Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads take travelers to hidden corners of the state

Sam Osborn from Oshkosh believes in taking the road less traveled — literally.

For the past four years, he has been riding his motorcycle all over the state to explore Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads.

“I have been visiting these roads ever since I heard of the program in 2020,” Osborn wrote in an email to WPR. “Since then, it has been an amazing way to see our beautiful state of Wisconsin.”

The Rustic Roads road classification program was officially established by the state Legislature in 1973 and is overseen by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Liat Bonneville is the DOT’s Rustic Roads coordinator. 

Bonneville told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the program was originally conceived of and championed by Earl Skagen, a county highway commissioner in Racine.

“His very forward idea was a new road classification where the journey along the Rustic Road is the destination,” she said.

The process of designating a Rustic Road is very “grassroots,” Bonneville said. Anyone can nominate a road for consideration as long as they submit proof of community support. Next, two members of the Rustic Roads Board drive along the nominated road and then make a recommendation to the board.

There are a few boxes a road needs to check to be considered.

“A Rustic Road has to be lightly traveled. It has to have outstanding natural features, as in wildlife, vegetation, rugged terrain, rustic or agricultural vistas that set it apart from other roads,” Bonneville said.

The road also has to be at least two miles long, with no development plans that would change its “rustic” character.

Today, there are 126 designated Rustic Roads in Wisconsin, spanning 760 miles and 61 counties. Earlier this year, Osborn received a certificate of completion from the Department of Transportation for riding his motorcycle on all of them.

“After four years in the making and riding more certain years and a little less other years, this year I decided to make it a point and get out and finish,” Osborn said on “Wisconsin Today.” “It was exciting to go to places of the state I haven’t been before, quite far from home. It was a great time, and I’m very happy to have the certificate now to show for it.”

Riding the Rustic Roads

Osborn is part of a community of riders who take pride in “collecting” Rustic Roads. Motorcyclists can receive mementos through the DOT’s Rustic Roads Motorcycle Tour Program, which offers a patch for riding 10 roads and a certificate for riding 25.

Robb Zimdars from Hubertus has made it a goal to earn the motorcycle certificate each year. So far, he’s collected two and just returned from a four-day ride that qualifies him for a third.

Zimdars said it’s hard to pick a favorite, but Rustic Road 99 near Potosi stands out because it set him on an unexpected adventure down to the southwest corner of the state, on a ferry across the Mississippi and back into Wisconsin by way of Good-Nuf Hollow Road in Grant County.

“Then I worked my way up through Bagley, which was just beautiful, and up to Wyalusing State Park, which I hadn’t visited in 25 years — one of the most beautiful scenic vistas in Wisconsin,” Zimdars said. “And it’s all because of that one little three-mile stretch of road.”

To get the most out of the rides, Zimdars likes to ditch the GPS and use an old-fashioned paper map.

“You spread out the map. It shows you where you’re going, where you are, where you’ve been. And it shows you alternate detours that you can take between where you’re at and where you’re going,” he said. “Just getting out and spreading out a map and deciding which of these (Rustic Roads) to take on is the start of an adventure.”

Osborn also believes in focusing on the journey over the destination.

“It’s all about taking that road less traveled,” he said. “As motorcyclists, that’s something we live by — just creating these stories that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to tell (if you were) just going down an interstate, for example. It’s really about creating those memories and remembering these places to tell other motorcyclists (about) in the future.”

In the driver’s seat

Drivers, bicyclists and even walkers can also enjoy Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads. The DOT has a keychain for people who complete 10 roads via any mode of transportation.

Jason Safian from Green Bay said he was “immediately hooked” on Rustic Roads after driving along R-7 in Kewaunee County last spring.

“That random Sunday drive in May 2023 inspired an idea: I began to travel each of the roads and film my experience,” he wrote in an email to WPR. 

A few months later, he began to release videos as part of a weekly series on his YouTube channel “Unique Wisconsin.”

In the videos, Safian rates each Rustic Road in the categories of wildlife, scenery, vista views, drivability, “hustle and bustle” and historical interest.

So far, he has documented 59 roads and is on track to visit all 126 Rustic Roads by early 2026. He said that first Rustic Road, R-7, remains among his favorites and has received his highest rating so far.

“I have had the opportunity to travel parts of the state that I otherwise would have likely just flown by on the interstate,” Safian said. “I appreciate how the roads help us slow down and enjoy the beauty surrounding us.”

More information about the program and a detailed map and description of each Rustic Road is available in a guide published by the Department of Transportation.