Attractions big and small a day trip away in Spring Green
When visiting star attractions in Spring Green such as American Players Theatre, The House on the Rock or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, include a charming intermission downtown to complete the experience.
Located in southwestern Wisconsin in the Driftless Area untouched by glaciers, Spring Green makes for a lovely day trip from Milwaukee.
At The House on the Rock, for example, doors open at 9 a.m. with the Ultimate Experience tour easily taking three hours. Then, timing is right to hit downtown for lunch and more.
It’s been said that The House on the Rock is hard to describe, but here’s a shot: eccentric, peculiar, phantasmagorical, bizarre. It’s as if an odd cast of characters took up residence together with chambers haphazardly tacked onto a long, dark maze. Housemates would include the Wizard of Oz, Liberace, Baby Jane Hudson, Howard Hughes, Elvis, P. T. Barnum and the latest lead of the television show “Hoarders.”
There are lower-priced tour options, all of which are self-guided, but the Ultimate Experience runs $29.95. Included are four tokens that play the many musical machines inside.
Warning: claustrophobes, strollerpushers and those with mobility difficulties could find the tour troublesome. Young children may become frightened. Be prepared to walk, often in limited light. And if you’re over 5-foot 8-inches tall, get ready to duck.
Highlights include the Infinity Room in section one, a glassed area that juts out from the rock; Music of Yesterday in section two; and the jaw-dropping 26ton carousel in section three with 20,000 lights, 269 animals (with zero horses) and 182 chandeliers, billed as the “world’s largest carousel.”
A good vantage point to see the exterior of The House on the Rock is a marked scenic overlook just north on Highway 23. Park east of the highway and walk across the footbridge.
Then continue north on Highway 23 into downtown Spring Green, taking in the beautiful topography, Taliesin and the Wisconsin River.
A trip to The House on the Rock just feels incomplete without a discussion afterward. Independent bookstore Arcadia Books at 102 E. Jefferson St. is a good place to stop and digest what you’ve experienced.
Lunch is available from The Kitchen at Arcadia Books (yes, inside the bookstore), provided by Large Batch Scratch, co-owned by couple Patrick Michaels and Katie Wyer, former chef at Taliesin.
The food really does taste like it’s made from scratch, portions are generous and prices are relatively inexpensive.
“We got plugged into all the local farms and became part of the local food world,” Michaels said. Their menu changes with the seasons in collaboration with nearby organic farms.
“Katie is a very creative and flexible chef,” with a zero-waste philosophy, he said.
Grab and go items are available whenever the bookstore is open. Madeto-order lunch is served 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The butt bacon Reuben sandwich is a popular choice, with all bread made in house. Hot and iced tea, Kickapoo coffee, beer and wine are available.
The bookstore itself was opened in 2011 by owner James Bohnen, a director at American Players Theatre. With its large windows and narrow-planked wood flooring, it originally served as the post office in 1876.
Now as Arcadia Books, it’s more than a bookstore; it’s a gathering spot.
“Yes, we know many of our customers by name — and we hope they know us, too,” said bookstore manager John Christensen.
“In addition to being a local hangout, we want the bookstore to be a marvelous surprise wherever you are visiting from. Every town doesn’t have a bookstore anymore, but every town deserves one. And we hope to fill that need for every reader who is looking for it, wherever they live.”
Other spots in Spring Green to consider:
Freddy Valentine’s Public House is a restaurant and pub in the historic 1915 former State Bank of Spring Green at 134 W. Jefferson St.
Sh*tty Barn Sessions is an indie music venue that is often sold out at 506 E. Madison St.
Spring Green General Store is a café and retail store in a converted 1910 cheese warehouse at 137 S. Albany St.
Bird of Paradise Tea sells organic teas at 120 S. Albany St.
Jennifer Rude Klett is a Wisconsin freelance writer of history, food and Midwestern life. Contact her at jrudeklett.com.