Recreation

During the last Saturday of each September, come to Brodhead for AutumnFest!
Fun-filled activities abound, including a chili contest, music, children’s activities, food
booths, and sidewalk craft vendors.

For more information, call the Brodhead Chamber of Commerce at 897-8411. 

Held “the weekend before Oshkosh” which is usually the third weekend of July but sometimes later.
This three-day event is open to the public, but is actually a national gathering for builders and pilots
of the Pietenpol and Hatz series of homebuilt airplanes. There are seminars, movies, evening meals
and camping. Pilots fly in from all over the country and many continue on to the big fly-in at Oshkosh
the following week.  

Indy car racer Danica Patrick and USAR Pro-cup racer J.D. Leonard began their racing
careers at Brodhead’s Sugar River Raceway, a half-mile asphalt road course go-kart race track,
nestled along the Sugar River in the rolling hills of rural Brodhead, N2236 Mt. Hope Road.
Those itching to race should check out www.sugarriverraceway.com or call 608-897-2898
to learn more about their schedule of events and reservation opportunities. Spectators
are welcome. They are open April through October, Wednesdays through Sundays.

Spending the day biking 22 miles from Brodhead to New Glarus or anywhere in between
is a fun way for families to bond or for people to get their exercise. In warm weather,
you may bike or hike the trail and in the winter, you may snowmobile or ski.
The Sugar River Bike Trail, which was created from a former railroad bed,
goes through woods, nature preserves, pastures, and over streams and lakes.
You’ll even pass through a replica of the Clarence Covered Bridge!
You may glimpse many wild animals, including deer, turtles and beaver!
Among the trees you will find a variety of birds, including numerous cardinals,
Brodhead’s mascot. From the Sugar River you may also connect with other area trails,
including the Badger Trail and the Jane Adams Trail. You could explore all 73 miles if you wanted!
One trail even has a dark tunnel through which to pass! How spooky is that? 

Sweet Minnihaha Campground, N4697 County Road E, Brodhead,
offers tubing and canoeing, complete with a shuttle service, volleyball, horseshoes,
and fishing, in addition to 130 camp sites, also along the winding Sugar River.
They also have a recreation hall and easy access to the Sugar River Bike Trail,
which is across the road. On holiday weekends, they have karaoke and dancing.
For Independence Day, they even have fireworks! To make reservations, call 608-862-3769

Tour the Farms Day is held in Brodhead in May and features five farms.
The tour provides an opportunity to see how a working farm functions and produces,
and highlights farms that employ organic and/or sustainable practices. 
The following farms have hosted this event: Morningstar Farm,
owned by Brett and Vickie Condon and located at 4737 South County Road T,
raises organic fruits and vegetables. Sugar Maple Emu Farm, owned by Mike and Joylene Reavis
at W80S Pedee Road, features emu pen tours, emu meat tasting,
decorating of emu eggs and other emu products.
Check out their website at www.sugarmapleemu.com. Scotch Hill Farm,
owned by Dela and Tony Ends at 910 South Scotch Hill Road, 
is a certified organic farm and a subscription farm (CSA). It features goats, 
vegetable gardens and hand-made soap. More details can be found at www.scotchhillfarm.com.
Kinkoona Farm, owned and operated by Suellen Thompson-Link and her children
at 16734 West Dorner Road, raises several breeds of exotic sheep, 
sells lamb and several organic wool bedding products,
and is a wonder of sustainability and environmental friendliness.
Find more information at www.baabaashop.com. The Nieman Family Farm, 
owned by Joel and Kathy Nieman at W1614 Highway F,
provides a look at the functioning of a dairy farm.

The multi-use Tri County Trail is located in southern Wisconsin.
Passing through wooded areas, prairies, marshes,
and small towns on the path of a former railroad bed,
the trail is extremely popular with ATV’s, dirt bikes, and motorcycles.
The trail is also open to hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers, and those riding horses.
The winter season welcomes snowmobilers.
Enjoy the trails!

What better way is there to spend a relaxing summer Sunday evening than listening to a concert
in the park? Twilight in the Park concerts are a series of free concerts held from 6:30 until 8 p.m.
at the Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Brodhead. Concerts begin in June and conclude at
the end of August. Concerts are coordinated by the Business Improvement District and
sponsored by local businesses and clubs. In case of rain, the concerts are moved
to the UCC church at 204 East 23rd Street.