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Wisconsin Rustic Road 29 offers a shady, wooded ride along Snake Road between the City of Lake Geneva and the Town of Geneva off State Hwy. 50.
“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again ... goin’ places that I’ve never been, seein’ things that I may never see again, and I can’t wait to get on the road again.”—Willie Nelson, “On the Road Again,” 1980.
Raised in the waning halcyon days of the Great American Road Trip—an era of cheap gasoline, the car culture call to the freedom of the open road, and the American Petroleum Institute’s patriotic if self-serving admonition to “See American Best By Car”—like Willie Nelson I just can’t wait to get on the road again to go places I’ve never been and see things I may never see again.
But unlike the nostalgic days of yore, modern day roadtripping is fast becoming a costly luxury in these days of 40-year-high inflation and elevated gasoline prices.
Last year’s 35th wedding anniversary adventure travel road trip with my wife down the 2,554-mile round trip length of U.S. Hwy. 51 from piney northern Wisconsin to jazzy New Orleans and back again—the honeymoon we never had as cash-strapped college students—would be cost-prohibitive today on the price of gas alone, not counting the skyrocketing costs of dining and lodging on the road.
Thankfully, there are some travel alternatives closer to home that still satisfy the itch to set a course for adventure while not breaking the bank.
Over the summer I’ve taken to section hiking the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail on the old Milwaukee Road right-of-way between Allen’s Grove and Clinton.
And when the siren call of the open road beckons and I get behind the wheel of “Finn,” my fine four-fendered friend, I’m increasingly grateful for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Rustic Roads Program, launched in Taylor County in 1975 to provide hikers, bicyclists and motorists with an opportunity to leisurely travel through the Badger State’s scenic countryside.
Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower, blooms roadside along Peck Station Road, Rustic Road 120, in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Troy Wildlife Area in the Town of Lafayette, north of Elkhorn and east of Abells Corners.
Today, there are 123 designated Rustic Roads encompassing 740 miles of scenic highways and byways through 61 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, including six roads here in Walworth County, six in Racine County, two in Rock County, three in Jefferson County and three in Waukesha County.
One route, R-43, spans the Kenosha-Racine County line, providing direct access to the Richard Bong Recreational Area and the White River State Trail.
An old railroad caboose in a field pays poignant tribute to Walworth County's railroading heydays along Peck Station Road in the Town of Lafayette, north of Elkhorn and east of Abells Corners on Rustic Road 120.
While the state’s Rustic Roads all offer their own unique characteristics, whether dirt, gravel or paved they all have several common threads tying them together:
They offer outstanding natural features along their borders, such as rugged terrain, native vegetation, native wildlife or open areas with agricultural vistas.
They are lightly-traveled local access roads serving adjacent property owners and those wishing to travel by auto, bicycle or foot for purposes of recreational enjoyment.
They are not scheduled nor anticipated for major improvements which would change their rustic characteristics.
They are at least two miles long and often provide a completed closure or loop, or connect to major highways at both ends of the route.
A Rustic Road may have bicycle or hiking paths adjacent to or incorporated in the roadway area.
The maximum speed limit on a Rustic Road has been established by law at 45 mph, while a speed limit as low as 30 mph may be established by the local governing authority.
Easily distinguished brown-and-yellow Wisconsin Rustic Roads signs mark the routes of all Wisconsin Department of Transportation-designated Ru…
Unique brown-and-yellow signs mark the routes of all officially-designated Rustic Roads and a small placard beneath the Rustic Roads sign identifies each Rustic Road by its numerical designation within the statewide system.
Each Rustic Road is identified by a 1- to 3-digit number assigned by the Rustic Roads Board.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation pays the cost of furnishing and installing Rustic Roads marker signs.
A drive along South Road off State Hwy. 50 east of Lake Geneva offers this scenic view of a rare American elm along Rustic Road 11. Once a com…
Walworth County is tied with neighboring Racine County and Polk County in northwestern Wisconsin for the most Rustic Road designations at a half-dozen each, including R-11, R-12, R-29, R-36, R-85 and R-120 locally here in Walworth County.
