From O'Hare, this is only about a 3 hour drive. It is all highway and unless you venture off, there is not a lot to do or see other than your fast food type places.

I suppose you could blow a half a day or more in Madison...how much time do you have?

I'd love to give Madison suggestions! Are you traveling by yourself, with friends, family, etc? Ages? Food preferences? State Street in Madison has a ton of restaurants in a 5 block area, and also has a bunch of shopping, things to look at, etc.

Let me know - Madison is a great city

Hi, I'll actually be leaving from Spring Grove IL- south of Lake Geneva and will be traveling with my husband and 3 yr old son.

We are mainly just heading out to the Devil's Lake State Park to do some hiking/photography then spend the night in Sauk Prairie Wiscons, then more hiking, then back home so we can meandering each direction really.

Just looking to have interesting places to poke around at while on the way there or back.

I've been to madison once to do the farmer's market and we ate at some sorta famous burger joint/college pub.

Would be open to any ideas.

Head west young people!
There is one geographical area that is quite charming and well worth a trip through. West more or less of the Dells to the Mississippi River is the Coulee or driftless Region. The Coulee Region might be the most attractive region in the whole state any time of year. The ice age glaciers did not grind this region flat and it is more rugged. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulee_Region

redshoe,

Great free zoo in Madison and the Children's Museum is right on State Street. Lake Wingra canoeing and kayaking is always fun for our kids.

Kevin

Just wanted to give a reply on what we did. We stayed at the Cedarberry Inn in Sauk Wi. Cleanest hotel I've ever seen. Everything was spotless. It's a basic hotel with an indoor heated pool/hot tub and sauna. It's small (44 rooms?) but a nice inexpensive place to lay your head.

We then spent the day exploring Devils Lake State park which is beautiful.

Made our way to Wisconsin Dells (1st timers) and didn't really explore it because it was just an overnight trip but I can see why families would love it for the kids.

We ate at the new Buffalo Phils & the next day tried to Moose Jaw. I wasn't impressed with either one really with the exception of the corn bread at Phils. It was similar to a Chili's.

I'm sure there are much neater places to eat but the lack of time prevented me from really exploring our options.

I did want to mention that the Blue Spoon Cafe in Prairie Sauk was fantastic. We had breakfast there and they served pancakes with gelato and fresh strawberries that were out of this world. Great little coffe shop. They have a website and I belive they are owned by the same people who run Culvers.

For a quick overnight trip it was just the break we needed. I especially loved the scenery as we drove up there and back.

Yes, Blue Spoon is great. We live in Madison and took the convertible up a couple times last summer. It is owned by Culvers. Culvers started there in Sauk City. The restaurant is a prototype for a new franchise they might do. Did you see any eagles along the river?? Our comments about Moose Jaw are the same.

My children always loved the Henry Vilas zoo in Madison, especially the children's zoo. Plus it would be about half way to Devil's Lake and a nice place to stretch your legs. http://www.vilaszoo.org/

You should also try to stop at Ella's Deli on East Washington in Madison--Even if you just stop for an ice cream cone and not a whole meal. It's only about 10-15 minutes from Interstate 90. Huge menu, nice children's menu and a fun place to eat as the restaurant is decorated with all kinds of musical and mechanical "things". They even let adults ride the carousel! http://www.ellas-deli.com/ Our family loves to share Ella's famous Grilled Pound Cake Hot Fudge Sundae.

My children also loved the Children's museum on State Street but it would be easy to spend a few hours there and I'm not sure you want to spend that much time in Madison since you are heading for Devil's Lake.

I just looked at the page for Ella's Deli and that looks like a place my dad will enjoy. lol And Blue Spoon looks like a place I'd like. We'll have to hit those on our next trip up. Hoping for June! fingers crossed ...

You will all love Ella's Deli. We have been going to it since 1975 or so....back when we were in college and the Deli was then located on State Street.

I have tried many things there over the years. My husband's favorite is a Pastrami with Swiss served in a Boolkie- kind of a large hard roll. He always asks for it served hot. I love the Salad Platters.. my favorite has a small scoop of chicken salad served on the side. My kids always liked the grilled cheese sandwiches or chicken tenders, both severed with applesauce. As they have grown they moved on to the chicken matzo ball soup, cheese blintzes and stuffed potatoes. Everything is good.

It is also fun to try some of the fountain drinks- a vanilla diet coke is one of our favorites and of course the dessert menu is huge. We usually share a dessert between the four of us as the meals are filling.

Oh, and when you go, be sure to ask for a "fun table". Some of the glass top tables have little trains under the glass, that you can control. Several tables have metal fragments under their glass tops and you can create faces and such by moving the fragments with magnets. There is an old fashion kids toy like that but I can't remember the name. Some tables have odd collections of stuff under the glass- like dozens of old Pez containers. Let's just say that Ella's has a lot of things going on, cool things moving above you, around you and even on the tables! You will enjoy yourself.

My dad is a model railroader so we'll *definitely* have to get one of those train tables. Thanks for the tip!

Maybe you need to stop back in Madison during December for your dad. Olbrich Gardens has a colorful model railroad show set up for Christmas each year. http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/olbrich/

I went several years ago and it was nice, not huge but maybe 7 or 8 people had sent up smaller scenes with their trains. The year I was there the scenes focused on how different places around the US looked at Christmas; one train ran through a desert town, one through the farming town in the midwest etc. It was kind of nice. And, Olbrich is not that far from Ella's Deli, so you can try out another table!

My dad did get to visit Olbrich a couple years ago when we were there in December. He did enjoy it. On a different trip we were also hooked up with a man in Cambridge who has *nice* garden railway in his backyard.

hey, just to continue this thread- we are going to Madison today to the farmer's market, then the zoo and will cap off the day with a trip to Ella's. I will report back on how it all went. I'm so excited.