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Other stories in "Girlfriend getaways"

• Jolly Cedarburg
  In southeastern Wisconsin, a historic village has perfected the art of the party.
• Art al fresco
  When warm weather arrives, art fairs start to pop up everywhere.
• Power shopping in Wisconsin
  On a late-fall foray, six bargain hunters find treasure amid scenery.
• Where the girls are
  At vacation spots everywhere, women are on the lookout for fun. Here's how to plan a getaway.
• Galena getaway
  In northwest Illinois, this historic village is a favorite destination.
• Red Wing's antiques
  In a scenic river town, hunters find culture and kitsch.
• Cuyuna lode
  In an old mining area, friends go prospecting.
• 12 months of girlfriend getaways
  Here are the best places to go for a good time in all four seasons.
• Minneapolis spa getaway
  A group of girlfriends find a bargain in their own back yard.
• A month for the ladies
  During hunting season, women head out to have fun with their friends.
• Autumn in the studios
  On fall art tours, treasure hunters find vivid colors everywhere they look.
• Best shopping towns for weekenders
  Cute, compact, accommodating — these are good spots for girlfriend getaways.
• Wine walks
  On sunny ridges of the Wisconsin River valley, vineyards prosper.

50 great girlfriend getaways

Looking for ideas? Here are trips for every season.

When women want to find the perfect travel companions, they know where to look: each other.

On the road, women can be more adventurous and spontaneous than they are at home. They also tend to laugh a lot more.

I've traveled with girlfriends, sisters and nieces 50 times in the last 15 years. We do everything there is to do: Amish tours, sampling at vineyards, horseback-riding, tennis lessons, festivals, tubing at indoor water parks and on rivers.

We're too frugal to go to fancy spas, but once we fashioned a do-it-yourself spa weekend. We like to shop as much as anyone, as long as we also get to hike, bike or ski.

I've learned that the most important thing is finding a cozy place to talk and sip wine. My friends still reminisce about the 1943 Finnish log cabin on Minnesota's North Shore — which I made them leave one night to see a play about a woman dying of cancer. It was a good play, but I still feel a little guilty. Fortunately, friends always forgive you.

Almost any trip makes a good girlfriend getaway. But if you're looking for ideas, here's my own Fab Fifty.

For budget getaways, see Cheap trips. For planning tips, see Where the girls are. For best trips by month, see 12 months of girlfriend getaways.

WINTER

Holiday shopping in Madison. We made a November foray to State Street, Monroe Street and to the Winter Art Festival at Monona Terrace, with an evening concert.

For more, see Shopping in Madison.

Wisconsin Dells in November. I took my twenty-something niece and teen daughter to try out a new indoor water park and take advantage of discounts, which are best in November and December.

For more, see Making waves.

Spa getaway to Duluth. A November stay at Fitger's included a half-day of treatments at a day spa in the historic brewery complex, where there's shopping, live music, a brewpub and dinner theater under the same roof.

For more, see Under one roof in Duluth.

Amish tours in southeast Minnesota. We've done this twice, once in fall and once to do some Christmas shopping in early December. It's always fascinating.

For more, see Amish country.

Christmas in Minneapolis. A girlfriend and I had a luxurious but budget-conscious holiday weekend, with two-for-one ballet tickets, happy hour, nightclub-hopping, the free Holidazzle parade and a deal at the chic Graves 601.

For more, see A jolly holiday in Minneapolis.

The quiet season in Lanesboro, Minn. I took my sister, visiting from Florida, to this bluff-country burg in December to see a play, tour B&Bs, shop at the art center and walk the Root River State Trail. Lodging rates drop when the bicycling season ends, and when there's snow, you can ski the trail.

Eagle-watching in Wabasha, Minn. We've traveled to this Mississippi River bald-eagle hot spot twice, once in an unseasonably warm December, when we hiked in the forest above town and stayed at a B&B, and once on a chilly January weekend.

For more, see All eyes on Wabasha.

January shopping in Stillwater, Minn. Tourists crowd into this St. Croix River Valley town in summer and fall, but winter is the time to find great deals in clothing stores and antiques shops.

For more, see Bargain-hunting in Stillwater.

Skiing in Itasca State Park. The cozy, inexpensive hostel on Lake Itasca is perfect for singles, and I've stayed there twice, once with a friend and her young daughter and once with my sister, nieces and daughter, both times skiing the trails of this scenic northern Minnesota park.

For more, see Itasca in winter.

