By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
MADISON – Karl Gutknecht never planned on running a tour company.
But Gutknecht, a former state official, stumbled into leading cycling adventures during a trip to Germany more than a decade ago. One thing led to another and he found himself organizing trips for small groups of riders through Italy and German in the late 1990s.
Four years ago, Gutknecht brought his small-scale bike outings to the Badger State, featuring adventures in the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin. He will offer one of these tours this fall – dubbed “Europe in Your Back Yard” – from Sept. 23-29. The price, which covers nearly all costs for seven days, is $1,295. See www.culturetouring.com.
Elsewhere around the state, other small companies offer unique tours, ranging from visits to artisan cheese makers to Amish farms to wildlife preserves to kayaking in Lake Superior.
All of which fills niches that State Tourism Director Kelli Trumble collectively refers to as “preservation travel.” It’s a term that she says started with green travel initiatives and blossomed from there.
“We’d like to see the definition of preservation travel be inclusive of eco-friendly activities that are easy on the natural resources, culinary travel featuring locally grown products, tourism businesses doing their part to reduce their environmental footprint, as well as preservation of cultures and urban cultural landmarks. Even small businesses can play a starring role with this approach.”
Wisconsin is already leading the country with its Travel Green Wisconsin program which certifies tourism businesses for their earth-friendly practices, she said. The state will be host to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) North American Ecotourism Conference September 26-28 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
The lanky Gutknecht – who was raised on a farm in rural Wisconsin – loathes the term tour operator. By his way of thinking, what he does is cultural travel or even diplomacy.
“Wherever we go, we get in contact with the countryside, the people and the food,” said Gutknecht, who did his first bicycle tour in Europe in 1959 through the American Youth Hostel program.
“I use local guides and partners, here and abroad. And we definitely are not numbers driven. Money is not my motivator. Delivering wonderful active, cultural, culinary and artistic experiences is why I do this.”
Gutknecht, whose outfit – Culture Touring – specializes in the “food, culture and making connections with locals,” says he began tours in Europe to get Americans off the beaten path.
Similarly, he wanted to show people what the towns such as Mineral Point, New Glarus, Barneveld, Pendarvis and Mt. Horeb had to offer.
Gutknecht’s company, initially known as Cycle Touring International, continues to have a significant focus on bicycling with two-wheeled trips in Eruope and New Zealand, using locals as guides to give participants a better flavor of the landscape and people.
But he has broadened his offerings this fall with an Irish golf tour – led by Nakoma Country Club pro Brad Peck; a Croatian photo tour, led by Madison photographer Zane Williams; and a Northern Italy culinary tour led by food critic Jerry Minnich.
In late November, travelers can sample German Christmas markets with Culturetouring.com. And next April, triathletes can train with top coaches on Italy’s Adriatic coast while visiting vineyards and ancient villages. In addition, members of the Madison Club will be doing a Burgundy wine barge tour through Gutknecht in the future.
In southwestern Wisconsin, where the Amish community has been growing over the past several decades with an influx of farmers from states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa, Kathy Kuderer has been offering visits to Amish farms for the past dozen years.
Kuderer, who grew up in the Cashton area, has many neighbors and good friends in the (use another word for Amish here). In addition to selling their crafts and products at a store she operates, she also offers outsiders a peak into a simpler world with her “Down A Country Road Amish Tours.” See www.downacountryroad.com.
She leads both individual family tours in which she rides with families in their own cars, to bus tours for larger groups. Prices start at $50 for a family tour.
“I tell people about the Amish history and customs and we visit with families that I have known for years,” she said. “Because these Amish have something to sell, it benefits them, too.
“And the visitors are fascinated because this is a throwback to the 1800s with no telephones, electricity and limited indoor plumbing. We’ve had people from all 50 states and 56 foreign countries.”
Over in the Horicon Marsh, about an hour northeast of Madison, Marc and Gayl Zuelsdorf help visitors get a little closer to nature with their Blue Heron Landing Tours.
“We’ve running guided boat trips in the marsh for decades, starting with my father, Roland, some 44 years ago,” said Marc. Tours range in price from $9.50 to $18. See www.horiconmarsh.com.
“Our tours are obviously nature related and we take advantage of all the wildlife here. In addition to the herons, there are 295 other species of birds and other animals in the marsh.”
In addition to pontoon boat tours, the Zuelsdorf’s also rent canoes and kayaks through the last weekend of October.
“But I like leading the boat tours the best,” said Zuelsdorf, 54. “After all these years, it’s still fun to get out there in the marsh to tell people about the herons, bear, otter, dear and other creatures.”
For more information on tourism in Wisconsin – of all kinds – go to www.travelwisconsin.com.