"From the Rock to the Mississippi"

Western terminus: Grant County, at Highway 133 and the Cassville Ferry near the Mississippi River in Cassville

Eastern terminus: Rock County, at the I-90/I-43 interchange in Beloit

Mileage: about 125 miles

Counties along the way: Rock. Green, Lafayette, Grant

Sample towns along the way: Beloit, Monroe, Darlington, Platteville, Lancaster, Cassville

Bypass alternates at: Monroe

Quickie Summary: State “Trunk” Highway 81 starts where I-43 ends at Beloit, heads west through the city over the Rock River, and hops around the southern edge of the state all the way to Cassville, where a ferry boat offers rides to Iowa on the Mississippi River. Passing through the county seat of each of the four counties it traverses, Highway 81 connects to a series of highways in one of the most beautiful sections of the state.

The Drive (East to West): Highway 81 begins at the interchange with I-43, which begins at this point and goes to Milwaukee, and I-90/39, which connects south to Rockford and Chicago and north to Madison. Highway 81 is the "Beloit connection", bringing you into the City of Beloit (pop. 35,775). And yes, right at the eastern terminus of Highway 81, at the Hormel plant, is the World's Largest Can of Chili. Can you imagine the "air power" in the beans in that tower? Speaking of air, just down the street towards the city along Highway 81 (called "Milwaukee Street" here) is the site of the first commercially built airplane. Assembled and flown in 1909, the plane was piloted by Arthur Warner, who went on to develop the automobile speedometer and a series of automotive and machine tool accessories. Not to be outdone by instrumentation, Beloit has a history of inventing snack food: Korn Kurls were invented here in the 1930s (although they weren't sold commercially until 1946) and became the precursor for Cheetos and other cheese-flavored corn snack delights. Beloit, considered a "gateway" to Wisconsin for I-90 travelers, hosts Beloit College, the Midwest League's Beloit Snappers 'A' baseball team, and a variety of companies that take advantage of Beloit's key location for transportation. Flanked by Janesville to the north and Rockford to the south, Beloit has had its share of rough days but has been bouncing back nicely over the last several years.

Beloit, despite its modest size and relatively dismissed reputation, is an economic and industrial powerhouse. It's the only city in Wisconsin that is home to three multi-billion dollar international companies: ABC Supply Company, Kerry Ingredients and Regal-Beloit. Anthropologist Margaret Mead once described Beloit as "America in microcosm", and it's the hometown of people such as Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, singer Betty Everett (the original singer of the "Shoop Shoop" song before Cher covered it), Cheap Trick's lead singer Robin Zander, and a slew of NFL, MLB and NBA players.

Upper Left: Highway 81's western start/eastern end at I-39/43/90 is within sight of the Hormel plant in Beloit, which features the "World's Largest Can of Chili". I had to take the picture from I-90; turns out security' pretty tight in Hormel's parking lot. Upper Right: Just down the street along Highway 81 is the market for the first commercial built airplane. Left: You can easily access Highway 81 directly from I-43 from Milwaukee or I-39/90 from Chicago, Rockford or Madison. It's much more on the "beaten path" than its western end in Cassville.

As Highway 81 heads west out of Beloit, it begins a journey through the farmlands of Rock County with little to see at first. Upon entering Green County and the junction with Highway 11, however, this changes. Upon crossing the Sugar River, the countryside begins to hint at the larger hills and valleys that lie ahead on the route. This stretch of Highway 11/81 is a major route across Wisconsin's southern tier, which is evident as you skim Juda and head towards Monroe.

*** BYPASS ALERT ***
At Monroe, Highways 81 & 11 bypass the city on a freeway stretch; but if you want this to be an actual fun experience, get off at the first exit (Highway 59) and follow it as 6th Street into downtown Monroe. You can then join Highway 69 northbound to re-join Highway 81 as it splits from 11 on the bypass.

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. Recently converted from the Huber Brewery, it is 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 recently purchased by Mountain Crest Brewing Company, a Canadian outfit planning to expand 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.

From downtown Monroe, you can go west on 9th Street and then north on Highway 69 back to the Highway 11/81 bypass, where you can continue straight onto Highway 81 and it heads deeper into southwestern Wisconsin.

The topography the rest of the way is one reason tourism is becoming a booming business in this part of the state. You're leaving the cheese country of Green County and heading into Lafayette County, which has a long mining history. Shortly into the county and about 15 miles since Monroe, Highway 81 reaches Argyle (pop. 823). A Scotsman named Allen Wright founded the town in 1844, who named it after the Duke of Argyle. Here, Highway 78 intersects briefly with Highway 81 and crosses the river past the Argyle Power Plant into downtown. Turning north again, you'll spot an F-86 Sabrejet Aircraft. Perched at an altitude of about 8 feet above ground, this aircraft was delivered to the Air Force in 1955 and demilitarized in 1970. Colonel Amos Waage, an Argyle native, obtained the plane and dedicated it to all military personnel from the area.

	The 2002-reconstructed bridge carrying Highways 81 & 78 into downtown Argyle blends nicely with the 1800-era power plant, where flour was milled using power from the East Branch of the Pecatonica River.
Hovering over a park just north of Highway 81 along Highway 78 on Argyle's north side, this F-86 Sabrejet serves as a dedication to local military personnel. It almost looks like you can walk up and touch it... and in fact, really really tall people can.

