You’ll put on about 155 miles to drive around the borders (or as near as you can) of Sauk County. It can take from 4 hours or more depending on where you stop and what offshoots you take. Along the way, you’ll visit the larger cities of Sauk Prairie, Spring Green & Wisconsin Dells while passing through many smaller towns such as Merrimac, Lone Rock & Valton.
Overview
As we said, you’ll drive 155 miles around the county. You can start from anywhere really, but for our map, we started out at Hwy 12 in Sauk Prairie as our base, right near the Sauk Prairie Chamber of Commerce building. The route was chosen for the best views while lining up as much as possible with the county lines. That said, we do step over the line on occasion but it’s worth it. The route includes smaller highways and many curvey country roads through beautiful landscapes and rolling hills of Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. Keep your eyes out for farm machinery and Amish buggies along the way!
Here are just some of the highlights…
Natural Areas
You can stop at 5 natural areas to stretch your legs, Bakken’s Pond SNA, Bear Creek Sedge Meadow SNA, Ferry Bluff SNA, Dell Creek SWA & Pine Island State Wildlife Area. You may want to include stops at the Aldo Leopold Foundation & Durward’s Glen Retreat as well. By going just a couple few minutes off the route you can include Tower Hill State Park near Spring Green as well.
Attractions
Our route takes you through Wisconsin Dells, but it also takes you to or near some other unique locations such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Spring Green and Ernest Hupeden’s Painted Forest in Valton. Also while you’re in Merrimac, you might want to jump on the free ferry for a ride. You can walk on and ride it over and back just for fun. Be sure to check their hours and seasonality before you plan your visit.
Food & Snacks
There are plenty of stops for refreshments along the way including Peck’s Farm Market in Spring Green & Carr Valley Cheese in La Valle (But between Lime Ridge & Ironton.), just to get you started.
If you go a little off the route you can include, Wollersheim Winery & Distillery just across the Wisconsin River in Prairie du Sac, Oakwood Fruit Farm near Bear Valley. Of course, each city along the way has a variety of restaurants as well.
Final Thoughts
We’re addicted Sunday Drivers! We love taking road trips around our home here in Sauk County and we finally connected the dots. We hope you enjoy this scenic route as much as we do! That said, it’s a good idea to review the map and understand the roads and intersections you’ll be taking. In particular, you’ll want to stay focused as you drive from Wonewoc to Wisconsin Dells. The lack of west-east roads means you do a bit of jumping around on various country roads… but at the same time, these are some of the most beautiful vistas on the route. Also, it’s a smart idea to download this PDF map as a backup if you lose cell service.
Enjoy!
Link To Google Map – https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1iBdJxXjOtaBZIdi1LOJBvBl1D304emQ&hl=en&usp=sharing
Download PDF Map – Remember, your backup plan! Download this PDF map to be sure you know where you are even when you lose cell service! Thank you the folks at Sauk County Gov for providing this map.