"Through the land of the Swiss"

Northern terminus: Dane County, at U.S. Highway 18/151 in Verona

Southern terminus: At the Illinois State Line (continues as Illinois Highway 26), 7 miles south of Monroe

Mileage: about 41 miles

Counties along the way: Dane, Green

Sample towns along the way: Verona, Belleville, New Glarus, Monroe

Bypass alternates at: Verona

Quickie Summary: State “Trunk” Highway 69 winds through a beautiful section of southern Wisconsin, from just outside Verona through "Cheese Country" toward "Flatlander Country" (Illinois). Along the way, you get to visit the incredible charm of "America's Little Switzerland" (New Glarus) and the "Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA" (Monroe) and connect to some other great routes in this part of the state. There's only a little over 40 miles on the whole route, but there's plenty to stop and see.

The Drive (North to South): Highway 69 begins at the U.S. 18/U.S. 151 freeway on the southwest side of Verona(pop. 7,052), a fast-growing community that's taking in a lot of Madison commuters. Verona is named after the famous Italian city whose history includes being Julius Caesar's favorite vacation getaway spot and, of course, the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They don't have a "sister city" relationship, though; Verona, Italy is hooked up with Albany, New York and Fresno, California instead. Who knows, maybe that will change. Verona lies along the Military Ridge Trail, which runs right through its downtown before heading west. Verona takes its hockey seriously: the Eagles Nest Ice Arena holds the Verona Wildcats High School home hockey rink, but is an Olympic-sized rink. They have open skating Sundays after 4pm. Goin' my way? Highway 69 starts heading south from U.S. 18/151 around Verona. Breweries, cheese factories, rolling hills, bike trails and sprawling farms await.

Highway 69 heads south of Verona and immediately takes you through beautiful farmland nestled amidst the rolling hills that are characteristic of Dane and Green Counties. For the first several miles you crisscross the Sugar River through the little settlements of Paoli and Basco before you reach Belleville (pop. 1,908). Belleville has a nice little main street where Highway 69 hooks up with Highway 92, including shops and several places that serve the rail-to-trail bike riders, very frequent in this part of the state.

Where Highways 69 and 92 meet up in town, you can see Library Park, which surrounds Belleville's original Village Hall. The charming little 1894 structure has a small bell tower on top and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The downtown area has a lot of cool older things to check out, including the old neon Ford sign we saw that hails from at least half a century ago (see right). When this area was considered the "frontier", American statesman Daniel Webster owned land right in town, which was then part of Michigan and then Wisconsin Territory. By 1850, the area was named "Belleville", after Belleville, Ontario, the original hometown of early settler John Frederick.

Highway 69 want to leave Dane County right away; just outside Belleville, the road parallels the county line about a half mile north for a while before Highway 92 breaks away for Mount Horeb and you dives south, through a nice rock cut on a steep hill, into Green County. Like many counties in this part of the state, there isn't a lot of open water; the county is 585 square miles total but only one square mile of that is water. It's pretty much little rivers that wind their way through the landscape, and with all these hills, they have to wind a lot. This one cheesy county; co-ops and factories that produce and sell cheese dot the area and they're not shy about letting you know they're there. You'll have plenty of chances to check one or all of them out along Highway 69.

Not too far into Green County, you reach New Glarus (pop. 2,111), a city that celebrates its Swiss heritage with gusto. Named after the Swiss canton of Glarus, and calling itself "America's Little Switzerland", this newer Glarus retains Old World charm. The Swiss Historical Village right off Highway 69 - where State Highway 39 meets up - is definitely worth a stop. You'll feel like you're in Switzerland, with not only buildings characteristic of the Alps, but Swiss flags flying along with American flags. Folk art, museums, plenty of craft and gift shops, restaurants and some lodging are all to be had in an area spanning several square blocks. It seems so authentic at times, you'd swear you'll hear yodeling any minute - and you just might.

Welcome to "America's Little Switzerland", where the Swiss heritage is evident everywhere - especially in the downtown area.

***BREWERY ALERT***
You knew this was coming... New Glarus is, of course, home to the New Glarus Brewing Company (608-527-5850), makers of a variety of handcrafted brews such as Totally Naked, Fat Squirrel, Moon Man, Stone Soup and of course, their practically world-famous Spotted Cow. While not sold outside of Wisconsin, Spotted Cow is one of those "hot" beers that people around the nation want you to smuggle out of the state when you go visit them. And if they don't, it's because they haven't tried it yet. Dan & Deborah Carey founded the brewery in 1993, with Dan serving as the Brewmaster and Deborah raising the money - making her the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States.

Growth has been the rule for New Glarus Brewery over the past decade. The original brewery, still in use, is a relatively small building on the north side of town, right along Highway 69. The new facility is on the south side of town, perched atop a hill and accessible via gravel road. Once you round the curves, the new facility is quite a sight.

	The new New Glarus Brewery facility sits atop a hill along Highway 69 on the south side of town. A sprawling complex with buildings that offer several different architectural looks, a little waterfall and a hilltop inside and outside "tasting area" are just some of the benefits that await you during a free tour. Tours are available 10am-4pm daily.