Rustic Road 11, at 10.3 miles, is located to the east of Lake Geneva and includes South Road, Steele Road, Spring Valley Road and Knob Hill Road between State Hwy. 50 and State Hwy. 36. R-11 adjoins Rustic Roads 12 and 36.
The Rustic Roads Guide notes the gently winding route provides excellent views of glacial Kettle Moraine topography as it passes through large wooded areas of oak, maple and hickory, with glimpses of a game farm and scenic agricultural land.
The White River is a scenic natural feature on Rustic Road 12 along Back Road between State Hwys. 36 and 50 between the Town of Lyons and the …
Rustic Road 12, encompassing 5.7 miles between Lyons and Lake Geneva, includes Back Road, Sheridan Springs Road, Spring Valley Road and Church Street between State Hwy. 50 and State Hwy. 36, connecting to R-11 and R-36.
The Rustic Roads Guides notes that at various points R-12 offers panoramic views of lush green hills and valleys as the sharply-curving route passes outstanding Kettle Moraine formations, pine and spruce plantations, a tamarack swamp and several ponds, and crosses the White River.
Wisconsin Rustic Road 29 offers a shady, wooded ride along Snake Road between the City of Lake Geneva and the Town of Geneva off State Hwy. 50.
Rustic Road 29 runs along a 2.7-mile loop of Snake Road from State Hwy. 50 in the City of Lake Geneva west to State Hwy. 50 in the Town of Geneva.
The Rustic Road Guide calls R-29 “a countryside of natural beauty” bounded in some places by split rail fencing as it passes “through an area of native vegetation and wildlife near Lake Geneva that is particularly beautiful in autumn.”
A glacial kettle marsh is one of the outstanding scenic natural features along Cranberry Road on Rustic Road 36, east of State Hwy. 50.
Rustic Road 36 is a 3.6-mile paved and gravel route that includes Cranberry Road and Berndt Road east from State Hwy. 50 with connections to R-11 and R-12.
The Rustic Roads Guide said the narrow and hilly route got its name from early settlers who harvested cranberries from nearby marshes. The guide notes R-36 winds through Wisconsin farmland, glacial marshes and knobs, featuring a wide variety of trees and shrubs.
Rustic Road 85, a 2.5 miles, includes portions of Kearney and Potter roads forming a loop off County Hwy. DD in the Town of Spring Prairie, near Burlington.
The Rustic Roads Guide notes Potter Road runs adjacent to winding Sugar Creek as they both pass through Nature Conservancy forests and wetlands, with the “steeply glaciated uplands of Kearney Road” including a mix of farmlands and pine woodlots.
Colorful blue roadside chicory blooms greet morning travelers on Rustic Road 120 along Peck Station Road in the Town of Lafayette off County H…
Walworth County’s newest Rustic Road, R-120, spans a 2-mile section of Peck Station Road from County Hwy. A to County Hwy. ES in the Town of Lafayette, north of Elkhorn and east of unincorporated Abells Corners.
The Rustic Roads Guide notes that Peck Station Road, named after a Western Union Railroad stop, is “agricultural in character and quite colorful in the fall.” The guides notes that a picturesque former inn still exists as a private home.
R-120 passes through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 1,201-acre Troy State Habitat Area, N6776 Peck Station Rd., which offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing and hiking.
Walworth County’s newest Rustic Road, R-120, spans a 2-mile section of Peck Station Road between County Hwy. A to County Hwy. ES in the Town of Lafayette. Wisconsin R-120 passes through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 1,201-acre Troy State Habitat Area, N6776 Peck Station Road, which offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing and hiking.
I’ve explored five Walworth County Rustic Roads to date, R-11, R-12, R-29, R-36 and R-120, leaving R-85 to explore and discover in Spring Prairie, northwest of Burlington in the days ahead. As autumn arrives, I plan to retrace my various routes to take in the fall colors in all their vibrant brilliance.
