By Air

The major U.S. airlines have some direct domestic flights into Wisconsin, but you often have to stop first in Chicago, Minneapolis, or another major hub. Ticket prices vary wildly depending on when you travel and, more important, when you buy the ticket. The best way to find out about deals is through a travel agent or, yes, mucking about on the Internet.

Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport (www.mitchellairport.com) is the only international airport in the state and the airport offering the most direct flights across the country (Madison has a few as well).

Madison, Green Bay, Stevens Point/Wausau, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Marinette, Rhinelander, Appleton, and a few other minor locations are served by interstate and intrastate flights, often branches of the major carriers. During Memorial Day–Labor Day in Eagle River and Minocqua/Woodruff (occasionally to Sturgeon Bay but not at present), Trans-North Aviation operates a once-daily shuttle to and from Chicago’s Palwaukee Airport.

By Bus

Greyhound (800/231-2222, www.greyhound.com) operates in major Wisconsin cities, but only along major interstate routes.

Van Galder (800/747-0994, www.vangalderbus.com) operates between Chicago (O’Hare airport and downtown) and Madison, making stops at Wisconsin communities along the way. You can also hop aboard Wisconsin Coach Lines’ Airport Express, which goes from Milwaukee to Chicago via Racine and Kenosha.

One shuttle van does operate between the Twin Cities Airport and Hayward in Northwestern Wisconsin.

By Train

Amtrak (800/872-7245) operates trains through Wisconsin. The long-distance Empire Builder originates in Chicago and runs through Milwaukee, Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Sturtevant, Tomah, and La Crosse on its way to Seattle/Portland.

Metra (312/322-6777, www.metrarail.com) offers train service between Kenosha and Chicago’s Madison Street Station.

Many Midwestern states are beginning discussions about creating a Midwest rail network, with Chicago as the hub and Milwaukee/Madison as one of many branches. Express light rail between Madison and Milwaukee will probably be debated until the end of time.

By Water

The SS Badger (www.ssbadger.com), the only active passenger/car steamship left on the Great Lakes, runs daily in season between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan. A new ferry to Michigan from Algoma, WI, could be up and running in the life of this edition.

Milwaukee has the high-speed Lake Express ferry (866/914-1010, www.lake-express.com) to Muskegon, Michigan, a blessing for those not wanting to suffer the white-knuckle tour of outer Chicago’s interstate arteries.

On a much smaller scale, one of the few remaining interstate ferries left in America, the Cassville Car Ferry, operates seasonally in southwestern Wisconsin. It shuttles passengers across the Mississippi River between Wisconsin and Iowa.

© Thomas Huhti from Moon Wisconsin, 5th Edition