3 of Wisconsin’s most scenic drives earn national recognition, a boost for tourism
Three Wisconsin roads have received new National Scenic Byway designations from the Federal Highway Administration, cementing them as some of the state’s best places for scenic drives.
The Wisconsin Lake Superior Scenic Byway and Door County Coastal Byway have both been declared National Scenic Byways, while Wisconsin’s Great River Road — already a National Scenic Byway — has been declared an All-American Road.
Wisconsin’s 250-mile segment of Great River Road follows Highway 35 from Prescott to Kieler along the Mississippi River through the western part of the state. The road follows the river for its entire 3,000mile course from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2012, readers of Huffington Post voted it as America’s “prettiest drive.”
“More attention means more visitors to the 10 great states that line the Mighty Mississippi,” Anne Lewis, Mississippi River Parkway Commission pilot and board chair, said in a press release. “More travelers equal more money spent in stores, restaurants, hotels and attractions. That economic boost is absolutely vital to the communities of the Great River Road. We look forward to more road trips than ever in 2021.”
To be designated an All-American Road, a route must “be considered a destination unto itself” and “provide an exceptional traveling experience that is so recognized by travelers that they would make a drive along the highway a primary reason for their trip,” according to the National Scenic Byways Program.
In addition, the road must have two of six “intrinsic qualities” — scenic, natural, historic, cultural,
archaeological and recreational — with unique features that “best represent the nation.”
National scenic byways must have one of those qualities and be regionally significant.
Wisconsin’s 70-mile Lake Superior
Scenic Byway follows Highway 13 through the Bayfield peninsula from Barksdale to Cloverland, offering views of the greatest of the Great Lakes.
The 66-mile Door County Coastal Byway loops around the Door County peninsula along Highway 57 from Sturgeon Bay to Northport and back down Highway 42 to its starting point.
The three routes are Wisconsin’s only designated national scenic byways, but the Badger State is home to two other state scenic byways: the Lower Wisconsin River Road, which follows Highway 60 from Lodi to Prairie du Chien; and the Nicolet-Wolf River Scenic Byway, which follows Highways 55, 32, 70 and 52 in the northeast corner of the state.
Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis @journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @Travel MJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.