Day Trips from Sheboygan: Cheese, Racecars or Dunes?

Sheboygan sits at the edge of some of eastern Wisconsin's most varied country. Within about 19 miles there is a village built around a plumbing company and its golf courses, the self-styled Cheese Capital of the World, one of North America's best-known road-racing circuits, protected lakeshore dunes and the glacial hills of the Kettle Moraine. The best day trips from Sheboygan are short, so you can be back on the lakefront for dinner.

Distances here are straight-line from downtown Sheboygan, with direction, because they are the one measure that is always true.

How far this guide goes

Every trip in the main sections sits between about 3 and 20 miles from Sheboygan in a straight line, with a short list of bigger places further out at the end.

That ring takes in Kohler to the west, Plymouth and Elkhart Lake beyond it, Cedar Grove and the dunes to the south, and the Kettle Moraine to the west-southwest. Kohler and Sheboygan Falls are so close that most visitors treat them as part of a Sheboygan stay rather than as trips, and they are included for that reason.

If you have only a day or two, the city itself has plenty, and Sheboygan's own lakefront and downtown come first. The trips below are for the third day, a rainy-day change of scene, or a visitor who wants to see more of the county.

Kohler, before it counts as a trip

Kohler is about 3.5 miles west-southwest of Sheboygan, close enough that most visitors treat The American Club and the Blackwolf Run golf courses as part of a Sheboygan stay.

The village grew around the Kohler company, and its best-known sights are the company's hospitality properties. Kohler's Tudor-style American Club is a restored hotel with formal rooms, an acclaimed restaurant, a tavern and a bar, and walking through the public areas is a pleasant half-hour even for non-guests. The Pete Dye courses along the Sheboygan River at Blackwolf Run are open to the public, with a rustic log clubhouse and grill.

For golfers, Kohler is the center of the trip rather than a side trip, and resort and public golf around Sheboygan run from the Kohler resorts to the public courses locals play.

Sheboygan Falls, just west

Sheboygan Falls, about 5 miles west of Sheboygan, is a small city on the river with a Nicklaus golf course, a par-3 course and a public outdoor pool, and it is close enough for an afternoon.

Golfers come for The Bull at Pinehurst Farms, Wisconsin's only Jack Nicklaus Signature course, about 5.5 miles west-southwest.

Sunset Hills, about 8 miles west, is a nine-hole par-3 with the river in view, a driving range and mini golf. In summer, the Sheboygan Falls Aquatic Center has a diving area, a climbing wall and a water slide.

The town's chamber runs summer concerts downtown, a July family festival and car show, and a free holiday event on the first Saturday of December, which makes it worth checking what is on before a visit.

Plymouth, due west

Plymouth is about 13 miles due west of Sheboygan on the same line of latitude, and it calls itself the Cheese Capital of the World, with an arch on the way into town to prove it.

The Cheese Capital of the World arch, about 13 miles west, is the photo stop.

Downtown Plymouth is small and walkable, with the Plymouth Arts Center for exhibitions and cafés for lunch. On New Year's Eve the town lowers a giant block of cheese instead of a ball, the Big Cheese Drop, made with Sartori, a family cheese company from the area.

Plymouth is also reachable by bike. The Old Plank Road Trail runs from Sheboygan's Erie Avenue trailhead to the Plymouth trailhead, about 11 miles west, on a paved path beside Highway 23.

For families, Stayer Junior Park has a farm-themed playground with barn and silo structures. On the way out of Sheboygan, Restoration Orchards and Market, about 11 miles west-northwest, grows more than 120 heirloom apple varieties and presses cider in fall.

Road America and Elkhart Lake

Road America, the road-racing circuit, is about 14 miles west-northwest of Sheboygan, and the resort village of Elkhart Lake is just beyond it at about 16 miles.

Road America sits on 640 acres of park-like grounds and hosts professional racing weekends through the warmer months, along with a driving school. Race weekends are loud, busy and a genuine spectacle, with spectators spread across the hillsides. On non-race days, check the track's calendar for other events before driving out.

