Eight Great Fall Escapes
Beaches! Bourbon! Beard winners! Here are all-new reasons to pack your bags this season.
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Dive in a Shipwreck Sanctuary
Milwaukee, WisconsinDrive time: 1 hour 30 minutes The Great Lakes have claimed between 6,000 and 10,000 ships over the centuries, with the biggest share of those lying at the bottom...
Tackle New Rock-Climbing Routes
Ferne Clyffe State Park, IllinoisDrive time: 5 hours Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin might be the most popular nearby rock-climbing destination, but don’t sleep on the 2,430-acre Ferne Clyffe...
Go Chasing Waterfalls
Marquette, MichiganDrive time: 6 hours Set on Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Marquette County is the ideal spot for an active vacation, with an extensive trail network, mountainous rock...
Surf Ocean-Like Waves
St. Joseph, MichiganDrive time: 1 hour 35 minutes While Sheboygan is often billed as the Malibu of the Midwest, you’ll find equally good waves more consistently on the other side...
Shred Sand Dunes
Mears, MichiganDrive time: 3 hours 30 minutes The Silver Lake Sand Dunes straddle 2,000 acres of mesmerizing slopes between Lake Michigan and Silver Lake, with 450 of those acres open...
Mountain-Bike Some of the World’s Best Trails
Duluth, MinnesotaDrive time: 7 hours Nestled on Lake Superior’s coastline, Duluth offers more than 90 miles of bike trails. That’s impressive enough, but what really sets it apart is its...
Camp Under the Stars
PENFIELD, ILLINOISDrive time: 2 hours About 45 minutes northeast of Champaign lies the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, the only designated International Dark Sky Park in Illinois. Protected from light...
Nail Your Whitewater Rolls
Wausau, WisconsinDrive time: 4 hours 15 minutes There are few better places to learn to kayak rapids than Wausau Whitewater Park. It spans a third of a mile of the...
Fly-Fish Spring Creeks
Viroqua, WisconsinDrive time: 4 hours Viroqua sits in the heart of the Driftless Area, where clear, cold freshwater filters through unglaciated limestone and sandstone, producing abundant spring creeks. “That provides...