Naniboujou Lodge on Minnesota's North Shore. You'll find serenity and good food at this 1929 classic lodge right on Lake Superior, with snowshoeing/hiking across the highway at Judge C.R. Magney State Park. There's no nightlife, though Grand Marais is 10 miles down the road.

For more, see Serenity at Naniboujou.

Skiing in Afton, Minn. At this village on the St. Croix River, just east of the Twin Cities, we skied downhill at Afton Alps and cross-country at Afton State Park, staying at a local B&B.

Downhill skiing in Duluth. We spent a frugal Thursday-Friday "weekend'' skiing  free at Spirit Mountain, seeing a play and shopping.

For more, see A lift from Duluth.

Skiing and museum-hopping around Superior, Wis. We skied by candlelight in Brule River State Forest and by daylight at Superior Municipal Forest and heard colorful stories about local celebrities at the Bong World War II Heritage Center and Fairlawn Mansion.

For more, see Plainly Superior.

Ski class at Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River, Wis. We took our first stab at skate-skiing at this residential environmental-learning center and skied nearby trails.

For more, see Full throttle in Eagle River.

Snowshoeing and skiing along Wisconsin's Wolf River. There's always a thick layer of snow in the national forest that surrounds Bearpaw Outdoor Adventure Resort in northeast Wisconsin.

Skiing around Spring Green, Wis. We stayed at the Frank Lloyd Wright-style House on the Rock Resort, shopped in the many galleries and skied at nearby Governor Dodge State Park. See Drawn to Spring Green. Spring Green also is a good destination in summer and fall, especially if you like to shop and it's your birthday.

For more, see Wisconsin's birthday town.

Skiing around Wausau, Wis. We skied cross-country and went to the local art museum; there's also the fine Granite Peak downhill slope, snowshoeing in a state park and tubing in a county park.

For more, see Winter in Wausau.

Skiing on Minnesota's Gunflint Trail. At the end of March, we found ski heaven on the beautifully groomed trails around Bearskin and Golden Eagle lodges.

For more, see The best days of winter.

Skiing in Winona, Minn. We followed an early March blizzard down to this Mississippi River town, taking a guided moonlight snowshoe trek at nearby Whitewater State Park and skiing at scenic St. Mary's University.

For more, see Winona with snow.

St. Patrick's Day skiing at Whitecap Mountains near Hurley, Wis. We worked on our tans on this scenic slope in northeast Wisconsin and across the Michigan border at Big Powderhorn. See Cruising at Whitecap.

SPRING

Mushroom hunting in western Wisconsin. One Mother's Day weekend, four friends and I rented a house in the woods near Spring Valley to look for morels. We also hiked, went to an art fair in Menomonie and biked on the Red Cedar State Trail.

For more, see Back to nature in Wisconsin.

A cottage in Fountain City, Wis. I took my daughter and one of her girlfriends to stay at the Hawks View Cottages in this Mississippi River town and see the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden and Rock in the House.

For more, see Fountain City oddities.

Indoor water parks of the Wisconsin Dells. This is a popular spring-break trip, and I took one with a friend and our daughters and once with a surfer friend who wanted to try out the Kalahari's FlowRider.

For more, see Making waves.

On the trail of famous Wisconsin naturalists along the Wisconsin River near Baraboo. One May, we toured Aldo Leopold's famous shack, visited the International Crane Foundation and John Muir's childhood home and walked in Parfrey's Glen, Wisconsin's first natural area.

For more, see Pilgrimage to the Baraboo Hills.

Beer in La Crosse. A sister and I toured the brewery, went to a musical and watched eagles from Grandad Bluff. There's more to do in summer and fall.

For more, see Cruising La Crosse.

SUMMER

Swimming holes on the North Shore. One July, my sister, nieces and daughter rented the Illgen Falls cabin on the Baptism River in Tettegouche State Park. The waterfall outside our door was refreshing, but we also got to cool off in a swimming hole just upstream.

For more, see Cabin on a waterfall.

Ethnic Chicago. One Memorial Day, we watched the parade downtown, then toured the East Indian, Swedish and Chinese neighborhoods, stuffing ourselves with samosas, almond pastries and dim sum.

For more, see Globe-trotting in Chicago.

Tubing in Lanesboro, Minn. Early one June, my niece and I spent an unusually warm weekend tubing on the Root River and bicycling and in-line skating on the state trail.

For more, see Languid in Lanesboro.

Tennis camp in St. Peter, Minn. A girlfriend and I spent a weekend playing  non-stop at the renowned Tennis & Life program at Gustavus Adolphus College in this Minnesota River town.

