糖心传媒

Whether you鈥檙e heading to the Badger State for fun and sun during the summer festival season or looking forward to winter hiking and cross-country skiing, Wisconsin has you covered.

Warm-weather fans will find plenty of outdoor music and culture festivals to keep them busy, while colder months are a great time to explore nature, museums and the state鈥檚 food scene. Regardless of when you visit, Wisconsin promises to show you a good time.

While it wasn鈥檛 easy to pare down all this state has to offer, here are our picks for the best things to do in Wisconsin.

1. Catch an outdoor concert

Come summer, Wisconsin hums with the sound of live music.

The state鈥檚 most famous music event is , a 10-day outdoor concert series in Milwaukee that features dozens of performances each day. Lesser-known local groups and bands that were big in previous decades perform on small stages around the Summerfest grounds, while huge international acts fill up the on-site American Family Insurance Amphitheater. From rock and hip-hop to country and bluegrass, the vast lineup has something for every music lover. Outside of Summerfest dates, outdoor concerts take place at American Family Insurance Amphitheater all summer and fall. Check out the upcoming lineup and plan your trip around a favorite band.

About 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee, the city of Elkhorn hosts another outdoor music favorite, . The outdoor venue can accommodate up to 37,000 people in its reserved seats and on its first-come-first-serve lawn area. Country music lovers should look out for the , where 25,000 campers head to the northern part of the state for camping and country music, while bluegrass lovers should check out in Eau Claire. In central Wisconsin, is set on 360 acres of land and is the largest rock and camping festival in the country. Large and midsize cities across the state also hold free weekly outdoor concerts at city parks and botanical gardens during the summer.

2. Hit up one of the state鈥檚 festivals

Some of the best-known festivals in Wisconsin also take place on the Summerfest grounds, in the heart of Milwaukee. On non-Summerfest weekends in summer and fall, you鈥檒l find food truck festivals and events celebrating the city鈥檚 culture and ethnic diversity, including festivities for the city鈥檚 Mexican, African, Irish, German and LGBTQ+ communities. The Wisconsin , also held in Milwaukee, is a massive festival that takes place every August and features food, music, rides and entertainment for couples, groups and families. In Madison, head to , which has been going strong for 40 years 鈥� and where attendees consume 200,000 brats in a single weekend every year.

3. Go for a hike

Whether you鈥檙e looking for an easy family-friendly jaunt in a city park or an epic multi-day backpacking trip, you鈥檒l find fantastic hiking all over Wisconsin. Hiking is a year-round activity here, and each season has its own unique appeal. Spring hikers are treated to wildflowers, while summer wanderers can enjoy nature in full bloom; autumn excursions promise fabulous fall foliage everywhere in the state. Snow-covered pine plantations are especially picturesque in winter, when trails also tend to be less crowded. (Just be sure to bundle up.)

4. Indulge in the state鈥檚 official desserts

Depending whom you ask, Wisconsin鈥檚 official state dessert is one of two things: cream puffs or kringle. While you can technically find the former in bakeries and supermarkets year-round, the real deal can only be sampled at the Wisconsin State Fair in August. Kringle, on the other hand, can be found every day of the year, mostly at supermarkets and bakeries. Racine, Wisconsin is the kringle capital of the country; even if you can鈥檛 squeeze in a day or two to explore the city (which we highly recommend), you鈥檒l still find authentic, Racine-baked kringle all over southeastern Wisconsin.

5. Enjoy a day at the beach

Thanks to over 800 miles of Great Lakes coastline and 200 miles of Mississippi River shoreline 鈥� not to mention the state鈥檚 15,000 lakes 鈥� Wisconsin has a huge number of wonderful beaches. From the urban beaches in Milwaukee to tiny beaches in front of cozy cabins in the Northwoods, you鈥檙e sure to find a stretch of sand to relax on no matter where you find yourself in the state.