Traveling the Wisconsin DOT’s Rustic Roads routes offers short, low-cost getaways that offer a wide range of pleasantly scenic views and a retro old school Sunday country drive lesson in relishing life’s simple pleasures—the vase-like stature of a rare surviving American elm; classic Wisconsin farms; the overhead honks of trumpeter swans and the “conk-la-ree” calls of the darting red-winged blackbirds; colorful roadside wildflowers abloom; babbling country brooks and rivers; the rise, fall and curves of the life-in-the-slow-lane Rustic Roads as they hugs the glacial-sculpted terraine of the area’s namesake kettles and moraines; a rustic mailbox post creatively fashioned out of an old railroad telegraph pole, the colorful clear and blue glass insulators reflecting the light.
Travels along Wisconsin Department of Transportation-designated Rustic Roads can turn up some unexpected surprises, including this railroad-themed telegraph pole mailbox post on Rustic Road 120 in the Town of Lafayette that pays tribute to the railroading history of Peck Station Road.
More than 50 decades later, I can honestly say I’m still seeing America best by car. I’m just trading the epic cross-country Great American Road Trip for a local game of roadtripping hopscotch, one bucolic Rustic Road at a time.
The 2022 Rustic Roads Guide is available online for viewing or downloading at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/rustic-roads/ebook.aspx. The guides can also be ordered through the Travel Wisconsin website at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/rustic-roads/ebook.aspx or by calling 1-800-432-8747.
For more information about the Rustic Roads Program, visit the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/rustic-roads/explore.aspx.
There is something uniquely American about the idea of hitting the open road and driving endlessly through changing landscapes, either toward the promise of something better or as an escape from real or imagined oppression. While running the gamut from liberating to terrifying, American road trip films share a common thread: through the act of driving, there is the opportunity for discovery. Characters often find something new about themselves, others, or some greater principle or purpose.
CoPilot researched the history of road trip cinema and chose 10 of the best, most iconic films in which people drive across the U.S. To qualify, the film had to have over a 7.0 on IMDb, at least 75,000 votes, and largely be framed through an American road trip. Metascore is provided for critical context.
Some road films reveal that running away is futile or even cowardly, while others crystalize the fact that we cannot outrun the consequences of our actions even if we drive forever. At the same time, the genre reminds us that there is great potential in removing ourselves from the monotony or comfort of everyday life—that the act of leaving can be a powerful assertion of agency.
The history and diversity of American road trip films span decades and generations and encompass countless genres. From the lawlessness and violence of “Natural Born Killers” to the horror of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and even the bittersweet optimism of “Little Miss Sunshine,” road trip films reflect the politics and sense of national identity of their time and place.
“Easy Rider” stars Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper as bikers who smuggle drugs from Mexico into California, sell them, and head eastward to New Orleans trying to make it in time for Mardi Gras. They stash their money near the gas tank of the “Captain America”—a custom-made motorcycle with a signature long front end—ridden by Fonda’s character. Along the way, they stop at a commune in Arizona and find trouble in New Mexico, where they encounter a drunken lawyer, played by Jack Nicholson, who they convince to join them.
Produced on a mere $360,000 budget, “Easy Rider” is remembered as a film that captures the feeling of late-’60s counterculture, complete with hallucinogenic trips, a free-love commune, and a soundtrack studded with The Band, The Byrds, and Jimi Hendrix. Its legacy is also one of subverting the mainstream Hollywood studio system. Its unprecedented commercial success—grossing $60 million globally on a small budget—as well as its indie status, stunned Hollywood executives.
“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” changed the horror film genre, and American filmmaking more generally, in profound ways. Aside from inspiring nine films in the franchise, it pioneered the slasher genre while showing surprisingly little blood and gore, relying instead on clever camera work and misdirection to suggest horrific images. Filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Wes Craven, and Guillermo del Toro count the film amongst their favorites. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” takes aspects of the traditional road trip film, beginning with the group of idealistic young people piled into a car, and quickly turns the viewer’s expectations into a nightmare.
