If you're from Wisconsin, or anywhere in the midwest, you probably know about the north woods. The beauty that is encompassed within them, from the large pine trees to the occasional albino deer and moose, is a truly magical place. Now between "full" up north and Milwaukee is a town called Wasau (about 1.5 hours from the border to Michigan).
Now, prior to 2020, we had only ever driven through Wasau on our way up to our cabin (in St. Germain, WI), but we have always seen the highest peak in Wisconsin: Rib Mountain, on our drive. Up at the top of the mountain is that of Rib Mountain State Park. It is filled with trails to hike on, lookouts (where you can see for miles), observation towers, as well as plenty of wildlife. Each year, from mid-September through the last week of October, Granite Peak Ski resort (located at the base of Rib Mountain) has scenic fall chair lifts. For adults (13-64) tickets are $15 and give you access up the mountain and down the mountain in the ski lift, as well as free admission to the state park. We have done a weekend getaway up here for the last two years and man is it beautiful. It feels as if you are smack dab in the middle of Vancouver, Canada, but with its own beauty. This year, as we were observing all the colors, a deer family ran below us. Pure magic. The ski lift takes about 5-10 minutes to get up and down the hill and can be stopped for those who need more time to get into the seat. Each seat fits 5 people. I suggest going during early to mid-October, as that is when it normally peaks and you can see endless trees of red, orange, and yellow (however, check the fall foliage map each year, as peak does change).
If you prefer to go experience the beauty of a crisp, winter day, after a fresh snowfall, and the sun is shining, Granite Peak also acts as a ski resort, where you can take the chairlift up and go skiing. They start making snow on the mountain in October, so that way they are ready to open for skiing on November, 24th. I have never been up there in the wintertime, but I hear if you are into skiing or snowboarding, it is a beautiful location. However, each ski hill seems massive, as it is the highest peak in Wisconsin (though I could just be a huge baby haha, and I've only ever looked over the hills during fall time, with no snow).
You can find more information here, regarding both the fall foliage tour and their skiing season.
A note if you're worried about the cold: At the top of the mountain they have a brat shop, where (if open), you can get food and warm up. At the bottom of the mountain, they have a warming area, that also serves food and has outdoor heaters too!
In addition to the beauty of the actual park and chair lift, the itinerary below includes where we stopped along the way up from Milwaukee (including an amazing Amish bakery!), as well as the restaurants we ate at.
Activities on the drive up from lower Wisconsin:
Restaurants to eat at in the Wasau area:
Lodging:
Note: We always stay at the Holiday Inn Express, in Wasau-Rothschild, as we have a family and friends discount, but there are a few Holiday Inns and Hiltons in Wasau. If you are looking at staying in the area, I highly suggest the following:
While these two are great lodging choices, if you wanted to, you could look at renting a cabin in Vilas County (about 1.5 hours north) and enjoy the lakes and supper clubs up there (please refer to my St. Germain travel blog post) and then drive down for Rib Mountain.
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