The rolling hill topography continues as you move south past New Glarus Woods State Park, which features 431 acres of camping, hiking, picnicking and, in the winter, snowshoeing. Areas of restored prairie dot the park, and in late April during the spring turkey season, hunters (including disabled hunters) can hunt wild turkeys. However, drinking Wild Turkey in the park is strongly discouraged. If you're from Switzerland, this area will look like home to you, which is probably why Swiss settlers decided Green County was the place to be. I've been to Switzerland; minus the Alps part, it sure looks like this part of Wisconsin. A series of farms, mostly dairy, dot the landscape as you reach Monticello (pop. 1,146). You'll know the village because it announces itself with a tall limestone sign and little Lake Montesian, which separates Highway 69 from the heart of town with both water and the Montesian Gardens, a nice community garden with a variety of blooming plants. It also holds the Green County Vietnam War Memorial. In the middle of Monticello, just down one of the streets, you'll find access to the Sugar River Trail, the Monticello Area Historical Society Museum (204 N. Main, 608-938-4216), several B&B's and two cheese factories: Silver-Lewis Cheese (W3075 County EE, 608-938-4813) and Swiss Heritage Cheese (114 E. Coates, 608-938-4455).

The beautiful rural scenery rules for the next 10 miles or so, and then you reach the outskirts of Monroe, first noted by the Highway 11 Bypass, which also carries Highway 81 here.

**BYPASS ALERT**
A north side bypass of Monroe was built around 1980 to carry Highway 11 and 81 around town; Highway 69 joins this bypass for about a mile before leaving and heading south along the western side of town as 7th Avenue.

Monroe

Monroe (pop. 10,843) is the hub of Green County and the "Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA." Monroe High School's team nickname is the Cheesemakers, after all. The Swiss influence is everywhere, from the flags dotting the surrounding landscape to the architecture downtown to the fact that The Swiss Colony is headquartered here. Downtown Monroe offers a charming and rather bustling downtown square. Surrounding the impressive, Romanesque Green County Courthouse, are shops offering everything from boutique clothing to electronics. A stop in Baumgartner's on the square (1023 16th Ave., 608-325-6157) lets you sample more cheese and beer products made in the area, including a Limburger with mustard and onion served on rye bread. In the name of humanity, the dish is served with a mint on the side.

Another good stop is the Minhas Craft Brewery, (1208 14th Ave., 608-325-3191), located just south and west of the town center. For a long time known as the Huber Brewery, it's the second oldest continuously operating brewery in the U.S, brewing beer in one form or another since 1845 - three years before Wisconsin entered statehood. They were purchased by Mountain Crest Brewing Company, a Canadian outfit planning that expanded the Monroe facility (read about it in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here). As it stands now, the brewery continues to brew Huber's traditional beers: Premium (which won the Bronze in the 2002 World Beer Championships) Bock and Light, as well as a great old non-Huber-but-totally-Wisconsin throwback: Rhinelander Beer. Although Rhinelander's original brewery shut down in 1967, Minhas has continued its recipe and now brews the beer in Monroe. The popular Canadian beer Mountain Creek is now brewed here - a result of the Mountain Crest investment - as are a few malt liquors. Tours are available at 11am, 1pm and 3pm Thursday through Saturday. The State Trunk Tour has yet to tour the new facility since their new tap room, the Lazy Mutt Lounge (formerly the Founder's Tap Room) opened. There will, however, be descriptions and pictures soon! However, there is a gift shop and they've kept histroical pictures to browse, along with other memorabilia highlighting the area's brewing history.

Monroe is also the home headquarters of the famous mail-order company (and prime source of cheese, meats, nuts and more) The Swiss Colony, which started here in 1926. The main building is right along Highway 69 on the south side on Monroe.

Out of downtown and re-joining the current Highway 69, which doubles at 7th Avenue, you skim the western end of Monroe. Definitely worth checking out is the Monroe Depot Welcome Center, part of Monroe's original train depot. Outside, you'll find the charm of a train station, a fiberglass cow and some large copper kettles. Inside, you'll find visitor information, the National Historic Cheesemaking Center, which has plenty of old tools cheesemakers used dating back to the 19th century, and original train depot materials, including old schedules, an original bench, photos and more.

Past Monroe, it's open (and continued pretty) countryside as Highway 69 makes a beeline south to Illinois, where it connects to IL Highway 26 on its way to Freeport, Illinois.

CONNECTIONS:
North Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: U.S. Highway 18, U.S. Highway 151
Can connect nearby to: U.S. Highway 12, about 5 miles northeast; U.S. Highway 14, about 5 miles northeast; Highway 78, about 6 miles west

South Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: Illinois Highway 26
Can connect nearby to: Highway 11, about 7 miles north; Highway 59, about 8 miles northeast; Highway 81, about 7 miles north

Upcoming events in places along Highway 69:
Wilhelm Tell Festival, New Glarus, September 3-5, 2010
Green County Cheese Days, Monroe, September 17-19, 2010
BamFest American Music Festival, Belleville, September 18, 2010
Monticello Artifact Show, Monticello, October 24, 2010
UFO Day, Belleville, October 30, 2010

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The State Trunk Tour visited Baumgartner's in Monroe. Check out a piece from the video!