Travel With Friends
Whether the destination is near or far, the Friends offer meaningful, well-planned trips geared toward travelers who appreciate the beauty and complexity of nature and are eager to learn more from experts carefully selected to guide the tours.
Upcoming trips include:
- Chicago Field Museum - February 6, 2013 - Filled
- Experience Yellowstone National Park in Winter with Friends of the Arboretum - February 15-20 and February 24-March 1, 2013 - Both Filled
- Following in the Footprints of the Glacier - April 18, 2013 - Filled
- Following in the Footprints of the Glacier - April 23, 2013 - Filled
- Cedarburg Bog and Eastern Wisconsin Natural Areas - May 14, 2013 - Filled
- Exploring Ancient and Restored Wisconsin: Aztalan's Prehistory and Zeloski Marsh - May 30, 2013
- Horicon Marsh Trip - June 5, 2013
- Mississippi River Fall Migration Cruise - October 31 or November 6, 2013
View Photo Albums Of Previous Trips
Chicago Field Museum - Filled
February 6, 2013
Did you know that the Field Museum’s collection of biological, anthropological, natural and historical items is one of the largest and finest in the world with over 20 million specimens? Less than 1 percent of these are on display to the public.
On this tour we will have the opportunity to explore the storerooms and working laboratories that house these unique collections during an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour.
Our day at the museum will include two formal tours. One tour begins in Stanley Field Hall with a docent leading our group on a visit of the museum’s highlights. This includes learning about the founding of the museum and a close-up look at Sue, the world’s largest, best preserved and most complete T. rex, and the African Lions of Tsavo, part of the museum’s collection since the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893
The second tour takes us into one of the non-public collections areas. We’ll head to the Zoology and Entomology Departments, with a museum curatorial staff member giving us a close-up view of the museum’s special insect collection and the area where scientific staff work every day.
After a lunch break (your tour fee includes a $10 voucher for use in the museum’s Corner Bakery Café) and we will re-group for a showing of the 3-D film Waking the T. rex: The Story of Sue.
This movie traces the amazing story of how Sue was discovered in the badlands of South Dakota and shows what dinosaur life was really like for this colossal animal as it grows from a hatchling to a 7-ton ferocious beast. The film also includes a real excavation with Field Museum paleontologists as they search for ancient fossils. After the film, we have free time to explore the rest of the permanent exhibits on our own
The museum’s 35 permanent exhibits feature their core collections. These exhibits include: Inside Ancient Egypt, an extended display of Egyptian artifacts including 23 mummies and a tomb with 5,000 year old hieroglyph, Native American Hall, the Grainger Hall of Gems with a large collection of diamonds and gems from around the world, the Hall of Jade focusing on Chinese jade items spanning 8,000 years, Ancient Americas, an exhibit devoted to a large collection of Native American artifacts, and the Evolving Planet, a display spanning 4 billion years of life on Earth with giant sloths, wooly mammoths and an expanded dinosaur hall.
The trip fee is $135 for members and $170 for non-members (includes a Friends membership) and includes motor coach transportation, basic admission to The Field Museum, docent-led Museum Highlights tour, special Behind-the-Scenes curator-led tour, viewing of the 3-D Waking the T. rex film, and $10 voucher for the Corner Bakery Café. The trip is limited to 50 people.
If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760
Special Tour Announced!
Experience Yellowstone National Park in Winter with Friends of the Arboretum - Both Filled
February 15 -20 and February 24-March 1, 2013
Join the Friends of the Arboretum in experiencing the dramatic natural world of Yellowstone National Park in winter. This may be the best time of the year to visit Yellowstone: prime time for wildlife viewing and there are relatively few park visitors. We will have the opportunity to see billowing geysers (including Old Faithful), frosted landscapes, frozen waterfalls, abundant bison, elegant elk, possible wolf sightings, western birdlife and more – truly a magical season in our country’s first national park.
We will visit Yellowstone National Park at its north entrance, near Gardiner, Montana and Mammoth Hot Springs, to experience a winter wonderland found no other place on earth. Our professional Yellowstone guides will amaze you with their knowledge of the ecology, geothermal features and wildlife of this iconic American destination. Our unique Yellowstone itinerary includes guided explorations via minibus, snowcoach, snowshoe (optional), and on foot. We’ll traverse the park from the famous terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs to the stunning thermal features of Old Faithful to the wildlife rich Lamar Valley.
