5 Outdoor Spaces Perfect for Fall Meetings
10/11/2024
By Shelby Deering | Photo: Green Bay Botanical Garden © Lindy J Gilson
While Wisconsin certainly has its fair share of exquisite indoor meeting spaces, there’s something to be said about taking a meeting outdoors and into the fresh air for fresh inspiration. While your mind might immediately go to summer for your event, we’d like to make a case for meeting settings amidst fall foliage.
With an autumn meeting, you can take advantage of everything that Wisconsin has to offer during the season, including fantastic outdoor and indoor venues brimming with fall flair, and providing opportunities to spy colorful leaves and take part in fall activities.
Check out these five Wisconsin meeting and venue spaces that offer a prime opportunity to enjoy the fall foliage along with plenty of seasonal amenities.
The Benefits of Outdoor Meetings
Noely Gomand, Corporate & Social Events Coordinator at Green Bay Botanical Garden, says that holding a meeting outdoors is ideal because of the unique, non-traditional setting.
“It’s a breath of fresh air when you’re typically hosting meetings via Zoom or in a conference room,” she says. “There’s a higher participation or engagement level with your colleagues, and the opportunities for activities to break up the usual workday are endless. It helps to truly unplug from technology, get the creative juices flowing and nurture your roots in nature.”
Why Fall is the Perfect Season
Meeting venues nestled in the midst of beautiful, natural surroundings can suddenly turn cozy and colorful as soon as the fall season begins. It can be a draw for planners looking for a unique setting for their meeting.
“Fall is our most colorful and popular season,” Julie Wood, owner of Madison’s Barnwood Events, says. “The temperatures are cooler, the bugs are less and the sunny blue sky days are perfect for an outdoor meeting or team activity.”
An outdoor fall meeting also presents an opportunity to slow down and soak up all that autumn has to offer. As Gomand says, “While summer can have us feel like we’re racing to different things every week or weekend because schedules are so crazy, fall gives us a chance to take a breath and take it all in. Some teams or clients also might just need a brief refresh in nature after the busyness of summer.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Wisconsin is well-known throughout the country for its unbeatable fall foliage. In particular, Door County shines during fall, as vibrant leaves abound in the outdoor scenery. Allowing attendees to enjoy nature in Door County is “truly a gift,” Sara Anderson, owner of Sister Bay’s Northern Haus, says.
Now that we’ve piqued your interest in planning a fall meeting, here are five Wisconsin venues where fall activities and foliage add charm and interest to events.
5 Idyllic Fall Venues
Milwaukee: Peck & Bushel
Is there a better place to hold a fall-themed meeting than an apple orchard? Just a little over 30 minutes from downtown Milwaukee, you can make that dream a reality at Peck & Bushel. As the largest certified organic apple orchard with pick-your-own apples in the Upper Midwest, its 80 acres are surrounded by top leaf-peeping destinations like Kettle Moraine and Holy Hill. The property itself is also dotted with colorful maples and other hardwoods.
“Who wouldn’t want to hold a meeting surrounded by 50,000 apple trees and views for miles?” says owner Joe Fahey.
The orchard’s brand-new porch, along with a patio, overlooks the orchards, and can accommodate up to 150 attendees. “There are also grand spaces ready for tenting between the orchards that can hold thousands,” notes Fahey. And in the case of inclement weather, Peck & Bushel is readied with itd newest venue, The Cidery, which can hold up to 250 and is located between the orchards.
To add even more autumnal panache to meetings, corporate events can feature private apple picking, lunches, coffee and “the best apple cider doughnuts made fresh every morning,” says Fahey.
Madison: Barnwood Events
Featuring 8 acres of mature trees and green space, along with an outdoor patio area, Barnwood Events specializes in outdoor events made even more enjoyable with lawn games, obstacle courses and outdoor seating. Additionally, there are walking trails so attendees can spot wildlife amid the colorful trees, and the venue is also adjacent to the area’s famed Capital City Bike Trail.
Indoors, the surroundings are just as stunning, with a timber-framed main space that showcases 30-foot ceilings and chandeliers. The venue also has a full liquor license along with bartenders for groups who desire a happy hour and other bar options.
As for fall activities to add to your event’s itinerary, the sky really is the limit.
“We are extremely flexible with our customers,” Wood says. “They come to us with an idea and we help them make it real.” This means that things like pumpkin carving, charcuterie board making, corn hole competitions, fall hikes and other outdoor ventures can easily be added to your meeting.
“We have exceptional fall views,” Wood says. “We have an entire row of trees along all boundaries of the property, so fall is one of the most colorful and best views of the property. Our small retention pond also makes a wonderful photo on calm days when you can see the barn and the trees’ reflection.”
Green Bay: Green Bay Botanical Garden
As a venue that celebrates the outdoors in every nook and cranny, the 47-acre Green Bay Botanical Garden has a wide range of outdoor spaces, such as various themed gardens and patios, that are available for meetings. As Gomand describes, there are several fall activities that can be added to any event, including self-guided jaunts through the gardens punctuated with educational signage, and daytime and evening classes, including ones like “Fall Colors iPhone Photography” and “Designing with Fall Bulbs.”
Your attendees can even take part in group volunteer opportunities in which they’ll assist the garden team from May through October. For the best foliage on the grounds, look no further than the Schneider Family Grand Garden for fall leaves and late fall blooms and the King Shade Garden bedecked in kaleidoscopic falling leaves.
Wisconsin Dells: Fairfield Hills Golf Course
Although you may immediately think of Devil’s Lake State Park for having the best fall leaves in the Wisconsin Dells region, you may also want to consider an area golf course, like Fairfield Hills, for taking in fall leaves during an event. Outfitted with an outdoor pavilion and an oversized simulator room that can hold 25, your guests can also play 18 holes of golf. “The course itself provides great views, especially when the leaves are changing,” owner Jim Tracy shares.
Door County: Northern Haus
Featuring 10 acres of forest along with 25 acres of cleared land, Sister Bay’s Northern Haus contains several outdoor spaces ready to take on a variety of corporate gatherings.
“Door County’s natural beauty surrounds our covered patio space, while the fully enclosed Forest Retreat offers a quieter, more intimate atmosphere,” Anderson says. “We have hosted corporate retreats and meetings that have utilized our Forest Retreat for presentations, motivational experiences, musical performances, meditation areas, yoga and beyond.”
Indoors, the venue offers heated and air- conditioned accommodations for up to 225 guests in any season.
In addition to enjoying “breathtaking views of fall foliage from every angle,” as Anderson says, attendees can also make the most of fall by taking the venue’s brand-new private trolley on charters, where guests can sip fall- flavored wines during winery tours, amble the vibrantly-hued state parks or shop in multiple towns.
