Fall Activities to Do in Wisconsin for Families

Fall in Wisconsin is one of the best times to get outside and explore. Though the northeast get a ton of attention, Wisconsin is actually one of the top fall foliage destinations in the United State!

No matter which part of the state you live in or visit, there are tons of autumn activities to choose from to celebrate the harvest, enjoy the beauty of the leaves changing, or to get outside and enjoy the fresh air before the winter freeze hits.

Below are my top 27 recommended fall activities to do in Wisconsin for families. Many of them I’ve done, while a few of them are still on my bucket list. Fall is such a short season, and there’s so much to explore!

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Best Things to Do in Fall in Wisconsin

Climb Holy Hill

Holy Hill Basilica in Huburtus, WI is without a doubt one of the most popular fall destinations in Wisconsin. Even though it’s just a short drive from metro Milwaukee, this shrine feels isolated and peaceful, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The scene from the Scenic Tower is epic, allowing for panoramic views of the fall foliage of Kettle Moraine State Forest.

You’ll need to climb 178 steps to the top, so make sure to bring a baby carrier if you’ve got little ones!

Once you’ve taken in the view and walked the grounds, visited the Shrine and Chapel (be respectful of those worshipping or praying), followed the Way of the Cross, and browsed the gift shop, you can grab a bite to eat at the Holy Hill Cafe.

Bring your camera! You will definitely want to remember the beautiful autumn views with your kids.

Marinette County Waterfall Tour

Did you know Marinette County is the Waterfall Capital of Wisconsin? It’s true! This beautiful area in Northeast Wisconsin is home to 15 waterfalls, many of which you can reach with a short and easy hike in their county parks.

The Marinette County Visitor’s Bureau put together a Fall Color Driving Tour to make it as easy as possible to maximize your time in the parks. The drive includes 4 county parks and 2 scenic overlooks, and can easily be done in a day!

I visited with a baby and a toddler by myself, and had no problem getting to the waterfalls. Most of the “hikes” were so short and easy to complete, with the option of continuing on for more difficult or longer hikes.

Our trip was at the end of September, and the leaves were just starting to turn. Peak foliage week in Marinette County, Wisconsin is usually around the 2nd week of October, so you may want to plan your trip around that time!

This is the perfect fall activity for those who love the outdoors, hiking, and waterfalls!

Stay at Four Seasons Island Resort, Trademark Collection by Wyndham in Pembine, WI. This place is perfect for families because it is an all-suite resort. In this stage of life that’s very important to me. It’s about 20 minutes away from the start of the Fall Color Driving Tour, but the drive to get there is every bit as scenic as the driving tour itself!

Read my entire blog post about Marinette County here!

Milwaukee Beer Gardens

Authentic German Beer Gardens have been growing in popularity in the Greater Milwaukee Area. While these relaxing outdoor gathering spots make for a great summer activity, many continue to stay open through the fall.

There’s no better way to enjoy sweatshirt weather and fall color than to gather with friends around a picnic table and some beers. Most are quite family-friendly with yard games, live music, playgrounds, and good food.

Tour a Cranberry Marsh

Did you know that Wisconsin boasts the nation’s largest cranberry crop? And that it’s our official state fruit? You can experience it for yourself this fall! Between late September and late October you can navigate a self-guided tour on the Cranberry Highway between Wisconsin Rapids and Warrens to see the beds of cranberries ready for harvest!

If you’re itching to get a closer look at the cranberry harvesting process, take a marsh tour at one of the working farms in Central or Northern Wisconsin. A few options for cranberry marsh tours in Wisconsin are:

Splash of Red Cranberry Tours in Pittsville, WI. The tours are $25/person and include an informational video, a visit to a current marsh, the opportunity to pick fresh fruit, berry harvest observation, lunch, and dessert. You can sign up for tours here.
Wetherby Cranberry Harvest Days. Only October 2-3, there are harvest tours, and hip boot experiences where you can put on hip boots and wade through the floating cranberries. $10/adults, $5/kids age 6-12, kids age 5 and under are free.

Don’t forget to visit the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center in Warrens, WI. Here you can learn the history of how Wisconsin has been growing cranberries commercially for 150 years! There are lots if interactive exhibits, a Taste Test Kitchen, and an Ice Cream Parlor, along with a cranberry gift shop!

Take a Scenic Train Ride

I love a scenic fall drive, but have you considered a scenic fall train ride through Wisconsin? There’s something so romantic and exciting about boarding a train with the whole family and enjoying the brilliant autumn colors rushing by.

