
In a state that popularized the “rails-to-trails” system, the big daddy, the one that pioneered
them all—finished in 1967—is the nationally regarded Elroy-Sparta State Recreational
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