Known for its verdant farmland, rolling hills, and calm waters, Green County delivers a sense of beauty and tranquility throughout. Explore some of the most scenic wonders of southern Wisconsin – your next adventure awaits.
In beautiful Green County, Wisconsin, nothing captures the area’s many recreational opportunities better than the beautiful Pearl Island Recreation Corridor in friendly Brodhead. Here, you’ll find birdwatching, picnic shelters, fishing, parks, nature trails and plenty of ways to enjoy it all from biking, hiking, kayaking, and beyond.
The Pearl Island Corridor is a major tributary to the rest of Green County’s vast reservoir of adventure and fun. From blissful tubing on the Sugar River to the unspoiled environment along the Badger State Trail, to the interpretive nature trails of New Glarus Woods State Park, enjoy a wealth of recreation opportunities that will build memories to last for years.
Pearl Island itself consists of a natural area formed by an 1863 millrace that served Brodhead by diverting some of the waters of the Sugar River. A decade of commitment by the community restored the woodland and natural prairie to its natural origins. Pearl Island is now an area for biking, hiking and paddling adventures, fish-laden oxbow sloughs formed by old twists and turns of the water, and enough natural atmosphere to satisfy the keenest nature lover. Completely immerse yourself in the region’s natural beauty and spend a night at the tranquil Crazy Horse Campground or Sweet Minihaha Campground, with both located directly on the river.
Fans of the river can glide over smooth, mirrored water and find everything they want, with some more challenging passages to keep things interesting. Much of the Sugar River Kayak and Canoe Trail allows plenty of time to enjoy the quiet dip and swirl of paddles in water, accented with the natural symphony of bird melodies from the shore. Lake Belle View in Belleville offers a chance to paddle a broad expanse of water. For accommodations nearby, the Cameo Rose Victorian Country Inn is the perfect country getaway. With over 120 acres of woodland exploration opportunities, Cameo Rose is a mere 10 minutes from the serene shores of Lake Belle View itself.
In Monticello, Lake Montesian is a modest 15-acre body of water ideal for families. The fish are easy to find for beginning anglers, and the waters are calm for those kayakers and canoers looking to practice the sport.
Even more relaxing is riding the current in a cushiony float tube. Singly or yoked together in companionable groups, tubers loll in the water and take in the Sugar River scenery. There’s nothing quite like a slow drift in a tube to let you spot that Great Blue Heron posing for Instagram photos in the shallows, or the eagle nesting in a treetop along the riverbank. S&B Tubing offers shuttle service from downtown Albany.
For fun on land, pedal the Badger State Trail rolling through a classic Midwest landscape of farms and woodlands, over bubbling creeks, and trestle-borne river crossings. Eventually, the trail reaches Green County’s seat, Monroe — follow the street route from the trail to explore “The Square” in the downtown Main Street Monroe area.
Another great combination of countryside and riverine landscape is the setting of the Sugar River Trail, which parallels the Sugar River and Little Sugar River from Brodhead to New Glarus in the north, where an Alpine atmosphere proves its claim to the title “America’s Little Switzerland.” Cozy up in Chalet Landhaus in New Glarus and discover the perfect blend of Swiss decor and modern convenience. With an onsite pool, steam room, and saunas, Chalet Landhaus is the ideal headquarters for unwinding after a day of outdoor play.
Also waiting for you along the Sugar River Trail’s northern Green County route is New Glarus Woods State Park, where visitors can hike, camp, and picnic, and where deer, raccoons, and other wildlife are a common sight. Woodland exploration opportunities make a great counterpoint to the park’s expansive native prairie habitat.
Beauty combines with learning on the park’s many interpretative trails. The Bison Nature Trail is nearly a mile of grounds typical of the upper Midwest’s vast prairie lands. Red-winged blackbirds cling to swaying wildflower stems, their calls like a melodious garden gate opening and closing in the wind. A swinging bench is a fun place to pause and take it in, and a life-size bison shows the astonishing bulk of the woolly beasts that once wandered here.
A special treat at New Glarus Woods is a treetop-level observation platform (handicap accessible) allowing a bird’s eye view of the landscape, and the birds, for that matter.
More interpretive nature trails highlight Cadiz Springs Recreation Area near Browntown, where eight miles of paths wind through a landscape teeming with wildlife. Chipmunks and rabbits travel the leafy forest floor at their own particular pace. Songbirds flit through the trees calling out their ownership of the best nesting sites. Water creatures like newts and minnows thrive in the clear waters of the spring-fed streams, and rare is the rock that doesn’t hide a salamander or maybe a tiny, harmless ring-necked snake. Box turtles make their way along the banks. Birders will add to their life list with the recreation area’s many residents or migrating species.
The Zander Lake Nature Trail at Cadiz Springs takes hikers on a one-mile lakeside adventure where they might see shy muskrats paddling in the shallows and quickly ducking out of sight, non-venomous snakes, herons, snowy egrets and other wading birds, five species of frogs, and at least three different kinds of aquatic turtles.
For a tree-top adventure, check out the observation platform (handicap accessible) with a bird’s eye view at New Glarus Woods State Park. A spur from the Sugar River Trail leads right into the park.
Both the Sugar River Trail and Badger Trail are family-friendly biking options. Sign up for the Trail Explorers program and discover some of the area’s hidden gems, including optimal selfie spots and little-known trivia questions throughout. Adventurers who complete the program also receive custom tokens, and have their names placed on the Explorer Program leaderboard.
It’s easy to feel right at home while enjoying the vast array of fun and adventure in Wisconsin’s Green County playground.
