Sights to see on Big Ten road trips
When Big Ten gridiron fans go on the road, tailgating and game time are priorities, but then what?
The joy of the journey and knowing where else to linger matter too. At each of the conference’s 13 campuses outside Wisconsin are good reasons to visit that have nothing to do with football.
Michigan State Spartans (East Lansing): Notice the proximity of Red Cedar River before the Badgers kick off Oct. 13 at Spartan Stadium. Rent a kayak or canoe to paddle through campus, or navigate the 16-mile Lansing River Trail through Old Town (which is big on galleries and other indie-owned businesses). rivertownadventures.com
R.E. Olds Transportation Museum, Lansing, tells Olds Motor Vehicle Company and Oldsmobile stories through 60-some vehicles and many smaller artifacts. This is where REO Speed Wagon is an early version of the pickup truck, not a rock 'n' roll band. Bicycles and planes also are part of the museum story.
May as well take a peek – on your own or with a guide – inside Michigan’s State Capitol too, built with a cast-iron dome during the Gilded Age. lansing.org
Northwestern Wildcats (Evanston, Ill.): The Badgers visit Ryan Field Oct. 27, so take in an Illinois view of Lake Michigan. Walk or bike the paved Lakefront Trail that shadows Sheridan Road and meets up with miles of campus paths. Notice Grosse Point Lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark. visitchicagonorth shore.com/evanston
Add a 28-minute Metra train ride from Evanston to downtown Chicago. The fare is $10 for unlimited rides anywhere along the Union Pacific North line on Saturdays and Sundays. The “L” – elevated train system – is a more frequent option but requires a transfer between red and purple lines on weekends. metra rail.com, transitchicago.com
Yuk it up at “Saturday Night Live: The Experience,” a day-by-day immersion into the production of the longtime NBC comedy show. The 10-gallery exhibit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications is in Chicago until Dec. 31. snltheexhibition.com
Penn State Nittany Lions (University Park, Pa.): One reward for the long haul to this year’s most distant conference game, on Nov.
10, is just-made ice cream from Berkey Creamery. No university creamery is larger, and that includes Babcock Hall in Madison. Expect at least 20 flavors.
Craft beer is on tap at Happy Valley Brewing Company, in a 200-year-old barn that also serves hearty fare with surprises. Example: Klinger Chicken Dinner, a batter-fried breast that arrives with poached eggs and cronuts (a doughnut-croissant hybrid). visitpenn state.org
Hop on a motorboat for a slow, guided float through Penn Cave, part of a 1,600-acre wildlife park within 20 miles of the stadium. Guided tours via jeep get visitors to the vistas of Mount Nittany (Nit-A-Nee is “single mountain” in Algonquin language). pennscave.com
Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette, Ind.): The final regular-season road trip for Bucky is to Ross-Ade Stadium on Nov. 17. Find both team spirit and spirits around State Street at Chauncey Hill Mall; the area soon will be replaced with a more stylish development.
Start with a Drew Brees platter for breakfast at Triple XXX, open since 1929 and the state’s oldest drive-in restaurant. Elsewhere, notice the Breakfast Club tradition of students and alums dressing in costume as they imbibe early. homeofpurdue.com
See what it means to live off the land in a sustainable way at The Farm at Prophetstown State Park, just north of town. Kids and adults – if they choose – participate in chores at the working farm. Expect to meet heritage breeds of livestock and equine from Indiana Horse Rescue. prophetstown.org
Here are additional Big Ten destinations.
Illinois Fighting Illini (Champaign): Near the lively watering holes of Green Street, it’s all magic (and gags, costumes, fun) at Dallas and Company, a huge and second-generation family business that opened in the 1970s. Seeking serenity? The many formal gardens and 15 miles of trails at Allerton Park and Retreat Center, 30 miles from campus, is your ticket. visitchampaign county.org
Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington): Fourth Street is a melting pot of ethnic restaurants, some operating out of houses, including Tibetan fare. Five miles south is the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, founded on 100-some acres by the Dalai Lama’s brother. Attend a teaching, practice yoga, roam the grounds or buy a prayer wheel from the gift shop. visit bloomington.com
Iowa Hawkeyes (Iowa City): Follow the folks in bumblebee colors to Melrose Avenue, near Kinnick Stadium. Then explore the downtown Pedestrian Mall, across the Iowa River. These hotspots are where bars and bistros are especially plentiful.
Stop in Prairie Lights Bookstore for a guide to the city’s Literary Walk, bronze sidewalk panels that honor 49 writers associated with Iowa. Iowa City takes the written word seriously and is a UNESCO City of Literature (Seattle is the only other U.S. location to achieve this honor). thinkiowacity.com
Ten miles east is the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, which doubles as a study of the Great Depression. The 31st president, who served from 1929-'33, is buried on the property and his cottage birthplace still stands there too. hoover.archives.gov
Maryland Terrapins (College Park): Look for the statue of “Muppets” creator Jim Henson on campus; he was an alum. In storage at the National Archives at College Park are the Nixon Watergate tapes and Kennedy assassination records. A quick Metrorail ride gets you to the Smithsonian museums, iconic monuments and federal bustle of Washington. visitprincegeorgescounty. com, washington.org
Michigan Wolverines (Ann Arbor): Foodies gravitate to the Zingerman’s empire of edgy restaurants and specialty products (coffee, candy bars, brisket, bagels and beyond). Fit in a baking class, learn to make cheese and find the original Zingerman’s Deli, stocked with the best small-batch products from around the world. visitannarbor.org
Minnesota Gophers (Minneapolis): Feed the need for balance between sports and the arts with a Guthrie Theater tour or show. Add time at Mill City Museum, formerly the world’s largest flour mill, one block from the theater. And don’t ignore the light rail, whose routes extend to St. Paul and Mall of America. minneapolis.org
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Lincoln): On campus is the world’s largest collection of quilts, at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. The 950 quilts represent two dozen countries. En route to Lincoln, stop at Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, on 260 acres of woods. This National Historic Landmark is hyper-serious about environmental sustainability, especially the preservation of heirloom orchards. lincoln.org
Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus): Use the free CBUS to get around downtown, German Village and Brewery District to Italian Village and Short North Arts District. Explore Columbus Zoo, routinely ranked among the nation’s best. “Jungle Jack” Hanna, zoo director emeritus, subsequently helped develop The Wilds, 90 miles east. The former strip mine is home to 500 wild animals on 14 square miles. Overnights are possible. experiencecolumbus.com
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (New Brunswick, N.J.): Use an online walking-tour map to find pre-Revolutionary War and other historic buildings downtown. Sports history is significant here too: The nation’s first college football game happened between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869. newbrunswick.com