For more, see Second-chance jocks.

Tubing the Rum River. One August, we escaped 95-degree heat floating near Isanti, an hour north of the Twin Cities.

For more, see Tubing a lazy river.

Chip dip and beer. Another hot day, we traveled to Chippewa Falls, Wis., to tour the Leinenkugel's brewery and take a leisurely tube float down the Chippewa River.

For more, see Beer and megabytes.

FALL

Brewery and pub tour of southern Wisconsin. A fellow beer lover and I made a pilgrimage from Capital Brewery in Madison to Mount Horeb, Mineral Point, New Glarus and Janesville.

For more, see True Brew.

Black Hawk's trail and the Mississippi River. We spent a September weekend in Wisconsin's Vernon County following the flight of Black Hawk in 1832, making stops at scenic river overlooks and attending Pickwick Mill Day in the bluffs south of Winona.

Brainerd Lakes antiquing and the outdoors. In the old mining town of Crosby, Minn., two friends and I shopped the antiques emporiums and rode on the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail; in Pine River, we hiked and went horseback-riding.

For more, see Cuyuna lode and Autumn at the lake.

Vineyard tour of the Wisconsin River Valley. Five of us made a harvest-time trip up the Wisconsin River, from Spurgeon Vineyards near Muscoda to Botham near Barneveld and Wollersheim in Prairie du Sac, with stops to hike and enjoy the fall colors.

For more, see Wine walks.

Hiking the North Shore. Late one October, after the fall crowds were gone, a friend and I hiked trails in state parks up and down the shore. See Quiet time on the North Shore. Another October, we hiked trails around Cove Point Lodge near Beaver Bay and toured the Ship of Ghouls in Duluth's harbor.

Antiquing in Red Wing, Minn. An antiques-loving friend and I hit the shops, stayed at the St. James Hotel and saw a show at the Sheldon Theatre.

For more, see Antiquing in Red Wing.

Antiquing in Lindstrom, Cannon Falls and Northfield, Minn. Every fall, Community Education of Southwest High School in Minneapolis loads up a motorcoach with women and takes them on a antique-hunting field trip. I've gone twice with girlfriends.

For more, see Swedish smorgasbord.

Shipwreck tour of Minnesota's North Shore. Four of us headed to Lake Superior on a tour of shipwreck sites narrated by me (with the help of a book) and a stay at the Finn House, a 1943 log cottage on a point near Lutsen.

For more, see Gales of November.

Shopping in southwest Wisconsin. Six of us made a pre-Christmas foray, stopping at the Company Store outlet in La Crosse, five stores that sell cut-rate Land's End catalog returns, the galleries of Mineral Point and a shoe emporium. In between, we hiked.

For more, see Power shopping in Wisconsin.

Cornish Fest in Mineral Point, Wis. Four of us took a trip to our favorite shopping town, this time for the late-September Cornish Fest and a stay at the lovely Maple Wood Lodge. While we were there, we took a swing through cheese country, visiting New Glarus and Monroe.

For more, see Cozying up to the Cornish.

Shopping in Northfield. This college town south of the Twin Cities is a good place to find interesting stocking stuffers and go to a free concert or gallery walk.

For more, see Scrappy Northfield.

Photography at Wolf Ridge Environment Learning Center on the North Shore. A friend and I took a class on "Zen and the Art of Photography,'' with late-fall colors as a bonus.

These non-profit centers offer many low-cost weekends; see Minnesota's environmental learning centers.

More good getaways

Just north of Madison, Cedarburg and its festivals are irresistible to most women. For more, see Jolly Cedarburg.

Door County, with its city shopping and country scenery, is a place that can please everybody in a big group. For more, see Door County stories.

In northwest Illinois, Galena is the consummate chick town, with dozens of shops, wine-tasting, rows of impressive mansions and cooking and craft classes. See Galena getaway. It's also good for chicks who live to paddle and bike; see Outdoors in Galena.

Any art fair makes a good destination in summer: For more, see Art al fresco.

In the Twin Cities, Girlfriends' Mystery Tours takes a motorcoach full of women on all-day surprise trips, $132-$135 including food, starting from the southern suburb of Apple Valley.

In northwest Minnesota, Girltime Getaways schedules mystery-bus overnights, $225 double occupancy, $200 triple and quad occupancy. Many start from Sartell, home of co-founder Marci Turenne Hansen, or Fosston, home of co-founder Michelle Levin.

Last updated on July 16, 2010