Highway 51 Practically Runs Through All Of Wisconsin And It's A Beautiful Drive
By Ben Jones|Published September 06, 2022
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Ben Jones
Author
Ben Jones is at heart an adventurer who delights in inspiring others. A former reporter and photojournalist, he explored towns large and small as a Wisconsin correspondent for USA Today. He later became a lead photographer and senior copywriter for an award-winning destination marketing agency, before founding Boldland Creative, a company that produces photography, video, and other content for travel destinations. Jones has completed photography and content projects in more than 15 states and when he’s not looking through a camera or at his Macbook you’ll find him exploring the world’s lakes and forests.
There’s a highway that takes right through the middle of Wisconsin and into the heart of our great state. If you’ve lived or traveled in Wisconsin for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve driven a least a stretch of this highway – U.S Highway 51. While it’s easy to pass this off this highway as a high-speed thoroughfare, take a closer look at this long highway and you’ll see it’s a ticket to a beautiful road trip through Wisconsin. Here’s what you need to know about U.S. Highway 51.
To drive the whole highway, you’ll need to head down to the Big Easy. The highway begins in the western New Orleans suburbs and runs nearly 1,300 miles, all the way up to the Wisconsin/Michigan state line. In Wisconsin, the route enters Beloit and its renovated riverfront along the Rock River. If you haven’t been to Beloit for a while, you’re in for a surprise!
Heading north out of Beloit, you’ll pass through Janesville, a manufacturing town that’s reinventing itself with new businesses and attractions. Further north, you’ll encounter Stoughton, a town that will remind you of old Norway. It was founded by Norwegian Immigrants and it is very proud of its heritage!
Continuing on, you’ll pass through Madison, the state capital. Highway 51 will take you west of the heart of this college town, but the center of Madison is just a few miles off the route.
Further north, Highway 51 runs through the old community of Portage – in 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet passed though this important portage spot on their way to discover the Mississippi River. If you enjoy discovering history, the town has a lot of old sites worth visiting.
The highway runs concurrently with Interstate 39 for many miles, but it will take you deep into the Northwoods. The highway runs right through Minocqua, one of the state’s top Northwoods vacation destinations. It has a vibrant little downtown and it’s surrounded by beautiful lakes and forests.
The forests will become even wilder as you drive north, before arriving at the old mining town of Hurley, where the highway joins U.S Highway 2, just south of the Michigan border. This area gets a ton of snow – in the winter you may want to bring skis!
Learn about the current traffic and road conditions on Highway 51 on the 511 Wisconsin website. If you love awesome road trips, here are some of the state’s best driving routes.
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