Fitchburg, WI Outdoor Activities

Trails wind through 95 acres of prairies, wetlands, and woodlands at Aldo Leopold Nature Center, stitching the disparate environs into a hikeable network ripe for exploration. Through the educational programs and interactive exhibits, the naturalists and volunteers that run the center equip members with the knowledge necessary to fully commune with the land and its inhabitants. Exploration guides chart preset courses through the park, and the center's exhibits break down natural phenomena such as how tadpoles grow into frogs or how frogs grow into turtles. As a reward for supporting the nature center through their annual contributions, members also gain access to special programs and events such as the Fall Fest and the Maple Syrup Fest.

In 1853, with pieces of buff sandstone hauled from a nearby quarry, Able Dunning and his wife erected a Greek Revival farmhouse on University Avenue in Madison. They called the house Mapleside, and it sat for 117 years like a stoic grandmother, surveying the surrounding landscape as spring’s innumerable rows of crops gave way to winter’s barren fields.

After efforts to save the historic building failed, community members joined forces to create the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, the independent, nonprofit organization continues to preserve the city's historic character through efforts to revitalize neighborhoods and rehabilitate buildings. Its annual activities focus on educating residents about Madison’s past through the buildings that endure as monuments to bygone eras. The hope is that a new generation of activists might be inspired to take up the mantle of preservation after a historic architecture tour of State Street, Bascom Hill, or Bucky Badger’s slowly eroding burrow.