More twisting and turning dominates the drive along Highway 81 west of Argyle, over hills, into valleys and past a quarry or two. Next up is Lafayette County's county seat, Darlington (pop. 2,418), which calls itself the "Pearl of the Pecatonica River", harkening back to the time when people harvested clams out of the river, apparently to produce pearl button blanks. The whole area is drained by the Pecatonica River and its many tributaries, which carve out the beautiful hills and valleys characteristic of Lafayette County. Author Sylvan Muldoon, who was big on writing about out-of-body experiences, hailed from Darlington.

	Some notable animals in Darlington: a cardinal on the south end of town along Highway 81/23 and a shark emerging from a gas station both catch your attention right in the downtown area. Darlington's school mascot is the "Redbirds"; not sure why the shark is there.
Highway 23 through downtown Darlington, a nice boulevard with plenty of parking, good architecture and shops to see on both sides. Highway 81 joins briefly through town.
	The Barber Shop Hotel, apparently in a former barber shop, is an example of Darlington's small, inviting buildings that are being refurbished with historical touches.

Darlington's restored downtown is a great place to stop and just walk around. Highway 81 hooks up with 23 briefly and proceeds as a little boulevard going through town, crossing the Cheese Country Trail (watch for plenty of ATVers and bikers) and providing plenty of parking for the boutiques, taverns and other points of interest in town. Pecatonica River Trails Park offers riverside camping. Downtown Darlington's Main Street - which is Highway 23 & 81 - is lined with historic buildings and it's worth a stop just to explore.

Being the county seat of Lafayette County, Darlington sports a beautiful courthouse with a Tiffany glass rotunda on the hill above downtown along Highway 23, just north of Highway 81 and Darlington's downtown.

Highway 81 hooks up with Highway 23 for the ride south out of Darlington; while 23 then heads south toward Highway 11, 81 breaks west and heads on a long straightaway path into Grant County, where it hooks up with Highway 80. After a crossing with the new expressway section of U.S. 151, you reach the largest town along Highway 81 since Beloit.

Platteville
Platteville (pop. 9,989) is the largest city in Grant County and the primary college town in Southwestern Wisconsin. Originally home to a teaching college and the Wisconsin Mining School, the two merged in 1959 and became part of the University of Wisconsin system in 1971. Today, UW-Platteville (UW-P for short) teaches over 6,000 students and features an engineering department respected around the world. UW-P launched some good basketball coaching careers too, including that of Rob Jeter (now at UW-Milwaukee) and of course Bo Ryan, who currently coaches the Wisconsin Badgers regularly into the Big Dance. Highway 81 is just off Second Street, the main street downtown for students to relax, some (um, over 21s only) with various beverages in hand. The music scene is surprisingly robust in Platteville; taverns actually help fund some musical acts and one, known then as Envy, won MTV's Best Bands on Campus Contest.

Platteville offers an arboretum and two museums, the Mining Museum and the Rollo Jamison Museum. The Mining Museum traces the history of - you guessed it - mining throughout the Upper Mississippi valley. Models, artifacts, dioramas, pictures, and a guided tour complete with a walk into a real lead mine and a ride on a train (weather permitting) are offered. The Rollo Jamison Museum started with little Rollo Jamison collecting old arrowheads on his family farm in 1899. Over 20,000 items are now part of the museum's collection, chronicling history of all kinds. Both museums are located just off Highway 81 along Main Street, which parallels Highway 81 one block north as it jogs onto Pine Street, right when it leaves Highway 80.

For a time, Platteville hosted the Chicago Bears' summer camp on its UW-P campus and enjoyed the economic benefits that went with it, but they decided to move back to Illinois (friggin' Bears.)

With the exception of a portion of downtown, the straight streets and grid systems often found in American cities and towns aren't quite reflected in Platteville. A vast network of mines exist underneath the city, and streets were built in locations to avoid being directly on top of them - a good idea no doubt cooked up by engineering students. Highway 81 enters Platteville with Highway 80, then heads west along Pine Street, north on Chestnut, west on Adams and then northwest out of town along Lancaster Street. On the way to...you guessed it, Lancaster.

Heading northwest out of Platteville, the ride is incredibly scenic, right down to the view to the east: the World's Largest M. More on this soon, as well as the rest of the trip through Lancaster to Cassville!

East Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: Interstate 39, Interstate 90, Interstate 43
Can connect nearby to: Highway 67, about 2 miles south; U.S. Highway 51, about 4 miles west

West Terminus:
Can connect immediately to: Highway 133
Can connect nearby to: Highway 35, about 12 miles east

Upcoming events in places along Highway 81:
Beloit, Winterfest Indoor/Outdoor Winter Festival, January 27-29, 2012
Cassville, Bald Eagle Days, January 28-29, 2012

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Beloit interactive map

Monroe interactive map (bypass vs. through town - click to activate)

Platteville Interactive Map

Best Western
Welcome Inn - Lancaster
420 W. Maple St.
Lancaster, WI 53813
(608) 723-4162
Link to hotel and reservations