Fall Drives

Iron County

http://ironcountywi.com/recreation/iron-county-fall-color-tour/

 

Vilas County

https://www.minocqua.org/things-to-do/trip-ideas/fall-tours/

https://www.vilaswi.com/itinerary/fall-auto-tours/

 

Short and Sweet.  

First time in the Northwoods of Wisconsin?  Well, prepare to fall in love.   The Northwoods of Wisconsin is home to winding rustic roads, stands of pine and tamarak, huge white pines and great places to check out while you’re exploring.  Amazing all year long, the Northwoods of Wisconsin explode with brilliant color in the fall.  If you want a short and sweet drive to enjoy the fall colors, Rustic Road 60 is a fantastic place to go.  Rustic Road 60 is a winding 12-mile route that goes right through the heart of the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. If you’re staying in one of our beautiful vacation rental properties in Boulder Junction, this drive is right there!  Rustic Road 60 runs from Cty. Rd. K, south of Boulder Junction, to Cty. Rd. M in Sayner/Star Lake.  On your driver you’ll pass old logging camps, and old saw mill and many hiking trails.   Check out Lost Canoe Lake which is a very popular fishing spot where you can catch walleye, largemouth bass and northern pike!   On this route you’ll also find the turnoff for the Star Lake Nature Trail.   This is a great place to pause and take a walk on the nature trail that leads to a peninsula on Start Lake surrounded by the beautiful fall trees.  As you near the end of this beautiful drive, make a stop at Stillwaters in Star Lake for a bite to eat to recharge.

 

Medium and Meandering

If you want to try your hand at leaf peeping, but don’t want to spend all day driving, then this medium and meandering fall drive is for you.   This drive is 30 miles long and goes from Presque Isle to Land O’ Lakes on County Highway B.  We have beautiful vacation rental properties on either end of this drive for you to call your home base.  This drive passes through some beautiful fall scenery and the best part is there aren’t many powerlines to disrupt your view. To follow this route, head out of Presque Isle on County Hwy. B, once on the road,  you’ll pass the East Bay Road which is the turnoff for the Catherine Wolter Wilderness Area - - which consists of 2189 acres of forest bathed in fall color beauty.  On your way to Land O’ Lakes you will pass the Subcontinental Divide; waters north of this divide run to the St. Lawrence Waterway, where waters south of this divide flow to the Mississippi Watershed.  In addition, you’ll pass the Land O’ Lakes Bike trail, where you can take a ride or a nice walk with your family.   If you take this route in the late afternoon or early evening, you can end your drive with dinner at the Twilight Supper Club and Sandman Lounge in Land O’ Lakes.

 

Long and Lingering

This is a drive for leaf peeping experts.  Think of it as a circle tour of Northwoods Wisconsin fall color splendor.   This circle tour can home base either in Manitowish Waters or in Presque Isle where we have vacation rental properties you can use as home base.   Starting from Presque Isle for the circle tour,  head east on County Highway B towards Land O’ Lakes, and enjoy one of the prettiest stretches of road in the Northwoods (this is also the Medium and Meandering driver).  From Land O’ Lakes, hop on Hwy. 45 until you hit County Highway E, then head east on County Highway E towards Phelps. Once you get to Phelps, follow Highway 17 From Phelps, and meander southwest to North Twin Lake where you will continue south on Highway 45 South into Eagle River.  Along the way you’ll see the amazing and picturesque high line pines. From there, take Highway 70 west to St. Germain. When you get to St. Germain, make sure you keep a look out for the statue of Chief St. Germain as you take Highway 155 north out of St. Germain to Sayner/Star Lake.   Once you’re in Sayner / Star Lake, think about checking out Funny Farm Fisheries with the kids to catch trout you can keep!  Once you’ve caught your limit in Sayner / Star Lake, go west on County Highway N until you reach County Highway M where you’ll take a right and head into Boulder Junction.   Boulder Junction is a great place to take a walk on the main street and check out the unique shops.   Once you’ve filled your shopping bag, head west out of Boulder Junction on County Highway K  and then finally South on County Road W to Manitowish Waters.   Once you get there, you can enjoy an amazing Prime Rib dinner at Anglers.  Once your belly is full, head north on County Highway W back to Presque Isle for a good night’s sleep in one of vacation rental homes.  Phew!   That’s an amazing fall drive!!

Here’s the directions in list form from both Presque Isle and Manitowish Waters:

From Presque Isle :

  • Go East on County Highway B
  • South on Highway 45 out of Land O’ Lakes
  • East on County Highway E to Phelps
  • South out of Phelps on Highway 17
  • Then South on Highway 45 to Eagle River
  • West on Highway 70 to St. Germain
  • North on Highway 155 out of St. Germain to Sayner
  • West on County Highway N out of Sayner
  • North on County Highway M to Boulder Junction
  • West on County Highway K out of Boulder Junction
  • Then South on County Highway W to Manitowish Waters
  • Finally take County Highway W North out of Manitowish Waters back to Presque Isle

From Manitowish Waters :

  • Take County Highway W North out of Manitowish Waters to Presque Isle
  • Go East out of Presque Isle on County Highway B
  • South on Highway 45 out of Land O’ Lakes
  • East on County Highway E to Phelps
  • South out of Phelps on Highway 17
  • Then South on Highway 45 to Eagle River
  • West on Highway 70 to St. Germain
  • North on Highway 155 out of St. Germain to Sayner
  • West on County Highway N out of Sayner
  • North on County Highway M to Boulder Junction
  • West on County Highway K out of Boulder Junction
  • Then South on County Highway W back to Manitowish Waters

 

 

RUSTIC ROAD 58

With approximately 9.6 miles of paved roadway, R-58 skirts many scenic Northwood’s lakes as it winds through scenic pine and hardwood forests. This route also crosses a railroad bed that was used in the 1800's as a mainline to Minocqua, which has now been converted to the Bearskin State Trail for hiking and biking.

Where Blue Lake Road intersects the Tomahawk River, you'll find an ideal spot to launch a canoe or kayak. The Northwood's beauty continues along Mercer Lake Road as it travels across two small creeks (one of which is home to two beaver lodges) and through cedar lowlands before intersecting with Hwy. 70.

Directions: Travel north on U.S. Hwy 51, just past Hazelhurst, and turn west onto Blue Lake Road. Blue Lake Road will turn into Mercer Lake Road, which will travel north to intersect Hwy. 70.

RUSTIC ROAD 59

With a narrow gravel road bed that is much less traveled than Blue Lake Road, R-59 offers frequent glimpses of native wildlife, hidden flashes of early homesteading cabins and great views of shady, tall pines and colorful hardwoods. This trip is approximately 4.5 miles long.

Directions: Travel north on U.S. Hwy. 51, just past Hazelhurst. Turn west onto Blue Lake Road. Turn north onto Sutton Road (gravel). Sutton turns into Camp Pinemere Road, which intersects Hwy 70.

RUSTIC ROAD 60

This winding route travels through the Northern Highland - American Legion State Forest. Canopies of coniferous and hardwood trees enhance the scenic beauty of R-60 as it passes near old logging camp sites, hiking trails and an old saw mill located in Star Lake. The entire stretch of this scenic drive traverses heavily wooded areas abundant with wildlife. R-60 offers frequent scenic vistas of numerous, clear Northwoods lakes and dense forestland.

Directions: Travel north on U.S. Hwy. 51, past Woodruff to County Road N. Travel east on County Road N to County Road K (Star Lake).