A highlight for the week features the time we spend looking for Yellowstone’s wolves and wildlife throughout the beautiful landscapes of the Lamar Valley, getting a rare glimpse of the natural habitat and ecology that is home to Yellowstone's famous wolf packs, bison, elk, and other animals. If weather and snow permit, we’ll also enjoy an easy snowshoeing tour of the upper terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.
The six day tour begins in Bozeman, Montana, and includes 5 nights lodging (including a night in the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful), most meals, naturalist-led Lamar Valley wildlife tour, snowcoach tours to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Old Faithful and Norris Geyser Basin, ground transportation to and from Yellowstone National Park and Bozeman, Montana, professional naturalist guide and Friends of the Arboretum host. Cost for the tour is $2099, double occupancy, with $425 single supplement. Group size is limited, so register soon. Early bison special discount is offered of $50 off per person if registered before September 30, 2012. Send a deposit of $450 per person to Door County Nature and Travel, P. O. Box 136 Baileys Harbor, WI 54202.
What natural adventure could be more dramatic than a visit to America’s first national park in winter? We’ll stay in comfortable local lodging, dine with bison and elk nearby and be led by local professional naturalist guides. For more information on this exclusive first time offering from the Friends of the Arboretum, contact Sara Minkoff at sminkoff@wisc.edu or 608.263.7760, or tour planner Paul Regnier at doorcountypaul@gmail.com.
Following in the Footprints of the Glacier- Filled
April 18, 2013
Curious to learn more about Wisconsin’s geological features? Interested in decoding drumlins and moraines, and understanding more about how ancient seas, torrential rivers, persistent winds, and gigantic masses of ice have shaped the natural landscapes seen in today’s Dane County?
Led by Arboretum naturalists Sue Bridson, Miguela Fry and Stephanie Williams, this trip offers a close-up look at the glacial geology of western Dane County. We start the morning with a 25-minute indoor presentation, a virtual tour of the rocks and landforms we will see on our trip.
Then, we’ll head out to Pope Farm Conservancy for a sweeping view of local glacial features, take a short woodland hike on part of Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail to view Wilkie Gorge, visit a glacial-outwash working quarry, and a stop at a 450-million-year-old ocean floor to hunt for fossils.
We will have a gourmet lunch at The Old Feed Mill in Mazomanie. Its rich history dates back to pre-Civil War 1857, the year the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company arrived from Milwaukee, platted Mazomanie, and continued its drive to Prairie du Chien to create the first rail connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system.
While in the Mazomanie area, they also developed a water power supply for a new flouring mill, what is now The Old Feed Mill. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, received a prestigious Certificate of Commendation from the Wisconsin State Historical Society, after three years of painstaking restoration.
Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended. The fee for the trip includes lunch, professional tour guides, handouts and motor coach transportation. Tour goes rain or shine!
The trip fee is $95 for members and $130 for non-members (includes a Friends membership). We leave at 8 a.m. from the Arboretum Visitor Center and return at 4 p.m.
If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760
Following in the Footprints of the Glacier- Filled
April 23, 2013
The April 18 trip sold out quickly, so due to popular demand, we have added an additional date.
Curious to learn more about Wisconsin’s geological features? Interested in decoding drumlins and moraines, and understanding more about how ancient seas, torrential rivers, persistent winds, and gigantic masses of ice have shaped the natural landscapes seen in today’s Dane County?
Led by Arboretum naturalists Sue Bridson, Miguela Fry and Stephanie Williams, this trip offers a close-up look at the glacial geology of western Dane County. We start the morning with a 25-minute indoor presentation, a virtual tour of the rocks and landforms we will see on our trip.
Then, we’ll head out to Pope Farm Conservancy for a sweeping view of local glacial features, take a short woodland hike on part of Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail to view Wilkie Gorge, visit a glacial-outwash working quarry, and a stop at a 450-million-year-old ocean floor to hunt for fossils.
We will have a gourmet lunch at The Old Feed Mill in Mazomanie. Its rich history dates back to pre-Civil War 1857, the year the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company arrived from Milwaukee, platted Mazomanie, and continued its drive to Prairie du Chien to create the first rail connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system.
