The Minocqua area has northwoods vacation written all over it, from hearty dining and locally owned shops to its Min-Aquabats water ski show. Lots of fishing enthusiasts have earned their bragging rights in this part of the state. In Eagle River, you'll find the largest inland chain of lakes in the world, 28 in all, making it an extraordinary territory for water adventures of all sorts. Proving they like frozen water too, the community also takes seriously its designation as the "Snowmobile Capital of the World," with visitors flocking here for national snowmobile races and a chance to tour the Snowmobile Hall of Fame.

If Marinette is your city-of-choice, you'll be within a short drive to the Peshtigo Fire Museum, which remembers the worst fire in the nation's history. It was 1871, and the entire town and surrounding forests were consumed by the blaze, with the fire's aftermath claiming more than 1,000 lives. Close by, the community of White Lake beckons those who are up for the challenge of whitewater rafting on the Wolf River.