New Glarus, WI

The name translates roughly to 'New Glarus's living room,' and the long wooden bar and dozen tables live up to it — Swiss cowbells in the window, cuckoo clocks on the walls, and schnitzel on the plate. Portions are generous and come with two sides; the cheese fondue and the roesti (Swiss fried potato cakes) are the moves to make. A solid lineup of New Glarus beers pours from the taps.

Set inside a restored 1902 Queen Anne Victorian, this is the most ambitious kitchen in town — seasonal Green County produce, local dairy, and Swiss heritage woven into contemporary small plates and tasting menus. The menu changes frequently and leans on what's growing and grazing nearby, so there's no predicting exactly what you'll find. Reservations are essential and seats fill weeks out.

Right off the Sugar River State Trail trailhead, this is the natural post-ride reward: hand-tossed pies with a chewy, charred crust, housemade sauce, and toppings that don't go light. The covered patio is the place to land in good weather, especially with a cold New Glarus Spotted Cow from the tap. Gluten-free crusts are available and the kitchen is notably kid-accommodating.

In continuous operation since 1910, this bakery on First Street upholds Swiss and American traditions in the same small storefront: almond horns, Swiss-style rye, strudel, and brownies that regulars plan their visits around. The shop is compact and the display case turns over fast on weekends, so the earlier you arrive, the better your selection. It's the kind of place where the same families have been buying the same pastries for generations.

The place to go when everything else in town has called it a night — the kitchen runs late and the beer list covers the widest selection of New Glarus taps you'll find under one roof. Burgers, cheese curds, reubens, and onion rings hold their own as bar food goes; the atmosphere is low-key local and genuinely welcoming to out-of-towners.

Founded in 1893, this bar has the bones to prove it: the original 1912 all-wood back bar stands intact, murals painted in 1913 cover the walls, and the ceiling is papered in dollar bills (twice a year the house sweeps half of them down and donates the proceeds to local charities). The menu is deliberately short — bratwurst sandwich, Italian beef, naked cheese curds, broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl — and the prices are refreshingly honest.

An unexpected left turn in a Swiss village: Hawaiian-influenced plates — kalua pork, poke-style bowls, pesto chicken sandwiches — served in a cheerful space with a well-used outdoor area. The contrast between the cuisine and the surroundings is part of the appeal, and the kitchen pulls it off with food that stands on its own without needing the novelty. Locals adopted it quickly.

Twenty-four miles of former railroad corridor running from New Glarus south to Brodhead on a flat crushed-limestone surface, crossing fourteen trestle bridges over the Sugar River and its tributaries. The gradient is nearly zero — it's an old rail bed — which makes it approachable for all fitness levels, from casual riders to families with young kids. The first segment south to Monticello (6.5 miles) passes through the most scenic stretches of shaded forest and farmland.

The longest single trail inside New Glarus Woods State Park at 4.2 miles, looping through mature hardwood forests, restored prairie, and meadows that shift character as you move between canopy and open sky. The path is wide and well-marked with trail maps at intersections, but the surface is natural — packed dirt with tree roots and occasional loose rock — so it rewards proper footwear. Wildlife sightings (deer, wild turkeys, woodpeckers) are reliable.

An 0.8-mile interpretive loop through the prairie restoration area of New Glarus Woods, with posted signs explaining the park's history of prairie management, native plant communities, and the bison that once ranged these southern Wisconsin grasslands. Short enough to complete in under 30 minutes at a stroll, it pairs naturally with the longer Havenridge loop for visitors who want variety in terrain.

Every Labor Day weekend since 1938, more than 200 New Glarus residents have staged Friedrich Schiller's play about the Swiss folk hero — in German and in English on alternating performances — with live goats, cows, and horses sharing the stage with the cast in period costume. The Friday evening Laternenzug (candlelit lantern parade through downtown) is the most atmospheric event of the weekend. This is not a tourist re-enactment; the cast is the community.

The terraced outdoor biergarten at New Glarus Brewing is the most pleasant place in the village to spend a slow afternoon — wooden tables, rolling farmland views, and a pour list that covers the full brewery catalog including seasonal and limited releases unavailable anywhere else. The campus is meticulously maintained and the Swiss-inspired architecture makes it feel like it was transplanted from somewhere much farther away.

The revamped outdoor beer garden at this 1930s-era tavern is one of the better warm-weather gathering spots in town — a lively mix of locals and visitors working through award-winning burgers and craft beers. The building itself dates to Bigler's Swiss Tavern days and still carries that neighborhood anchor quality. Live music makes periodic appearances in the garden during summer.

Held annually in downtown New Glarus during the Wilhelm Tell Festival weekend, this juried fine art fair brings together painters, sculptors, ceramicists, and printmakers alongside live music, local food vendors, and craft beer pours from area breweries. The combination of Swiss village backdrop, gallery-quality work, and festival atmosphere makes it one of the more distinctive outdoor art events in southern Wisconsin.

The brewery behind Spotted Cow — Wisconsin's cult-favorite farmhouse ale — sits on a hillside campus you can only visit if you're in-state, which makes the trip feel earned. Grab a flight in the timber-and-stone tasting room or settle into the terraced biergarten with views over the rolling Green County countryside. The self-guided tour loops through impressive stainless tanks and a cellar stacked with oak barrels.

Fourteen authentic 19th-century structures — a log church, one-room schoolhouse, print shop, and cheese factory among them — document the founding Swiss settlers who arrived from the canton of Glarus in 1845. Knowledgeable volunteer guides bring each building to life with stories that go well beyond the posted placards. The cheese factory exhibit alone explains why Green County still anchors Wisconsin's dairy identity.

This 1937 Bernese-style chalet — one of only three authentic Swiss chalets in Wisconsin on the National Register — was built by Edwin Barlow, the man who brought the Wilhelm Tell play to America. Inside are thousands of artifacts Barlow collected across five continents: Etruscan earrings, a jeweled watch from King Louis XVI's court, and items from a documented poison spy ring. It's far stranger and more absorbing than a typical small-town museum.