Wisconsin's tourism industry has become accustomed to setting records but this time it has pulled off a trifecta.
Visitors use a tandem bicycle last week to explore Capitol Square and the city's Downtown, home to restaurants, bars, shops and other attractions. An estimated 9.2 million people visited Dane County in 2024, resulting in $1.5 billion in direct tourism spending, a 3.8% increase over 2023.
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The end of the Memorial Day weekend resulted in a flurry of activity at the Springstead boat landing on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage. Fishing is a popular sport that draws tourists from around the country to Wisconsin, home to more than 15,000 lakes. The overall economic impact of tourism in Wisconsin in 2024 was a record $25.8 billion.
One of the draws in Dane County is the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, where admission is free.
An Original Wisconsin Ducks splashes into Lake Delton, nestled in the heart of the Wisconsin Dells. Sauk County ranks second in the state in tourism spending as millions come from around the world to visit the area.
Customers of Lucille in Madison's Downtown enjoy the restaurant’s open-air dining on Friday. Food and beverage sales accounted for $4.3 billion in direct tourism spending in Wisconsin in 2024, a 3.9% increase over 2023.
Paige Olson, left, of Minneapolis, with her parents, Catherine and Todd Olson, of Middleton, visit Picnic Point Monday in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on Lake Mendota. The peninsula is a popular hike for both locals and visitors to the city.
Photos: A tour of the new Wright in Madison Trail
The Unitarian Meeting House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was completed in 1951 on University Bay Drive.
The Jacobs House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Herbert and Katherine Jacobs and constructed in 1937. The private home is now a National Historic Landmark.
The Unitarian Meeting House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Madison, Wi.
Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue is one of the main streets through Middleton Hills in Middleton. The neighborhood, inspired by Wright's designs, is not part of the "Wright in Madison" trail.
A bust of architect Frank Lloyd Wright on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Monona Terrace in Madison, Wi.
The Herbert Jacobs house, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Madison, Wi.
The Rev. Kelly Asprooth-Jackson stands in the sanctuary of the First Unitarian Meeting House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1951. The Meeting House is one of the stops on a new "Wright in Madison" trail designed to show off Wright's work and tell the story of his time in Madison.
The half-circle windows of Monona Terrace provide sweeping views of Lake Monona. Frank Lloyd Wright had envisioned a convention center in Madison's Downtown since the 1930s, but it wasn't built until the middle 1990s.
The Gilmore House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was constructed in 1909 in what is now the University Heights Historic District just a few blocks west of Camp Randall. The house is considered a quintessential Wright design and was built for Eugene Gilmore, a law professor at UW-Madison.
The Unitarian Meeting House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Madison, Wi.
The fountain of Monona Terrace on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Madison, Wi.
People walk along the top of Monona Terrace past blooming trees on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Madison, Wi.