While in the Mazomanie area, they also developed a water power supply for a new flouring mill, what is now The Old Feed Mill. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, received a prestigious Certificate of Commendation from the Wisconsin State Historical Society, after three years of painstaking restoration.
Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended. The fee for the trip includes lunch, professional tour guides, handouts and motor coach transportation. Tour goes rain or shine!
The trip fee is $95 for members and $130 for non-members (includes a Friends membership). We leave at 8 a.m. from the Arboretum Visitor Center and return at 4 p.m.
If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760
Cedarburg Bog and Eastern Wisconsin Natural Areas- Filled
May 14, 2013
Join fellow members of the Friends for a unique opportunity to explore several significant natural areas in southeastern Wisconsin. We will start our day with a guided tour of Cedarburg Bog, take a break for a hearty lunch at the Riverside Brewery in West Bend, and in the afternoon we will explore other natural areas as we wind our way back to the Arboretum.
Many of the last remnants of Wisconsin's native landscapes are protected under the State Natural Areas system. These areas are important places for scientific research, ecological restoration and recreation. They protect more than 90 percent of the plants and 75 percent of the animals on Wisconsin's lists of endangered and threatened species.
Cedarburg Bog, in Ozaukee County, is one of the largest and most diverse wetlands remaining in southeastern Wisconsin. The most unusual feature is North America's southernmost "string bog," consisting of lines ("strings") of stunted cedars and tamarack trees alternating with sedge-dominated flats, more typical of northern boreal regions.
Cedarburg Bog is home to a diverse collection of plants and animals, including several carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and sundews. It is a habitat for both breeding and migrating birds, and is particularly valuable for its ability to support northern birds breeding at the southern limit of their range.
The uniqueness of Cedarburg Bog has been acknowledged by its inclusion in several state, national and international scientific programs. It is jointly owned by the Wisconsin DNR and UW-Milwaukee, which maintains a Field Station for educational programs and research. Our tour of this area will be led by Dr. Jim Reinartz, plant ecologist and evolutionary biologist, director of the UW-Milwaukee Field Station, adjunct professor of biological sciences, and recipient of the Friends-sponsored Henry C. Greene Award for Innovative Approaches in Restoration, one of the Leopold Restoration Awards.
After lunch we will explore several other significant State Natural Areas. Mark Martin, retired DNR Natural Areas Manager, and Chuck Pils, retired director of the DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources, will lead this portion of our tour. Both are experienced tour leaders and intimately familiar with Wisconsin's natural areas.
The walk at the Field Station will be approximately 2 miles on trails with gentle terrain and on a 2 foot-wide boardwalk. Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides, and binoculars are recommended. The trip is limited to 40 people and goes rain or shine! The fee includes lunch, professional tour guides, and motor coach transportation.
The trip fee is $100 for members and $135 for non-members (includes a 1-year basic Friends membership). We leave at 7:30 a.m. from the Arboretum Visitor Center and return at 5 p.m.
If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760
Exploring Ancient and Restored Wisconsin: Aztalan's Prehistory and Zeloski Marsh - May 30, 2013
Learn about and explore several significant places in southeastern Wisconsin's landscape. Mark Martin and Chuck Pils, both retired biologists with the Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources, will be our guides on this tour. They have extensive experience leading field trips and are very familiar with the natural areas we will be visiting.
We start the day at a National Historic Landmark site in Aztalan State Park, the largest and most significant archaeological location in Wisconsin. Former Wisconsin State Archaeologist Bob Birmingham is the author of numerous award-winning books about Wisconsin’s native peoples, including Aztalan: Mysteries of An Ancient Indian Town. He will lead us through the site and give a presentation about the history of the site. Bob is the recipient of an award for his research from the Wisconsin Archaeological Society and one from the Friends of Wisconsin Parks for his educational work at Aztalan State Park.
Aztalan State Park showcases the northernmost outpost of an ancient Middle-Mississippian culture in a village that thrived between 1000 and 1300 A.D. These early Wisconsin settlers built large earthen temples, flat-topped pyramidal mounds, houses, and an enormous stockade that surrounded a village site area of more than 20 acres. Here they hunted, fished, and farmed the land with other non- Mississippian native groups for about 150 years.
