Green County Attractions

Green County visitors enjoy the authenticity of real experiences - from small town life, Old World charm, scenic backroads, museums, festivals, peaceful trails and rolling landscape-all wrapped in Green County's special brand of hospitality!

Settled in the 1830's, and populated since the 1840's by a steady stream of Swiss immigrants, Green County is America's "Little Switzerland" and the nation's "Swiss Cheese Capitol". In New Glarus visitors will find a complete historical village, featuring live demonstrations of pioneer life and colorful festivals that showcase the area's Swiss heritage, clothing, customs, music, art and cuisine. Outdoor enthusiasts can choose from a variety of activities such as canoeing, boating and fishing along the Sugar River. Bicyclists, hikers, snowmobilers, horseback riders, ATV's, cross-country skiers will find one or more of the three trails to travel and explore including the 23 mile Sugar River State Trail, the Cheese Country Trail and the 21 mile Exeter Segment of the Ice Age Trail.

When visiting Green County be sure to stay and sample the refreshing variety of dining and lodging available including the many charming bed and breakfast inns, and many new/old world family-friendly dining and lodging establishments. Visit Green County -- it is sure to be a memorable experience!

Museums and Historical Sites

Swiss Historical Village Museum www.swisshistoricalvillage.com 
Seventh Avenue, New Glarus
608-527-2317 or 800-527-6838 
Step back in time when you visit the 14 buildings in this village museum which reveal many facets of daily life in the 19h Century pioneering Midwest. The Hall of History displays pre-settlement Native American history, the story of Swiss immigration, settlement, and pioneering life in New Glarus. The 13 other buildings and grounds include an authentic settler's log home, a traditional Swiss bee house, a log community building, a replica cheese factory, a blacksmith's shop, smoke hour, sausage shop, farm implement building, fire house, general store, print shop, Swiss cemetery, log church and an original school house used today to give local students a one-day one-room schoolhouse class experience. Open daily from 10am - 4pm May and October.

Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum
618 Second Street, New Glarus
608-527-6838
Visitors to the Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum marvel at its unique collection of one-of-a-kind antiques and treasures - three full floors of painted furniture, antique silver, paintings, Swiss scissor cuttings, glassware, china, coins, stamps, Swiss dolls and woodcarvings, a watch once owned by King Louis XVI, 2000 year-old Etruscan earrings and more. The chalet itself is an authentic copy of a Swiss Bernese mountain chalet and the interior feature intricately detailed woodworking that pay tribute to old world Swiss craftsmanship. The Chalet of the Golden Fleece is open by appointment for bus and group tours, April through October.

Turner Hall www.turnerhallofmonroe.org
1217 17th Avenue, Monroe
608-325-3461
Visit Turner Hall for lunch, socializing or a Sunday dance, a tradition for more than a century. Displays inside highlight the building's rich history and importance as the Swiss social center of Monroe.

Green County Historical Museum
1617 9th Avenue, Monroe
608-328-9440
The Green County Museum is housed in a former Universalist Church, which was built in 1861 and used to store wheat and wool for the Union Army during the Civil War. Artifacts on display, dating back to the 1860's, include tools and utensils used by early settlers, and military equipment and memorabilia of Green County soldiers. Also on the grounds are buildings housing antique cheesemaking equipment, a fully furnished 19th century schoolhouse, and the Bethel Country School, constructed in 1868. The museum is open May through October weekends 1pm - 4pm. Groups by appointment.

National Historic Cheesemaking Center, Green County Welcome Center & Milk House Gift Shop www.nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org
2108 6th Avenue, Monroe
608-325-4636
Housed in a relocated and meticulously restored 1880's Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Depot, the Historic Cheesemaking Center showcases the rich history of the cheese industry. Displays of cheesemakers' tools and tales, a replica of the interior of a late 19th century cheese factory and other artifacts of the area's cheese-making history are sure to fascinate and entertain. During your visit, step inside the century old Imobersteg Cheese Factory which sat undiscovered for almost a century.  The wooden one-room factory was moved to and restored on the National Historic Cheesemaking Center's campus. Visit us on the second Saturday of June each year as Master Cheesemakers joined by retired cheesemakers make a 90 pound wheel of Swiss Cheese right before your eyes as it was done over a century ago.

Open Daily: April 1 - October 31, 9am - 4 pm. Tours of ten or more may also be scheduled during our winter season by calling the Center and leaving a message.