The film follows a group of friends who take a road trip through rural Texas to visit a family member’s gravesite but are forced to stop when their car runs out of gas. Early signs of danger include a violent encounter with a hitchhiker, and when they stop at a quiet gas station only to find out the pumps are empty. Terror builds when they come across Leatherface, the now-legendary chainsaw-wielding villain who wears a mask made of human skin.
Road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vacation” follows the Griswold family, led by patriarch Clark (Chevy Chase), as they embark on a road trip from Chicago to a southern California amusement park. The trip, a bid to spend more time together as a family and enjoy a picturesque vacation, quickly goes awry. Driving a large, ugly station wagon, the family experiences countless misadventures along the way.
The station wagon used in the film, known as the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, was specifically designed as a parody of 1970s station wagons, complete with faux-wood paneling and a “metallic pea”-colored paint job. Five identical cars were produced for the film, due to the extent of the mishaps experienced by the family.
After emerging from the Texas desert unable to speak or explain where he came from, Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) is rescued by a German doctor. The doctor contacts Travis’ estranged brother (Dean Stockwell), who then drives from L.A. to pick him up. When they return to California, Travis meets his young son, who has been adopted by his brother, and they decide to embark on a journey to find his son’s mother.
Traveling from southern California to Houston in a classic blue and white ’58 Ford Ranchero, the two reconcile. Passing through desert landscapes, past old road motels and neon signs, the aesthetics of “Paris, Texas” are part-Western, part Edward Hopper Americana.
“Rain Man” tells the story of Charlie (Tom Cruise), a young hustler who discovers he has a brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), after his father dies and leaves Raymond his lucrative estate. Charlie travels to Ohio and finds that Raymond is an autistic savant who has been institutionalized. In an attempt to gain control of the money from their father’s estate, Charlie kidnaps Raymond from the institution. The two embark on a road trip from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, where Charlie plans to fight for custody of his brother, in their father’s 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible.
The film’s enduring legacy is complicated: While it was groundbreaking for its representation of a character with autism, some have called its portrayal of autism spectrum disorder reductive or stereotypical.
“Thelma & Louise” stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as two best friends who depart their unsatisfying home lives in Arkansas for a weekend away, only to become fugitives on the run from the law. The two head in the direction of Mexico in Louise’s 1966 blue Ford Thunderbird convertible, hoping to cross the border and evade capture by the FBI. Louise insists they avoid driving through Texas, so they take a meandering route west, traveling through New Mexico and the Grand Canyon.
“Thelma & Louise” remains a landmark film in feminist cinema for its politics, exploration of gendered violence, centering on a best-friend relationship, and for subverting several genres: the Western, the road film, the buddy film, and the crime drama. Davis and Sarandon both received Best Actress Oscar nominations for their co-starring roles.
Starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as a murderous married couple, “Natural Born Killers” grapples with the way mass violence and its perpetrators are given celebrity status by the media.
The film follows the couple as they go on a multi-state killing spree, traveling from New Mexico to Arizona and Nevada, all the while attracting media attention that turns them into macabre cult heroes. Featuring a red 1970 Dodge Challenger convertible, the film subverts the often family-friendly conventions of the road trip movie while incorporating images of Western landscapes to remind viewers it is a particularly American story. The film sparked controversy over its gratuitous violence, and director Oliver Stone was sued when the film allegedly inspired copycat crimes (the suit was later dismissed).
Based on a true story, “The Straight Story” follows Alvin (Richard Farnsworth), an elderly Iowa man who decides to visit his estranged brother after he has a stroke. Unable to drive, Alvin hitches a trailer to his lawnmower and embarks on a journey to Wisconsin. Only able to travel at five miles per hour, the journey takes several weeks and involves a series of mishaps and connections made with other long-term travelers and passersby.
