Milwaukeeans have a new place to escape to when they need a break from the city. The modern cabin rental company Getaway, which has 29 locations nationwide, opened its first Wisconsin outpost this December, just outside of Wild Rose, in Waushara County.
The location is close enough to Milwaukee to make for a convenient weekend trip but also remote enough to be a real retreat. “As we considered our first Wisconsin location, it was important to find a spot nestled in nature that was easily accessible to people living in or near Milwaukee,” said Getaway’s founder and CEO, Jon Staff. “Wild Rose proved to be the perfect spot.”
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It’s also a pretty good spot if you’re camping-curious but worried that city life has made you soft. In lieu of bare patches of dirt, Getaway Wild Rose’s 40 lots – spread across 317 acres – are populated with custom-built tiny cabins named after a staff member’s or guest’s grandparent. The cabins come with outdoor fire pits and cell phone lockboxes, and there’s no Wi-Fi, so you can kind of trick yourself into thinking you’re roughing it, but they also have heat/AC, hot showers, kitchenettes, and queen-size beds, so you won’t actually be, not really.
The cabins’ kitchenettes are outfitted with dishware, cooking tools, mini fridges, a stovetop, and essential seasonings, and you’ll find towels, shampoo, and body wash in the bathrooms and pillows and linens on the beds. Cell service is delightfully spotty, but each cabin has books, playing cards and a Bluetooth-equipped radio to amuse yourself with. Outside are Adirondack chairs, a picnic table, and a cache of fire starters and firewood for purchase – and if you’re visiting with your dog, Getaway will also hook you up with a leash line, bowls, treats and waste bags.
What you’ll probably appreciate most about Getaway’s cabins, though, is just how pretty they are. The interiors are finished with soothing eastern white pine, and an enormous picture window occupies the entire wall next to the bed (or beds, if you opt for a four-person cabin with bunks). “Our design focuses on creating a place that enables our guests to escape to nature as effortlessly as possible,” Staff explained.
Getaway helps camping neophytes figure out just what they’re supposed to do once they’re in the woods, too, providing seasonal packing recommendations, instructions for how to start a fire, and a few Spotify mixes to set the mood (though, inexplicably from a Wisconsin perspective, its Winter Getaway Essential Playlist includes zero Bon Iver songs). It also provides a list of things to do in the Wild Rose area when you want to explore, like hiking on the Ice Age Trail or visiting the Omega Brewing Experience in Omro.