From the Mid-Continent Railway in North Freedom to the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway, among several others, everyone will be able to find something within a couple hours’ drive!

My kids are absolutely obsessed with any kind of transportation, so getting a train in and of itself is a magical activity. Add to that the opportunity for leaf-peeping and a hot chocolate, and you’ve got yourself the perfect fall outing.

Go Apple Picking

There’s almost nothing I look forward to more in fall than picking apples and sitting down afterward with an apple cider donut.

Wisconsin is full of u-pick apple orchards where you can bring the kids for a few hours of good old-fashioned country fun. Fill your bags to the brim with apples which you can use for snacking, pies, cobblers, or homemade applesauce. Most places have a restaurant or gift shop where you can stock up on apple-flavored everything along with baked goods and coffee.

Some awesome Wisconsin apple orchards to visit this fall:

Apple Holler in Sturtevant
The Apple Hut in Beloit
Shihata’s Orchard in Prairie du Chien
Ski-Hi Fruit Farm in Baraboo
Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor
Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago
Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Company in Colgate

Walk the Seven Bridges Trail

Seven Bridges Trail at Grant Park already looks like an enchanted forest perched on the shores of Lake Michigan. Add to that the brilliant autumn colors and your kids will be convinced you’ve transported them somewhere magical.

The trail is an easy 1-mile loop trail that crosses bridges and ravines, eventually leading you down to the lake. Start at the Covered Bridge Entrance which is located near the parking lot just off of Lake Drive and Park Avenue.

This is a Milwaukee County Park, which means entry is free, so all you need is some comfortable shoes and hiking clothes, a camera, and maybe some snacks!

Cheer on the Packers at Titletown

If you live in Wisconsin, you know how tough it can be to get your hands on some tickets to watch the Packers play at Lambeau Field. However, there are plenty of other ways to feel the buzz of fall football season in Green Bay!

Visit Lambeau Field on any day where there’s not a home game and you can take a tour of the stadium to learn so much about the history of Wisconsin’s legendary football team and stadium.

After you’ve toured the stadium and perused the gift shop, head over to Titletown, a park with a full sized football field, a playground, yard games, restaurants, and breweries. It’s seriously so much fun, and our kids had a blast pretending they were NFL players while the adults enjoyed the brewery!

Take in the View from Grandad Bluff

Grandad Bluff is a park perched atop the highest bluff in the La Crosse area

The views of the fall colors from atop Grandad Bluff are breathtaking. We were probably about 1 week too early since we visited the first weekend in October. The photos I saw from the following weekend after our visit were even more colorful!

The best news? No hiking required. We have a baby, a toddler, and 2 young children, so we were very relieved that we could just drive right to the top of the bluff and walk over to the viewing area.

The viewing area if very spacious with extended overlook platforms where you can get a different perspective of the view. Bring quarters so you can take a peek inside the viewfinders and have your kids look for specific fall colors on the trees!

>> Read my whole post about visiting La Crosse, WI in the fall here!

Attend the Elegant Farmer Autumn Harvest

The Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago holds an Autumn Harvest Festival each year, with the 2021 dates falling from September 11-October 24.

Aside from apple picking, families can take a tractor-pulled hayride, pony ride, or train ride to enjoy the fall foliage, navigate a corn maze, and enjoy fall treats like caramel apples, cider, chili, and apple cider donuts.

Your family can climb aboard the East Troy Electric Railroad and enjoy a 10-mile trip through Southeastern Wisconsin.

Plan a Cozy Cabin Getaway Up North

Nothing says fall in Wisconsin like going Up Nort’ to rent a cabin, sit by a cozy fire, sip hot chocolate or cider, and just generally enjoy the peace and quiet of the beautiful autumn woods.

Some spots I have my eye on for the upcoming fall season are Wausau, Eagle River, Door County, and Ashland!

You honestly don’t even have to go that far north to find a secluded cabin. Just do a search on your favorite vacation rental site, book that cabin, and enjoy a cozy family getaway.

See Door County’s Iconic Winding Road

When we went camping on Washington Island in Door County, we were delighted by the Jens Jensen Winding Road, also known as Highway 42. As you near the end of the peninsula, the highway gently curves back and forth making it the most fun and pleasant spot for a leisurely drive and some great photos.

While you’re in Door County in autumn, be sure to hit up some of their fall festivals, hike Cave Point County Park, or find a brewery or winery where you can relax and soak up the fall weather!

Celebrate German Heritage at Oktoberfest

Maybe you can’t make it to Germany this fall, but you can do the next best thing and find an Oktoberfest celebration in Wisconsin!