“The Straight Story” was filmed along the actual route that the real Alvin Straight took on his original journey. Farnsworth, who died by suicide one year after the film’s release, had been suffering from cancer that left his legs partially paralyzed during the filming of “The Straight Story.” He received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.
“Sideways” stars Paul Giamatti as Miles, an unsuccessful writer who brings his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) on a road trip to California wine country as a final adventure before Jack gets married. Traveling up the coast of California in a bright red ’87 Saab Turbo convertible, the two men experience a range of mishaps leading up to Jack’s wedding ceremony.
The film, which centers largely around Miles’ obsession with wine (particularly pinot noir), has been credited with influencing the California wine industry. As of 2017, production of California pinot noir wine had increased by 170% since the film’s release—a trend winemakers labeled “the Sideways Effect.”
- Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Abigail Breslin as members of a dysfunctional family, “Little Miss Sunshine” tells the story of Olive (Abigail Breslin), a young girl and aspiring beauty queen trying to get to a beauty pageant in order to compete.
Based in New Mexico, her large family—including her parents, grandfather, uncle, and half-brother—travels 800 miles in a yellow VW bus to reach southern California for the competition that is just two days away. Along the way, issues with the bus, as well as personal trials and misadventures, bring the family together in unexpected ways. Breslin earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at just age 10.
This story originally appeared on CoPilot and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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The White River is a scenic natural feature on Rustic Road 12 along Back Road between State Hwys. 36 and 50 between the Town of Lyons and the City of Lake Geneva.
A glacial kettle marsh is one of the outstanding scenic natural features along Cranberry Road on Rustic Road 36, east of State Hwy. 50.
Wisconsin Rustic Road 29 offers a shady, wooded ride along Snake Road between the City of Lake Geneva and the Town of Geneva off State Hwy. 50.
Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower, blooms roadside along Peck Station Road, Rustic Road 120, in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Troy Wildlife Area in the Town of Lafayette, north of Elkhorn and east of Abells Corners.
Easily distinguished brown-and-yellow Wisconsin Rustic Roads signs mark the routes of all Wisconsin Department of Transportation-designated Rustic Roads routes. A small placard beneath the Rustic Roads sign identifies each Rustic Road by its numerical designation within the statewide system. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation pays the cost of furnishing and installing Rustic Roads marker signs. The Rustic Road sign marks R-36, which included Cranberry Road and Berndt Road, east of State Hwy. 50 in Walworth County near the Kenosha County border.
Travels along Wisconsin Department of Transportation-designated Rustic Roads can turn up some unexpected surprises, including this railroad-themed telegraph pole mailbox post on Rustic Road 120 in the Town of Lafayette that pays tribute to the railroading history of Peck Station Road.
A drive along South Road off State Hwy. 50 east of Lake Geneva offers this scenic view of a rare American elm along Rustic Road 11. Once a common sight and the namesake of countless Elm Streets across America, the ranks of American elms have been thinned considerable by the plague of Dutch Elm Disease since its arrival in the U.S. in the 1930s, and Wisconsin in the early 1950s. Of the estimated 77 million elms in North America in 1930, more than 75 percent were gone by 1989. Researchers estimate that less than one out of every 100,000 American elms is resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, making this stately tree a rare survivor.
Colorful blue roadside chicory blooms greet morning travelers on Rustic Road 120 along Peck Station Road in the Town of Lafayette off County Hwy. ES, north of Elkhorn and east of Abells Corners.
An old railroad caboose in a field pays poignant tribute to Walworth County's railroading heydays along Peck Station Road in the Town of Lafayette, north of Elkhorn and east of Abells Corners on Rustic Road 120.
Walworth County’s newest Rustic Road, R-120, spans a 2-mile section of Peck Station Road between County Hwy. A to County Hwy. ES in the Town of Lafayette. Wisconsin R-120 passes through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 1,201-acre Troy State Habitat Area, N6776 Peck Station Road, which offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing and hiking.