Seven Bridges in the Fall

Does it get any better than this?

I absolutely love fall! The flavors of apples, pumpkins, and the occasional hot chocolate….the fluffy sweatshirts…bonfires…and, best of all: the gorgeous fall colors!

A few days ago, I took a little excursion that I really need to do more often – visiting Seven Bridges Trail in Milwaukee. Seven Bridges is actually part of Grant Park, but good ‘ole Google can help you get there using the name Seven Bridges.

There are a few options for where your trails can lead you, but I always start here:

The entrance to the trail

There’s a little parking lot along the road in front of this area. However, since there’s not a lot of parking, I would imagine it probably fills up pretty often. If you continue down the road, there is a much bigger parking lot, and access to the trail there as well.

No matter where you start the trail from, you will end up going over many bridges. The trail is fun for kids as well. The area is beautiful in any season, but I love it in the fall. You can even find yourself walking along the shore of Lake Michigan if you so choose! Be careful if there has been a lot of rain, though, as the trail does get muddy.

Here’s the map from the Milwaukee Parks page (https://county.milwaukee.gov/files/county/parks-department/Park-Maps/7bridgesmap.pdf):

Enjoy the trail and hopefully you see views like this when you go!

The bridge that overlooks Lake Michigan – my personal fave!

Lisa Werner1 Comment

A Favorite Fall Stop

Even the drive in is beautiful (and, no, I was not driving when I took this picture)

One of my favorite annual spots for the beautiful fall colors in Southeastern Wisconsin is Holy Hill. For some reason, it just doesn’t feel like fall without this stop. The drive from where I live is always part of the fun for me. It’s like a great symphony building up to the big, brassy, grand finale!

Once you actually get to Holy Hill, you have the option of parking right at the basilica, or down below. If you are only going to take in views from the basilica, definitely park up the hill. If not, your choice is up to you, because you will end up hiking up that hill one way or another!

I like to walk up to the basilica and take in the view first. Usually, I will climb the observation tower (it’s a beautiful view, but SUPER windy up there), but the tower is closed this year. Don’t worry, though- the view is still worth it – after all, you are on a giant hill. In fact, when you look to the East, be sure to check out the view of downtown Milwaukee!

After the amazing views above, I like to climb down and visit the Stations of the Cross. You end up slowly going down the hill, and the fall colors of the wooded area combined with the beautiful statues make for a very peaceful time.

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Fall Color Adventure – Bruce, WI

Last weekend, we had a nice adventure in Northern WI. We went up to Christie Mountain, as they were having their “Leaf It To Rusk” fall festival. At Christie Mountain, you can ride the ski lift up and/or down to view the fall colors in the Blue Hills of WI. Even though the colors were a week behind the anticipated peak for that weekend, it was still a beautiful trip. In fact, I think this was the prettiest fall drive I have ever made!

When you get to the ski hill, you must pay cash for a ticket and decide whether you are purchasing for both directions, or just one ($5 per person, each way). We were unsure, so I asked how long the walk down was, and the lady told me it actually takes less time to walk down than to ride down. We chose to ride the lift up (who wants to walk uphill?!?) and then walk down.

The ski lift actually comes to a stop for each passenger to get on, and these chairs seat 2 (maybe 3, if it is an adult and 2 kids). There were plenty of pretty colors to see, but if you ever do this, don’t forget to check out the view behind you. You will be able to see that view when you reach the summit, but it’s just so much fun to see it while dangling in the air!

Once you get to the top, there were photo op stations set up with hay bales and pumpkins, and you can walk around pretty much anywhere on the ski hill. Be sure to check out the views from each of the ski runs, as they all were a little different. There was also food available for purchase from a barbecue place. It smelled delicious, but we did not try it.

So many beautiful colors!

I have to say, we’ve now done both the Rib Mountain fall ski lift ride and this one, but I think this one was my favorite. They are both amazing, and we were lucky enough to do Rib Mountain right at peak, but the drive to Christie Mountain really made it for me. I felt like we truly experienced the fall colors from EVERY angle – below, above, next to… I just love those beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows (and, when you’re before peak, the greens are a nice contrast as well).

Not bad for a week before peak!

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