Elkhart Lake is a small resort village on a clear, spring-fed lake, long a summer retreat. The Elk Room at The Osthoff Resort, about 16 miles west-northwest, is the place for a meal with a lake view, and Quit Qui Oc Golf Club offers public golf nearby.

Race weekends fill rooms across the whole county, so if you are coming for a race, book early and consider staying in Sheboygan.

Cedar Grove and the Amsterdam Dunes

Cedar Grove is about 14 miles south-southwest of Sheboygan, and the Amsterdam Dunes Preservation Area near it is one of the quietest stretches of Lake Michigan shore in the county.

The Amsterdam Dunes Preservation Area, about 14 miles south-southwest, protects lakeshore dunes and habitat, with walking access far quieter than the city beaches. The county samples the water at Amsterdam beach in summer, which is worth checking before swimming, and the same green, yellow and red flags are used at the beaches along the Sheboygan lakefront.

Cedar Grove was settled by Dutch immigrants in the 1840s, and the state historical marker on the Dutch settlement tells that story. The town also has a trailhead on the Sheboygan Interurban Trail, which makes it a reachable destination by bike from Sheboygan.

The Kettle Moraine and Greenbush

The northern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest begins roughly 16 miles west-southwest of Sheboygan, a country of glacial hills, kettle lakes and forest trails.

The glaciers that shaped this area left ridges, hollows and lakes that make it the most dramatic countryside in eastern Wisconsin, and the forest is threaded with hiking and biking trails and a scenic drive.

The village of Cascade is the natural starting point for the Kettle Moraine State Forest northern unit, and it sits on the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, which winds through the hills and past the kettle lakes.

Above the trees, Parnell Tower is a wooden observation tower with views across the forest.

At the edge of the forest, the historic hamlet of Greenbush is home to Wade House, a historic stagecoach inn. The Ice Age Trail's Greenbush trailhead, about 16 miles west, is a good starting point for a hike, and hiking the Ice Age Trail from West Bend covers another stretch of the same national scenic trail.

Further afield

Beyond about 20 miles the trips get longer: Random Lake and Belgium to the south, Cedarburg and Milwaukee further down the lakeshore, and Manitowoc and Green Bay to the north.

Random Lake, about 18 miles southwest, is a small lake town with its own summer events.

Harrington Beach State Park near Belgium, about 19 miles south, has a lakeshore beach and a flooded quarry lake. Further south, Cedarburg, about 34 miles away, has a historic mill-town main street and Wisconsin's last covered bridge nearby.

Milwaukee is about 50 miles south and Green Bay about 55 miles north, both along I-43, and each makes a full day rather than an afternoon. The route between Sheboygan and Milwaukee covers driving, buses and airports for both directions.

A sample day west of the city

A full day west of Sheboygan can take in an orchard, Plymouth's arch and downtown, a lake lunch in Elkhart Lake and an afternoon walk in the Kettle Moraine, with dinner back on the lakefront.

Start at Restoration Orchards in fall for apples and cider, or skip it in other seasons and head straight to Plymouth for coffee and a look at the Cheese Capital arch. Continue to Elkhart Lake for lunch with a view of the lake, checking first that it is not a Road America race weekend if you want a quiet table. In the afternoon, drive into the Kettle Moraine for a walk or the scenic drive, or climb Parnell Tower for the view over the forest. Head back east as the light fades, and eat by the water in Sheboygan.

A day to the south is gentler: the Amsterdam Dunes in the morning, Cedar Grove's Dutch history, and a stop at Kohler-Andrae State Park on the way back to walk the boardwalk across the dunes.

Using Sheboygan as the base

Sheboygan's lakefront and downtown hotels put every trip in this guide within a comfortable out-and-back, with dinner by the water at the end of the day.

A downtown base keeps restaurants within walking distance after a day of driving.

Choosing between lakefront, downtown and the interstate hotels depends on how much driving the trip involves, and where to stay in Sheboygan sorts them by location and price.