Green County Courthouse and Historic Downtown Square
1016 16th Avenue, Monroe
608-328-9430
This Romanesque-style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, anchors Monroe's Courthouse Square which has served as the hub of trade and commerce since the courthouse was constructed in 1891. The Courthouse Square and nearby residential areas feature numerous reflections of Monroe's early 1830's beginnings in the splendor and exquisite craftsmanship of its homes, churches and commercial buildings, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Monroe Walking Tour
Monroe
608-325-7648
The Historic Monroe Walking Tour features the Courthouse Square and nearby residential areas. Visitors will find many exquisitely crafted and maintained 19th century homes, churches and commercial buildings, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, all within a short strolling distance of the Courthouse. Tour guidebooks are available at the Monroe Area Chamber of Commerce, 1505 9th Street. 

Parks and Nature Centers

New Glarus Woods State Park
County Highway N, New Glarus
608-527-2335
For excellent camping and hiking, take a hike through the wooded valleys of the New Glarus Woods State Park and then enjoy camping for the day or night. 

Browntown Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area
Browntown
608-966-3777

Sugar River State Trail
New Glarus - Brodhead
800-527-6838
Meandering 23 scenic miles along the old Milwaukee Road rail bed from Brodhead to New Glarus, and following and crossing the Little Sugar and Sugar Rivers, this multi-use recreational trail hosts hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and snowmobilers. Six easy miles from the historic New Glarus Deport, where it begins, the trail skirts the northern edge of Monticello. There the restored railroad station provides restrooms, shelter and a youth hostel. Several miles further, past old prairies and over bridges, lies the "Pearl of the Sugar River", the town of Albany, a major producer of pearl buttons more than a century ago. Ten miles further, past Decatur Lake and through the restored, early 19th century Clarence Covered Bridge, the trail ends in the City of Brodhead.

Cheese Country Trail www.tricountytrails.com
Monroe - Mineral Point
608-776-5706
Winding its way from the railway depot on Highway 69 in Monroe, through Browntown, and then to Mineral Point, the Cheese Country Trail is designated as a multi-use trail for horseback riders, bicyclists, hikers, ATV's and snowmobiles. The trail is heavily used by ATV traffic on weekends during the warm weather season.

Sugar River Recreation
1-888-222-9111
Enjoy a trip via tube, canoe or kayak down the Sugar River. Outfitters in the area can provide everything you need for the trip, including large tubes to convey your cooler. Stop for a picnic on a sand bar, and keep an eye out for the eagles that nest near Albany.

Special Things to Do

Green County Cheese Days www.cheesedays.com
Monroe
800-307-7208
Experience Old World tradition at an out-of-this world celebration!

With a history dating back to 1914, Green County Cheese Days is the oldest and largest food fest in the Midwest. The festival honors Swiss heritage and the cheesemaking and dairy farming traditions of the area. Monroe's Historic Courthouse Square serves as a scenic backdrop to the festival grounds, and the celebration attracts crowds of revelers ready to yodel, polka, and consume cheese by the truckload.

Visitors enjoy cheese tasting and cooking demonstrations, dairy farm and cheese factory tours, live music, and plenty of authentic Swiss entertainment and cuisine. Unique highlights include sampling Wisconsin's biggest cheese fondue created by a local chef and a master cheesemaker, a cow milking contest, and The Swiss Colony Cheese Days Parade.

Heidi Festival
New Glarus
800-527-6838
In mid-June, the villagers of New Glarus, "Wisconsin's Little Switzerland", host a three day Heidi Festival, celebrating their rich Swiss heritage with a craft and art fair, folk dancing, polka music, yodeling, flag-throwing, and performances of Johanna Spyri's classic. This festival has been entertaining for the last 36 years! Call ahead for information.

Monroe/World Honda Grand Prix Balloon Rally www.monroechamber.org
Monroe
608-325-7648
Colorful balloons take to the skies on Father's Day weekend, including ballooning competitions and exhibitions. The weekend also features an arts and crafts fair, entertainment, and a variety of food concessions. Events take place at the Green County Fairgrounds and downtown on Monroe's historic courthouse square.

Wilhelm Tell Festival www.WilhelmTell.org
New Glarus 
800-527-6838
A Labor Day weekend tradition since 1938, more than 200 local volunteers join to bring Friedrich Schiller's dramatic story of Swiss independence to life. Staged in a beautiful outdoor setting with intricate costumes and a lively cast that includes goats, cows and horses, this production of Wilhelm Tell is performed in English on Saturday and Monday and in German on Sunday. In either language, Wilhelm Tell is sure to be a hit with the entire family. In addition to the play, the Wilhelm Tell Festival weekend features an Alpine Folk Festival with performers in ethnic costumes who entertain with singing, yodeling, alphorn blowing, dancing and Swiss instrumental music, a street dance, Yodel Club Concert and Swiss Fashion Show. Call for more festival information.