Bayfield Live Cam

Wisconsin Activities and Attractions

The first snowfall of the season is like a shot from a starter's pistol for Wisconsin's cross-country ski fans. It's time to grab the skis and hit the trails. With more than 350 cross-country ski facilities, Wisconsin offers plenty of trail variety. Loop and swirl along limestone bluffs. Glide up on unsuspecting deer in a state or national forest. Pause for a hot cider break on a ridge top. Revel in winter solitude, where the silence is broken only by the sighing of pine boughs heavy with snow or the chuckle of a spring-fed brook dancing in the white. Kick down a breathtaking hill or glide gracefully along on unbroken powder.

Finding your way is no problem. Wisconsin trails are well-marked for novice, intermediate and expert skiers. Our extensive trail systems are well groomed and tracked. Many facilities offer equipment rental, supplies, instruction and food service. Trail maps are plentiful at ski resorts, information centers and chambers of commerce wherever you go. Every area of the state offers a delightful array of trails, from the forests of the northwest to the urban parks of the southeast.

If you like cross-country ski racing, you'll find action aplenty on virtually any weekend of the season. Wisconsin has become a hotbed of racing activity from the ten races of the Great Lakes Challenge Series to the magic of the bid-daddy of them all - the "Birkie." Wisconsin is a step-out-and-go place where you can choose competition or tranquility on the finest cross-country ski trails in America!

If you listen carefully, you can hear them - sleigh bells softly ringing over the snowy fields and forests of Wisconsin. Enjoy a real slice of Americana! What could be better than an old-fashioned sleighride through the white and drifted snow? Fresh air, wonderful winter scenery and the gentle rhythms of genuine "horse power." Take a romantic moonlit ride through white-powder fields and snow-covered forests in a cozy cutter built for two. Or gather the gang for a sleigh-full of fun in Wisconsin's winter wonderland. Hayrides in the fall, sleighrides in the winter - an invitation to family adventure in the great Wisconsin outdoors!

Many hayride and sleighride operators can add a little something extra to your party. How about a crackling bonfire, toasty marshmallows, hot dogs and hot apple cider? Some offer complete dining and comfortable accomodations; other cater to weddings and family reunions. What a great party idea! This year, take home a wonderful Wisconsin memory that will last a lifetime - enjoy an old-fashioned hayride or sleighride and sample Wisconsin at its very best! Sleighride services are, of course, dependent on adequate snow cover.

Southern Kettle Morraine (Jefferson, Waukesha & Walworth counties)

A snowmobiling gem sparkles in southeastern Wisconsin. A sinuous, forest-covered ridge known as the Kettle Moraine rises above the surrounding farmland and snakes its way through 18,000 acres of Waukesha, Jefferson and Walworth Counties. In the "Kettles," you can expect up-north riding with a southern exposure. With more than 500 miles of trails in these three counties why travel further for good sledding?

As you jump-off in Delavan, remember that you're only a few miles from the summer resort community of Lake Geneva. Many of the city's shops and restaurants do a thriving winter business as well. Just five miles south of Delavan in Williams Bay, you can tour the Yerkes Observatory, site of the world's largest refracting telescope, (tours Sat at 10:15 and 11:15am). And in Delavan, you can enjoy exciting greyhound racing at the Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track, (open year 'round with a full line-up of winter matinee and evening racing).

You'll see the profile of the kettle moraine in the distance as you ride north from Delavan on Corridor Trail #13. This is cruising country with flat to gently rolling terrain as you pass through the Turtle Creek State Wildlife area and beyond. Crossing into Jefferson County near Palmyra, the route visits the crossroads village of Cold Spring where Abraham Lincoln had his horse stolen in 1832 during the Black Hawk War He had to walk all the way home to Illinois. Honest.

Just west of Dousman, the tour turns west on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, a 51 mile rail bed trail that runs west to the outskirts of Madison, or east to Waukesha. You'll pass the vast marshes of Duck Creek and the Bark River. At Helenville, turn south on Corridor Trail #9 and you'll soon be rocking and rolling over the Kettle Moraine.

The Kettle Moraine was the Super Bowl of the Ice Age. Here, the Green Bay ice sheet ground against the Delavan ice sheet in a scrimmage lasting hundreds of years. No one knows who won, but all that pushing and shoving buried huge blocks of ice among 200-foot-high piles of rock and gravel. As the glacial era ended, the ice blocks melted creating kettle lakes and bogs.

On a topographic map the kettle moraine looks like Swiss cheese. Covering 18,000 acres, the Kettle Moraine State Forest is a recreational playground for snowmobilers with 56 miles of trails within its boundaries. This route covers twenty of them, so if you have the time, you're welcome to explore.

Incidentally, some of the rocks the glacier left behind were more valuable than others. The largest glacial diamond ever found -- just a bit over 15 carats -- popped up near Eagle. Even more precious is a day spent cruising the glittering forests of the Kettle Moraine.