We were in Madison in August 2022 as part of Big Trip #4
When planning Big Trip #4, we only gave ourselves one night in Madison, and pretty quickly regretted that decision. And then–good news!–we wanted to leave Michigan City a day early, so we ended up with two nights in Madison. It’s a fun college town with top-notch food and drink and a great outdoorsy vibe, and we had a blast there.
Campgrounds
Dane County Parks operates four campgrounds in the greater Madison area, and we chose the closest to downtown, Lake Farm County Park, for our *planned* one-night stay in Madison. Then we bailed on Michigan City a day early and needed to tack another night onto Madison. Lake Farm couldn’t take us, so we booked a spot at Babcock County Park, just a few minutes farther from town. Campsites at both of these campgrounds are power-only.
Lake Farm County Park
We loved this campground and would definitely stay there again on our way through the Midwest. Our site was on the edge of the campground, backing up to pretty fields–although it was next to the for-rent shelter, which might be a noisy neighbor if there’s a party running into the night.
Two multi-use paths cross through the park: the Capital City State Trail and the Lower Yahara River Trail, popular with runners, cyclists, and bike commuters. Bring your bikes and ride from Lake Farm into downtown on dedicated bike paths!
We met some interesting neighbors on our morning walk through the campground: sandhill cranes! They are big, like redheaded mini-emus, with a bizarre squawking honky call. Bugsy wanted nothing to do with them!
Babcock County Park
This campground was less appealing, but fine for a night. It’s smaller than Lake Farm, with nice trees and access to Lake Waubesa. My favorite thing about Babcock is that it was named for the guy who discovered the technique for calculating the percentage of butterfat in milk. So very Wisconsin!
Exploring
Madison is a big city, with a lot going on: it’s the capital of Wisconsin and a university town. Spread around five lakes, there are lots of water-based activities, and it’s a very bicycle-friendly town, with a reputation for having more bikes than cars. It seemed like there were paths and parks everywhere!
To make the most of our two days there, we focused on exploring two areas: downtown and the university area.
Our first walking tour was of the downtown area, including the capitol and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed convention center.
On day 2 we did a walking tour of UW. It’s a nice campus with some pretty buildings, and a welcoming waterfront with a sweet student plaza and soft-surface paths along the lake. Lucky UW kids!
Eating
We’re a month into our trip (I’m writing from Idaho) and one of our favorite meals of Big Trip #4 is still at Mint Mark in Madison. The beertender at Young Blood gave us the recommendation and it was fab. Seasonal Wisconsin food, gins galore, fantastic cocktails, and a biscuit to die for. We were thrilled.
Our other Madison dinner was carryout bowls and salad from Green Owl–delicious healthy vegetarian bowls and salads. Yes, please.
Drinking
Beer
Take it away, J:
Based on our pre-trip internet research, Young Blood Beer Co. was our first stop in Madison. It’s a near perfect brewery, for us at least: six hazy IPAs and five sours (and one grapefruit Radler) on the tap list, delicious street food (highlighted by the deviled eggs with trout roe and other goodies), a cool scene and helpful beer enthusiasts for employees. The tasting room, in an old strip mall in downtown Madison, looks down through pretty vines and other plants to the basement brewing operation. It’s a bit on the small side, but really artistic and cool. And, the beer was top notch; if you only go to one brewery in Madison, make it Young Blood. Oh yeah, and we subsequently learned that it is named in part after the 1986 hockey movie of the same name starring the great Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe.
Our second brewery stop, again based on our pre-trip research, was Working Draft Beer Company, northeast of downtown. While they seem to emphasize German-style beers, they had two hazy IPAs of their own plus a guest sour (from G5 Brewing Company in Beloit, WI) on tap when we visited. We really enjoyed the beers and sitting outside on their spacious patio, but were turned off by the “no dogs allowed” sign. When J asked the bartender why, she replied, “a lot of reasons, but mostly liability.” There’s a lot to recommend about Working Draft, but can you really feel great about a place owned by someone who hates dogs?
On our second afternoon, after changing campgrounds, we braved the rain and drove to Delta Beer Lab, both because it was just a six minute drive and because the tap list looked decent enough. It was a bit of a confounding experience as we had to wait a full ten minutes to finally get a pour from the incredibly inefficient lone bartender. L liked her blueberry acai gose, served in a 10 ounce beaker. J did not like his NE IPA and wouldn’t recommend the place.
Finally, on our last night, we visited Starkweather Brewing Company, Madison’s newest brewery, based on the suggestion of one of the folks at Working Draft. On an early Sunday evening, we were the only folks in the place and enjoyed chatting with the amiable co-owner before bringing our beers out to the patio. They have a diverse beer list and we enjoyed the beers enough to buy a crowler of their hazy IPA (only 5.7%) and lemon kettle sour. We also tried and enjoyed their pina colada hazy IPA.
On our next visit, if we are willing to drive 20 minutes north of town to Waunakee, we will check out Octopi Brewing and Untitled Art, which are next to one another and were highly touted by the Youngblood beertender who we owe for leading us to Mint Mark.
Cocktails
Other than the cocktails we enjoyed at Mint Mart, which were top-notch, we had drinks at Botanist Social as we walked around town. The drinks were too sweet for us, but it was kind of a cool spot, and is probably happening late night (which is not our scene).
We tried to have a nightcap at the Biergarten at Olbrich Park, but they were inexplicably closed. It’s a cool spot to watch the sunset over Lake Monona, and we enjoyed the show even without a bar-sponsored beverage.
To do
The bartender at Mint Mart recommended the following, and we totally trust his recommendations:
- Morris Ramen
- Robin Room for cocktails (sister of Mint Mart)
- Fairchild Restaurant
We already mentioned Octopi Brewing and Untitled Art.
What are we missing? We’re looking forward to including Madison on our list of midwestern cross-country stops!
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