Wisconsin
Lower Wisconsin River Road
Wisconsin’s Scenic Byways
The Wisconsin Act 9 of 1991 directed the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to develop and administer a scenic byways program. WisDOT defines a scenic byway as a numbered state highway system route (not including interstate highways), at least 30 miles long, that offers travelers numerous scenic and historical attributes whose promotion can serve to boost a region’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.
Key Points
- Wisconsin is home to six scenic byways, including two national scenic byways and four state and federal agency byways.
- Visitors to Door County, home to the newly elevated Door County Coastal Byway, spent a total of $374 million in 2019, supporting around 2,800 jobs.
- 615,000 park visitors spent an estimated 456.3 million in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands in Wisconsin.
- Travel and tourism adds $22.2 billion to the Wisconsin economy, suppporting 202,000 jobs.
- Every $1 spent promoting tourism returned $8 in tax revenues.
Wisconsin Byways
Map Key:
- National Scenic Byways
- State Scenic Byways
- All-American Roads
- Federal Agency Byways
All-American Roads
National Scenic Byways
Federal Agency Byways
State Scenic Byways
Byways Provide Access to Public Lands
Wisconsin byways provide access to the state’s most spectacular public lands, including 41 state parks, 2 national forests, 8 state forests, 5 national wildlife refuges, and 7 state wildlife areas.
About the National Scenic Byways Program
The National Scenic Byways Program, established by Congress in 1991, recognizes historic, scenic, and culturally important roads, all of which promote economic development and tourism in communities around the U.S. There are more than 1,200 byways in all 50 states.
All scenic byways exhibit one or more of six core intrinsic qualities — scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, or natural. For a road to be named a national scenic byway, it must first be designated a state, tribal, or federal agency scenic byway. Once achieving that, a road may apply for national scenic byway designation, but its intrinsic quality must be of regional significance. All-American Roads are the very best of the national scenic byways, demonstrating at least two intrinsic qualities of national significance.