Get Out While You Still Can: Nature-tainment
Things to do before winter stops you
Caylan Larson
Rose hips await the cruel hand of old man winter at Olbrich Gardens.
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Winter in Wisconsin means speedwalking from one warm bubble to another, head down and swaddled up to your eyeballs in scarves. Nature? Nature is dead. Well, almost. Decider offers a few tips on where to catch its last gasp of glory before it disappears under a sheet of ice.
University Of Wisconsin Arboretum
Go for the leaves. Colored leaves, swirling around you as you walk and they fall to the ground. Enormous wild turkeys, oblivious to the added danger they face around Thanksgiving, forage in the fallen leaves and cross your path in herds.
Don't miss: The Curtis Prairie, where grasses rival trees for fall color.
Go for the leaves. Colored leaves, swirling around you as you walk and they fall to the ground. Enormous wild turkeys, oblivious to the added danger they face around Thanksgiving, forage in the fallen leaves and cross your path in herds.
Don't miss: The Curtis Prairie, where grasses rival trees for fall color.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens
Sure, the outdoor gardens are open all year, but if you actually want to see something other than the snow-covered skeletal remains of plant life, go now. Otherwise, the indoor Bolz Conservatory is a great mid-winter “remember what warm feels like” retreat.
Don't miss: The sunken garden with its colored foliage and flowers, and the always-beautiful Thai Pavilion.
Sure, the outdoor gardens are open all year, but if you actually want to see something other than the snow-covered skeletal remains of plant life, go now. Otherwise, the indoor Bolz Conservatory is a great mid-winter “remember what warm feels like” retreat.
Don't miss: The sunken garden with its colored foliage and flowers, and the always-beautiful Thai Pavilion.
Lakeshore Path and Picnic Point
The fall colors are particularly glorious along the shores of Lake Mendota this time of year. Plus, there’s water in its liquid form! Soak it all in before the frozen mass forms.
Don't miss: Picnic Point. As the leaves fall, the view across the lake toward campus become clearer, framed in blazing reds and golds.
The fall colors are particularly glorious along the shores of Lake Mendota this time of year. Plus, there’s water in its liquid form! Soak it all in before the frozen mass forms.
Don't miss: Picnic Point. As the leaves fall, the view across the lake toward campus become clearer, framed in blazing reds and golds.
Olin-Turville Park
Notorious for illicit sex and police stings, Olin-Turville offers one of the best views of the city any time of year from its perch on the southwest shore of Lake Monona. The space is actually two parks in one (Olin Park and Turville Point Conservation Park) and contains a variety of paths perfect for a stroll through the oak canopy and colorful prairie.
Don't miss: Walk the trails now before cross-country skiers mow you down. Just don't wander from the paths or you may find yourself gazing not at nature but at the interior of a police car.
Notorious for illicit sex and police stings, Olin-Turville offers one of the best views of the city any time of year from its perch on the southwest shore of Lake Monona. The space is actually two parks in one (Olin Park and Turville Point Conservation Park) and contains a variety of paths perfect for a stroll through the oak canopy and colorful prairie.
Don't miss: Walk the trails now before cross-country skiers mow you down. Just don't wander from the paths or you may find yourself gazing not at nature but at the interior of a police car.
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