If you’re craving giant soft pretzels, beer from a stein, polka music, and lederhosen, you’re not alone! Germans were the largest immigrant group to settle in Wisconsin in the 1800s, so it’s very common for Wisconsinites to have German ancestry, or to at least enjoy partying like the Germans do!

Thankfully, Oktoberfest celebrations are pretty family-friendly

La Crosse has the longest-running Oktoberfest in the midwest with parades, biergartens, and traditional songs.
Oktoberfest 2021 in Heidelberg Park at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Milwaukee features great beer, great food, and a midway for kids.
New Glarus, Wisconsin’s Swiss town, holds an Oktoberfest celebration downtown with music, chainsaw carvings, good food, and wagon rides. Make a stop in nearby Madison to celebrate at Essen Haus.
Don’t miss the celebration at Dheinsville Historic Park in Germantown, Wisconsin where you can enjoy food, family fun, and the annual Dheinsville Dachshund Dash.

Ride the Wausau Ski Lift for Fall Foliage Views

Granite Peak, a Ski Resort located in Rib Mountain State Park in Wausau isn’t just for wintertime ski sessions! They offer scenic chairlift rides in fall where you can rise above the tree line and take in the spectacular autumn foliage.

Kids must be 3 and older to ride, so if you’ve got babies and toddlers, be sure to bring the grandparents or another family that can watch the little ones. (Then switch, and you can watch their younger ones!)

After you’re back on solid ground, head to the Historic Chalet Deck for warm drinks and yummy treats while you enjoy the views of scenic Rib Mountain.

Stroll Lake Geneva

One of the best spots to go leaf peeping in Wisconsin is Lake Geneva. Be sure to walk the Shore Path, a 26-mile trail that weaves in and out of the woods, taking you past historic lakeside estates.

Property owners care fo the paths that cross between their property and the shoreline, so it’s a super unique trail to walk.

We walked this in summer a few years ago, and it’s not really stroller-friendly in several parts, so be sure to put the little ones in a baby carrier.

While you’re in Lake Geneva in autumn, be sure to take a cruise on the lake, head out on a scenic drive of Rustic Road Trail 11, or join their Oktoberfest celebration!

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

We are absolutely spoiled with pumpkin patches here in Wisconsin! When our family lived in Florida, we tried to find a nearby pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins one year. The closest thing we could find was a makeshift patch on the lawn of a church. My husband ended up getting attacked by fire ants and having an allergic reaction, so that was the end of our pumpkin patch efforts in Florida.

Here in Wisconsin, though, there are farms everywhere that offer the chance to come choose your own pumpkin, go on a hay ride, navigate a corn maze, and enjoy delicious autumn treats at their markets.

Travel Wisconsin has a great roundup of pumpkin patches in each part of the state!

Zipline in Minocqua

Another way to enjoy the trees this fall is to zip through the treetops on an adventurous canopy tour in Minocqua. Northwoods Zip Line Adventure Tours offers multiple tours involving zip lines and adventure bridges to test your courage and get the adrenaline pumping.

This is a great activity for families with older kids looking to combine soft adventure with a good old fashioned up north experience.

Minocqua also has 3 rustic roads to enjoy, along with many peaceful hiking trails and waterfalls.

There’s plenty to do in Minocqua in autumn!

Go Hiking at Devil’s Lake State Park

Some of the best hiking and most incredible views in the state are found at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, WI. This is a popular summer destination for camping, fishing, hiking, and biking (we camped here a few years ago in summer and it was so beautiful), but autumn is such a stunning time to visit!

There are tons of hiking paths for every skill and age level at Devil’s Lake. I look forward to testing my own skills on the Balanced Rock and Devil’s Doorway trails, while I would enjoy the Grottos Trail or the Tumbled Rocks Trail with the Kids.

The views of the colorful trees near the lake - stunning!

Attend a Fall Festival

Aside from the numerous Oktoberfest celebrations around the state, there are plenty of fall festivals you could enjoy!

There’s a Cranberry Festival in Warrens, WI celebrating the cranberry harvest, a Wine and Harvest festival in Cedarburg complete with grape stomping and fall food paired with Cedar Creek wine, Autumn Fest in St. Croix Falls, and a Pumpkin Patch Festival and Sister Bay Fall Fest in Door County.

Wherever you’re located in Wisconsin, you’re sure to find a festive celebration nearby!

Drive the Great River Road Scenic Byway

Enjoy the fall views along with Mississippi River passing through historic towns and villages on Wisconsin’s Great River Road Scenic Byway.

We discovered a beautiful portion of this drive on our trip to La Crosse last fall, and the combination of fall foliage, the river, and the bluffs was magical!

