Valentine’s Day, more than any other holiday, is an occasion to spend quiet time with the one you love. In the wooded hills and valleys of Southwest Wisconsin, three miles from the tiny villages of Soldiers Grove and Gays Mills,  the Inn at Lonesome Hollow offers luxurious rooms and suites set on 160 secluded acres. The Inn offers two person whirlpool tubs, fireplaces, beautiful decor and an amount of privacy that can’t be found in even a small town.

Between your full breakfast and your liesurely afternoon soak in the whirlpool, hike or snow shoe on four miles of private wooded trails. The Inn offers complimentary use of snow shoes. Additional hiking is available nearby at Wyalusing and Wildcat Mountain State Parks in WI, Effigy Mounds National Monument and Pike’s Peak State Park in Iowa, and at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, an incredible 8000 acres of public land near La Farge, WI. Restaurants in Soldiers Grove, Viroqua, and Prairie du Chien offer excellent dining opportunities. 

Be alone, enjoy the natural beauty of the Kickapoo River Valley and the incomparable Driftless Area, drive the rural county roads that wind through the hills. A special Valentine Package is posted on the website – www.lonesomehollow.com.

On the weekend of January 17th and 18th fourteen people attended a fantastic cheesemaking workshop at the Inn at Lonesome Hollow conducted by The Cheesemaker, Steve Shapson, from Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  The weekend started with a visit to Mount Sterling Co-op Creamery to see the cutting, milling, and pressing of the cheese made in the early hours.

Making Cheese

After a hearty brunch, The Cheesemaker, Steve, began the intensive workshop, where the participants learned the craft of cheesemaking.  They learned to make Camembert/Brie, Chevre and Feta cheeses, which they each took home to finish aging and to enjoy at home.

Steve and MJ Shapson

After the workshop, a wine and cheese social was held sampling various local, homemade, and imported gourmet hard, soft and rind ripened cheeses on French baquettes, served with other hors d’oervres.

Because this workshop was very successful and fun, the Inn at Lonesome Hollow is hosting a Spring Cheesemaking Workshop.  Sign up now, as space is already limited.

Inn at Lonesome Hollow Cheesemakers