Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the popular "Little House" series of books, was born near Pepin, Wisconsin. Her first book, Little House in the Big Woods is based on her family's home there. A replica cabin stands today at the site of Laura's Little House in the Big Woods, 7 miles north of the town of Pepin, Wisconsin. This is the start of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway that includes sites in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Pepin, Wisconsin, is on Lake Pepin, one of those lakes formed by the Mississippi River. You can picnic along the Mississippi, just as Laura and her family did over a century ago.

This is a long day trip from Rainbow's End Resort, but might be a fun stop on the way home at the end of your vacation, or a place to base a future vacation, especially for ardent fans of Wilder. It's about 105 miles, 2-1/4 hours, from Rainbow's End Resort.

Getting There

From Rainbow's End Resort, you have several choices. Mapquest.com provides a way that is pretty fast, being on the bigger highways much of the way. The most direct route is County I to County A to state highway 25. Take 25 all the way to 35, just six miles out of Pepin.

To get off to a good start, you could stop at the Historic Mabel Tainter Theater at 205 Main Street in Menomonie (on hwy 25), which is an official information site for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway. This is about the halfway point of the trip, and would make a good place for a picnic brunch on the way or supper on the way home, depending on when you get started.

If you make this trek, you could also stop at Hoffman Hills Recreation Area which is close to the Highway 25 route, north of Menomonie. But if you do, you might just spend the day there!

You might want to check out:

Some fun information about Laura Ingalls Wilder at www.doj.state.wi.us
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl
Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society

If you want to share the early days of the Upper Midwest with your children, Wilder's books are a great way to do so. Read a book during the school year, then visit a site in the summer. Make Rainbow's End Resort your Base Camp in Chetek for fun and learning!

Have fun on your outing from Base Camp Chetek at Rainbow's End Resort!