Baraboo, WI

The dining room of Baraboo's craft distillery along the Baraboo River, with a menu that reaches well beyond pub food — think locally sourced steaks, creative appetizers, and serious cocktails made with the house spirits. The setting on the water is relaxed and the kitchen punches above the usual distillery-restaurant standard. One of the region's better all-around dinner spots.

A restored 1940s diner on the courthouse square where the original booths, counter stools and neon set the scene for an eclectic menu — burgers and burritos alongside fresh seafood, pasta and homemade soups, with a full bar and plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options. It serves lunch and dinner rather than breakfast, and fills up on weekends.

A fully restored 1954 Silk City diner car on downtown Broadway, operating as an all-day spot for eggs, burgers and blue-plate comfort food. The stainless-steel bones and vinyl booths feel authentic, and the food is straightforward and satisfying. A reliable stop before or after Devil's Lake.

A family-run restaurant and bakery that built its reputation on fresh-baked pies and generous home-style plates, open from breakfast through dinner. The cozy room fills quickly with regulars and visitors alike, and the pie case near the register makes leaving harder than expected. Owned and operated with real pride.

A West Baraboo neighborhood Italian spot that flies well under the tourist radar and earns serious loyalty from locals for its pasta, pizza and traditional red-sauce dishes. The room is no-frills, the portions are honest and the quality consistently delivers. Worth seeking out for a low-key dinner.

A brewpub just outside Devil's Lake State Park with sunken fire pits, a big outdoor lawn and a tap list of house-brewed beers worth working through. The food is pubby and approachable, and the setting makes it a natural post-hike stop. The outdoor space is the real draw when the weather cooperates.

Baraboo's downtown brewpub occupies a space layered with circus history, pouring house-brewed beers alongside empanadas and pub food with South American influence — the owner's heritage shows up in the kitchen in a good way. The shrimp empanada and the cream ale have developed real followings. A friendly neighborhood spot.

A casual downtown bar and grill on the square with a wide selection of draft beers, solid pizza and a menu that covers the bar-food bases without cutting corners. The room is lively without being loud, and the staff makes strangers feel welcome. A dependable spot for an easy evening.

A small Mexican restaurant-and-grocery hybrid on 8th Avenue where the kitchen turns out homemade tamales, tacos and burritos from scratch using quality ingredients. The atmosphere is casual and communal, and the authenticity is genuine. A standout for Mexican food in a part of Wisconsin where the options can be thin.

The signature hike at Devil's Lake, climbing 500 feet along the quartzite East Bluff to Devil's Doorway and connecting views over the lake that earn every step of the ascent. The rocks, lichen and exposure make the route feel more dramatic than the mileage suggests. The full loop back via East Bluff Woods adds welcome shade on warm days.

Wisconsin's first designated State Natural Area, a narrow sandstone canyon wrapped in ferns, mosses and shade where a small stream cuts through walls draped in green. The trail is short — less than a mile — but the gorge feels like a different world. A very different texture from the open bluffs.

The quieter counterpart to the East Bluff, climbing the opposite side of the lake through talus slopes of tumbled quartzite boulders before reaching the ridgeline views. The boulder fields are striking geology and the bluff-top perspective across the lake is as good as anywhere in the park. Generally less trafficked than the east side.

Part of the 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail, the Baraboo segment traces the edge of ancient glacial features through prairie and second-growth forest, with the Baraboo River Walk providing a paved connector through town. The segment is modest in length but connects into longer backcountry miles through the Baraboo Hills. Good orientation for the region's glacial story.

A quieter state park a few miles north of Baraboo where cliffs of Cambrian sandstone drop to a still, mirror-like lake and trails wind through oak and pine without the crowds that descend on Devil's Lake. The terrain is gentler and the mood more contemplative. Good for paddling alongside hiking.

Behind the restaurant, Baraboo's homegrown craft distillery runs tours of its production floor and opens the tasting room for flights of bourbon, rye, gin and vodka. The spirits have won serious national awards and the riverside setting makes a leisurely afternoon easy to justify. A good rainy-day or end-of-day option.

A 1915 Italian Renaissance opera house built by Al Ringling at a cost then equivalent to a palace, with ornate gilded plasterwork, velvet seating and a ceiling that makes you forget what you came to see. It still hosts films, concerts and live performances and is easily one of the most beautiful small-city theaters in the Midwest. Worth a visit even without a performance.

Getting on the water at Devil's Lake puts the bluffs in a completely different perspective — the quartzite walls rising 500 feet from the water's surface are even more striking from a kayak than from the shoreline. Rentals are available at the north and south beaches in season. An easy way to add a different dimension to a lake day.

A paved riverside path following the Baraboo River through downtown and beyond, connecting the historic district with natural scenery in a flat, easy route suited for evening walks. The river views are pleasant and the path passes near Circus World and Driftless Glen. A good way to decompress after a day of hiking.

The quartzite bluffs at Devil's Lake host one of the Midwest's premier climbing destinations, with hundreds of established routes across multiple crags on both the east and west bluffs. The rock is grippy and varied, and the setting is dramatically scenic. Routes span from beginner-accessible slabs to challenging overhangs.

Wisconsin's most-visited state park, where 500-foot quartzite bluffs drop dramatically to a glacial lake ringed with forest. The combination of geology, swimming beaches, rock climbing and extensive trail networks makes it genuinely hard to spend a bad day here. Plan to arrive early on weekends; the south shore lot fills by midmorning.

Set on the original Ringling Brothers winter quarters along the Baraboo River, this 64-acre museum holds the world's largest collection of restored circus wagons alongside vivid exhibit halls on circus history. A summer big-top show keeps the living tradition going. It is a genuinely unusual place that earns its visit.

The only place on earth where all 15 crane species can be seen, set on native prairie and wetland habitat north of town. The guided tours are genuinely informative and the birds themselves are striking — sandhill cranes calling at close range is hard to forget. A thoughtful, well-run operation.

A working steam railway museum in nearby North Freedom where vintage locomotives and coaches from the late 1800s and early 1900s have been painstakingly restored. The seven-mile excursion through the Baraboo Hills is the centerpiece, and the equipment collection in the roundhouse is exceptional. A treat for anyone who likes old machinery.

Baraboo's compact historic downtown surrounds a classic courthouse square with 19th-century commercial buildings, independent shops, and the Al Ringling Theatre. The architecture tells the story of the circus money that built this town, and the walkable blocks have a genuinely lively character for a city this size. Worth an hour of wandering.