6. Take a brewery tour 鈥� and sample freely

If there were a contest for the official Wisconsin state drink, there would be a tie between a glass of milk and a pint of beer. Milwaukee is nationally famous as the 鈥淏rew City鈥� (its baseball team is the Milwaukee Brewers, after all), so you鈥檒l find a huge number of breweries offering tours here, including , Lakefront Brewery and Miller Brewing.

In college town and state capital Madison, the huge number of breweries includes (one of the oldest), and the female-, LGBTQ-owned . There鈥檚 even a dedicated gluten-free brewery and tap room, . While you鈥檒l find the most breweries in Madison and Milwaukee, the state鈥檚 two largest cities, rest assured that you鈥檒l find great beer (and breweries) all over the state, including the in southern part of the state and  in Black River Falls.

7. Eat some cheese

Since Wisconsin鈥檚 unofficial nickname is the Dairy State, and since its residents lovingly call themselves 鈥渃heeseheads,鈥� you鈥檇 do well to sample some of the state鈥檚 most famous culinary product. While you鈥檒l find especially large selections at places like the in Kenosha, you鈥檒l find great cheese anywhere and everywhere in the state. Specialty stores, cheese emporiums, small roadside stands and supermarkets all sell great cheese; you鈥檒l even find cheese curds in bulk at some gas stations. True cheese connoisseurs should head to Milwaukee for the fine selection at the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe and Wisconsin Cheese Mart, and to Madison, where Fromagination is your go-to spot.

8. Cycle on one of the state鈥檚 rail trails

Former railroad rights-of-way that have been converted into car-free bicycle and pedestrian paths, rail trails date to the 1960s 鈥� and Wisconsin was one of the first states to embrace the idea in the 34-mile . The state now has more than 2000 miles of trails, ranging from Milwaukee鈥檚 urban , which runs along an old freight route and connects city parks and popular breweries, to the 52-mile near the Michigan border in northern Wisconsin. Ambitious riders could tackle the Vilas County ride in a single day. But since you鈥檒l also find plenty of picnic spots, swimming holes, campgrounds and motels along the route, we recommend taking your time over multiple days.

9. Spend some time in the Northwoods

While Milwaukee and Madison in Wisconsin鈥檚 southeast have plenty to offer, to get a true sense of what it鈥檚 like to live in Wisconsin one has to visit the remote Northwoods. Going 鈥渦p north鈥� to a cabin or campsite is a core part of Wisconsin鈥檚 culture; visiting the Northwoods means being surrounded by pine trees, smelling campfires at night and looking out onto small lakes and meandering rivers. It鈥檚 possible you鈥檒l see a bear, it鈥檚 probable you鈥檒l see someone fishing, and it鈥檚 guaranteed that you鈥檒l see loads of deer. Life is a bit slower and quieter up here. And that鈥檚 exactly the appeal.

10. Take a Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Racine

By most accounts, the southeastern city of Racine is an unremarkable industrial town, but it does have some key Frank Lloyd Wright sites that architecture fans won鈥檛 want to miss. What鈥檚 more, it鈥檚 a prime place to sample a kringle. Wright devotees will want to start their exploration at the SC Johnson Administration Building & Research Tower, where the architect designed several striking buildings. Free 90-minute tours take place in the 1939 Admin Building, a magnificent space with tall, flared columns in its vast Great Workroom and 43 miles worth of Pyrex glass-tube windows letting in soft, natural light. You鈥檒l also see the 1950 Research Tower 鈥� where Raid, Off and other famous products were developed 鈥� which features 15 floors of curved brick bands and more Pyrex windows.

About 5 miles north of downtown, Wingspread is the house Frank Lloyd Wright designed for HF Johnson Jr, one of the company鈥檚 leaders. Completed in 1939, it鈥檚 the last and largest of Wright鈥檚 Prairie-style abodes, with 500 windows and a 30ft-tall chimney. Free tours of the house take an hour and must be booked in advance.

Detour: Visit the town of Spring Green where you'll find Frank Lloyd Wright鈥檚 ballyhooed home and architectural school, . There are other art offerings in the town too, like the respected , which stages classics outdoors amid the trees (bring a picnic). And the  showcases enough whimsy to last a lifetime.