No matter where you decided to begin your trip, you’re sure to see some of the most breathtaking sights in Wisconsin.

Hike Kettle Moraine State Park’s Many Trails

This is high on my list to do this fall, mostly because we live fairly close to Kettle Moraine State Park, but we somehow didn’t have time to do any fall hikes there last year!

If you can only choose one hike there this fall, consider the Parnell Tower Loop Trail, a 3.5-mile loop that takes you to an observation tower where you can get above the trees and see the fall colors.

Discover a Slot Canyon in the Wisconsin Dells

Wisconsin Dells is a pretty unique area in Wisconsin due to the geological features that make up the area, including our very own slot canyon!

You can access this slot canyon, called Witches Gulch, via the Upper Dells Boat Tour. Walk through the narrow canyon and be ready to snap some jaw dropping photos! This area is made even more stunning when crowned by the bursts of autumn color throughout the forest.

Naturally, the Dells is also known as the Waterpark Capital of the World, so be sure to check out one of the many indoor water parks in town for some family fun as you trade the chilly fall air for tropical temps.

Enjoy a Lake Michigan Getaway at Blue Harbor Resort

Speaking of waterparks, Blue Harbor Resort is the perfect fall getaway for families with themed rooms for kids, a water park, outdoor activities, and an arcade, so you’ll never run out of things to do around the property.

Blue Harbor is the largest resort on Lake Michigan, and we loved visiting in the fall months thanks to fewer crowds. The warm autumn afternoons meant we could still play some of the yard games they had set up on the lawns around the property, and the crisp, cool nights made the bonfire the perfect spot to take the big kids while my husband put the baby to sleep in our room.

You can spend lots of time warming up at Breaker Bay Waterpark, which is free to hotel guests. There’s even a section of the waterpark just for toddlers and little kids, so we stayed busy playing at Breaker Bay for hours with our 4 kids.

>> Read my full blog post on what it’s like to spend a fall weekend at Blue Harbor Resort!

See the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

shrine of our lady of guadalupe in fall.jpg

Holy Hill gets all the attention in Wisconsin, but an alternative for those who live on the west side of the state is the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We couldn’t get enough of the incredible views from the shrine in fall.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is tucked into the hilly Mississippi River Valley, and the church itself is located at the top of a hill, giving visitors quite the vista.

You follow a half-mile trail up to a votive candle chapel, past monuments, and sculptures, all the way up to the chapel at the top. This is where the best views are, and where we spent the most time admiring the beauty of the area.

The grounds are well-kept, and the architecture is stunning. Some make a spiritual pilgrimage out of this trip, and others simply admire the beauty.

Hike Willow River State Park in Hudson

If you’re looking for some fall destinations in Northwest Wisconsin, be sure to check out Willow River State Park in Hudson.

With waterfalls, gorges, and miles of gorgeous hiking trails, the is a perfect spot for autumn outdoor recreation. The Burkhardt Trail (Pink Trail) offers some epic overlooks, while the Pioneer Trail (1.2 miles) gives you an overlook over the falls. Find the perfect trail for your family here.

Both Hudson and Stillwater, its sister city across the river in Minnesota, are adorable small towns nestled in the bluffs with charming main streets. They make the perfect fall getaway!

>> Read my full post on Stillwater, MN with Kids!

Take a Scenic Drive near Eagle River

If you want real northwoods magic this fall, head up to Eagle River, WI, a small town located on a chain of lakes in northern Wisconsin.

There are many rustic roads and scenic highways to choose from around Eagle River, such as Highway 45, Highway 51, or backroads in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

The first week of October is usually peak fall foliage week in Eagle River, so plan accordingly!

Plan a Kid-Friendly Escape at Stoney Creek Hotel in Onalaska

One of our favorite family-friendly hotels in Wisconsin was Stoney Creek Hotel in Onalaska (near La Crosse). My kids thought this was one of the coolest hotels thanks to the rustic decor and cabin-in-the-woods vibe of Stoney Creek. The staff was friendly, everything was clean, and breakfast was free - what more could a family with young kids want?

It offers the cozy feeling of a small cabin in the woods with all the amenities of a large chain hotel.

It’s a great spot to base yourself if you want to explore La Crosse or any of the Driftless Region in Wisconsin during fall. Or you could just hang out at the hotel for a weekend to swim and relax!

Be sure to schedule a few of these fall activities on your calendar this September, October, or November!

And if you have any favorite fall activities in Wisconsin to add to the list, be sure to drop a comment below, or reach out to me on Instagram and let me know!