By 1250 A.D. the people living at Aztalan mysteriously abandoned the site. This abandonment foretold the eventual demise of Cahokia and the Mississippian lifeway in the Midwest as the focus of the Mississippian civilization shifted to the southeastern United States. Although much has been learned about Aztalan since its discovery in the early 19th century, the full story of this ancient city is still unknown.
After a hearty buffet lunch in Lake Mills, we will explore several nearby natural and restored areas. The most significant is Zeloski Marsh, a recently restored wildlife management area that is quickly becoming the new birding hotspot in southeast Wisconsin. When fully restored it will contain more than 1,500 acres of wetland and grassland.
This area has become a major stopover for waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds during the spring migration and nesting seasons, and provides important year-round habitat for a wide variety of birds. Birders have observed over 200 bird species using the property, with more than 10,00 blue-winged teal, 400 double-crested cormorants, 200 American white pelicans, and high numbers of other species, including several threatened and rare species such as short-eared owls, Forester’s terns, great egrets, black-necked stilts, whooping cranes, and prothonatary warblers.
The trip is limited to 50 people. The cost for the trip is $70 cost ($105 for non-members; this includes a membership in Friends). We will leave from the Arboretum Visitor Center at 8 a.m. and return to the Visitor Center at 4 p.m.
Tour goes rain or shine! Sturdy shoes, outdoor clothing, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended. The fee for the trip includes all guide and park fees, buffet lunch, and motor coach transportation.
Download Registration Form
To see a slide show about Zeloski Marsh, click here
Explore Horicon Marsh - June 5, 2013
Experience spring migration at Horicon Marsh, the "Little Everglades of the North." Enjoy seeking out some of the more than 260 species of birds Horicon Marsh has to offer. Bring your bird book and binoculars -- let's go birding!
This tour of the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States includes a trip into the marsh aboard a pontoon boat, lunch and a naturalist-led walking tour.
We will journey into the heart of the marsh on a 2-hour, pontoon boat birding tour, exploring Wisconsin's only "Wetland of International Importance."
Our gourmet unch is at the Audubon Inn in Mayville, a National Historic Landmark. After lunch, Liz Herzmann, DNR naturalist and wildlife educator, will lead a walking tour of the southern marsh and talk about its cultural and natural history, highlighting the abundant and diverse wildlife.
Dress for the weather; we will be spending most of the day outdoors. Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended.
The trip is limited to 50 people. The cost for the trip is $95 for members of Friends and $130 for non-members (includes a membership in Friends). We will leave from the Arboretum Visitor Center at 7:30 a.m. and return to the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.
Questions? Send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff at sminkoff@wisc.edu or phone the Friends office at 608.263.7760.
Fall Migration Cruise: Explore the Wetlands and Wildlife of the Mississippi River by Riverboat October 31 or November 6, 2013
Join the Friends of the Arboretum on October 31 or on November 6 for a unique three-hour expertly narrated riverboat tour of the Upper Mississippi River. We'll explore a variety of wetland habitats including open water, narrow backwaters and side channels along riverside cliffs and floodplain forests.
With the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge known as one of the most noteworthy bird migration flyways in the world, we expect to see a variety of migrating and resident birds.
Even though we can expect brisk temperatures, participants will experience amazing close-up views of thousands of elegant tundra swans and hundreds of a wide variety of other waterfowl plus numerous bald eagles and other wildlife. The 261-mile refuge is the longest river refuge in the continental US and well known as bird watchers paradise.
We will board our US Coast Guard-inspected eco-boat, specially designed to navigate otherwise inaccessible waters of the Mississippi, at Lansing, Iowa and explore Pool 9 of the Wildlife Refuge as well as the backwaters and open channel nearby.
Along the way, we will enjoy a narrated tour from our USCG-licensed captain, who will share information about the river, navigation, history and people. We will also have an experienced birder and a river historian on board to provide information and identification.
This tour offers visitors a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the scenic beauty and natural wonders of the Upper Mississippi River in the comfort of the Mississippi Explorer, a specially designed, enclosed and heated vessel (with on board restrooms) offering protection from inclement weather while providing exceptional views.
Dress for the weather, we'll go rain or shine. Be sure to bring your cameras and binoculars!
The fee for this trip is $100 for members and $135 for non-members (which includes a Friends membership) and includes our motor coach transportation, box lunch, guide, and Mississippi River chartered boat trip. The trip is limited to 50 people.
If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760