Packing up the saddlebags and heading out for a multi-day ride in October — when our group does it it’s always a fun time but you never know if you’re going to get a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the fall colors or if you’re going to be dealing with some rain, wind, 30 degree temperatures…you name it! This is Wisconsin — it could be any and all of the above.
For the third year in a row, a dozen or so Rustic Road Rider bikes took the fall weather gamble and headed out for a Fall Ride. This year we decided to head up Friday, ride all day Saturday and come back Sunday. Adding that extra day meant we could explore a little further north (we’re based out of Walworth County so for us to get into some new areas we have a bit of a drive) than we have the past two years, but it also meant some extra planning.
It ended up being an amazing couple days of riding even though the temperatures stayed lower than we’d originally hoped. It didn’t rain so that’s a win! Since we had such a great time and explored some beautiful parts of the state — we decided to share our routes and stops for you to check out.
FRIDAY
On Friday we started in two different groups. One group left Walworth County around 6pm, picked up Interstate 39/90 in Janesville and rode the interstate all the way up to Tomah — which was the location of our hotel for the first night. Another group left around noon and took a more scenic route up.
Depart — Delavan Kwik Trip (Kwik Trip is always a good spot to start!)
- Pick up Creek Road
- Follow Creek Road to Highway 140
- Head North on Highway 140
- Left on East Avalon Road, follow East Avalon Road (turns into Highway 11 west of I-39/90)
- Follow Highway 11 south of Janesville
- Take back roads on west side of Janesville to pick up Highway 14
- Head west on Highway 14 to Riley Road (Rustic Road 68)
- Ride Riley Road — turn left at T on Stebbinsville Road
- Turn right on State Highway 138 then take the first left on Old Stage Road
- Follow Old Stage road until you hit Highway 14
- Turn right on Highway 14
- Follow Highway 14 north until the Highway MM exit
- Take the exit, go around two roundabouts and take the County Road M exit out of the third roundabout
- Follow County Road M until you get to the stoplights at County Road PB…your first stop is at this corner
STOP #1: Kwik Trip — 2145 County Rd Pb
—> Bathroom break, grab some snacks and maybe some liquid warmth!
- Head south on County Road PB
- Turn right on Sunset Drive
- Right on State Road 69
- Left on Riverside Road
- Right on Springrose Road
- Left on County Road G
- Right on Messerschmidt Drive
- Right on State Road 92 — to Mt. Horeb
- Go through the roundabout in Mt. Horeb to Highway 78
- Ride Highway 78 to Black Earth — at the stoplight (by the Shoe Box…it’s a store…Google it!) turn left to stay on Highway 78
- Turn right to stay on Highway 78 just outside of Black Earth
- Follow Highway 78 to Sauk City
- Turn left onto Highway 12…follow that through Sauk City
- North of Sauk City – turn left on County Road PF
- Follow County Road PF to Denzer Rd
- Follow Denzer Road and turn left on Slotty Road (Rustic Road 21)
- Left on County Road C and then the first right onto Orchard Road (also part of RR 21)
- Left on Schara Road
- Left on County Road PF
- Curve right onto County Road D — which turns into County Road W
- Right on State Highway 23
- Follow State Highway 23 into Reedsburg
STOP #2: Corner Pub Brewery
- Then Follow Highway 33 to Union Center
- Take Highway 80 to Elroy
- Then Highway 71 to Highway 131 which takes you into downtown Tomah
End of Day 1 — hotel in Tomah with dinner at Taphouse Twenty
After fueling up with food, coffee and gas at Kwik Trip (can you tell we like Kwik Trip?) we headed northwest.
- Depart — head west on Highway 21 to Sparta, WI.
STOP #1: Fiberglass Graveyard
- After exploring, someone going down a slide and taking a group pic — get back on Highway 21 and head into Sparta (right out of the graveyard driveway)
- Follow Highway 21 into Sparta, turn left on Highway 27/71 then right onto Highway 16
- Ride Highway 16 to West Salem — then turn right/north onto Highway 108
- Turn left on Walker Road the Right on County Road C
STOP #2: Mindoro Cut — see if you can find the RRR carved into the rock!
- Keep riding north on County Road C, then turn left on County Road T
- Stay on County Road T until you hit State Road 93 — turn right on State Road 93
- Follow that through Gallesville and stay on State Road 93 until you hit Arcadia
STOP #3: Arcadia Memorial Park (when we were there the main entrance was closed for construction, but there’s a second parking lot/entrance down the road and up a hill)
- Pick up State Highway 95 in Arcadia and head west
- Turn right on County Road C and follow that through a very curvy area
- Turn right on County Road U
- Follow County Road U until you get to State Road 88 — turn left
STOP #4: Bucknuckles Bar and Grill for lunch!
- Get back on State Road 88 and head south
- State on State Road 88 until you get to State Road 35 — turn left and go through Fountain City
- South of Fountain City head just a little bit back north for the next stop
STOP #5: Kinstone — say ‘hi’ to the friendly cats for us!
- Head to Highway 54 and cross the Mississippi River into Winona (we stopped at Kwik Trip here…surprise surprise!)
- Head south on Highway 61 following the Mississippi River into La Crescent and cross the Mississippi back into Wisconsin to La Crosse
- Keep following Highway 61/14 south through La Crosse and then east toward Coon Valley
STOP #6: Legacy Pub and Grill
- Head north east on County Road P out of Coon Valley
- Follow County Road P through another curvy area until you hit State Highway 82
- Turn left on State Highway 82
- Follow State Highway 82/33 to Hillsboro
STOP #7: Hillsboro Brewing Co for dinner
- Take County Road FF out of Hillsboro
- Follow County Road FF east to Wonewoc and then take State Road 33 east to La Valle then through Reedsburg
- Go through Reedsburg and head north on County Road H
- Follow County Road H to Lake Delton
End of Day 2 — River Road Motel in downtown Wisconsin Dells
Sunday morning we fueled up our bikes and riders at a BP with a Dunkin Donuts — Motorcyclists Ride on Dunkin!
Depart — head south on Highway 12 from the Wisconsin Dells Dunkin Donuts
- Turn left on County Road A
- Follow County Road A into Baraboo
- Pick up Highway 123 in downtown Baraboo and head south
- Follow Highway 123 to South Shore Road, ride that to South Lake Road past Devil’s Lake
- Follow South Lake Road to State Road 113 and turn right
- Follow State Road 113 to State Road 79 and turn left
- Ride State Road 78 to Prairie du Sac
- Cross the Wisconsin River on Highway 60 and turn right on Highway 188
- Turn right on Highway 12 then left on Highway 78
- Follow Highway 78 through Black Earth and into Mt. Horeb (there are several Kwik Trips to stop along this route!)
- Go through the Roundabout and pick up State Road 92 and head south
- Turn left on County Road A
- Follow County Road A until you hit Highway 14, turn right
- Follow Highway through Evansville and Janesville
End of Day 3 – Whiskey Ranch in Delavan
Have you ridden any of these roads? Been to any of these stops? Have a suggestion for an area we should ride next fall? Let us know!
LINKS on Harley-Davidson Rider Planner
Looks like a fun ride. Couldn’t make it this year but definitely will next! Always fun to see all of you and Linda and I always look forward to getting together with all of you. Please make sure to keep us in the loop for next year.
We want to wish you all a joyus holiday, us we will be riding in Southern Alabama for the winter.
Stay well!
Been on MANY of the same roads – we ride that way frequently and stay in Rockton across from Wildthings Fur shop on 131.
There are all the “alphabet” backroads you can take off of 11 through Footville to get up that way too. Can give you a great route to Wildcat Mountain and surrounding areas.