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Highway 19, running from Watertown to Mazomanie, offers a nice alternative if you don't want to take the freeway and want to check out some beautiful Wisconsin scenery and small towns.

Watertown offers several attractions, including some that have been profiled before on OnMilwaukee.com. The Octagon House Museum is a must-see. The building was built in 1854 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

It was sold to the Watertown Historical Society in 1938 for $1. It is also known as the John Richards Octagon House.

The city was home to the first kindergarten in the United States. Started by German immigrants, the building that housed this kindergarten is now located on the grounds of the Octagon House Museum.

Several other buildings in Watertown feature interesting period architecture. The Rock River and Silver Creek flow through the city, thus giving the town its name and providing natural beauty.

If you're a coffee lover, take a brief side trip to the south and get some Berres coffee. The company built a brand new facility between Watertown and the freeway, which offers coffee and bakery goods and also sells its great java in beans and grounds.

As you head west from Watertown, you'll go through Hubbleton. There's a good roadhouse-type bar and restaurant right on Highway 19 on the outskirts of the town and a couple historic looking buildings worth checking out in the small community.

The Maunesha River winds its way to the west of Hubbleton and Waterloo. You can find places to fish along it and some wildlife areas for hiking.

Waterloo is a town of about 3,200. Trek Bicycle Corporation has its headquarters there, so if gas prices continue to rise you might want to buy a bike to complete the ride.

As you enter Dane County, you come to the town of Marshall, which sits along the Maunesha. Little A-Merrick-A, an amusement park, offers fun on the east side of Marshall during the summers. The town also has several parks, including Riley-Deppe Park with a boat launch and nice picnic areas.

The terrain starts to become more rolling west of Marshall. Sun Prairie, the next town to the west, has become a suburb of Madison and was ranked the fifth fastest growing city of more than 10,000 in the state.

This is the home of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Her homestead site can be found on Highway T, off 19. It was destroyed by fire, but a historical marker has been put there.

The Adam and Mary Smith home, an Italianate structure built in 1879, and the Dr. Charles G. Crosse home, built in 1864, are both are on the National Register of Historic Places and both worth checking out.

Dr. Crosse was the city's doctor. He and his son Charles S. Crosse published a newspaper called "The Countryman," which documented the daily activity of the area. He helped to establish the first high school and served as a state legislator.

Sun Prairie also is home to the state's official Ground Hog, named Jimmy. He, of course, has his big day in February. A Sweet Corn festival and Strawberry Fest are other annual events.

Highway 19 becomes rather hectic as Highway 51 and the freeway intersect it west of Sun Prairie. But, it starts to get more rural and small-town again in Waunakee. This town also has become more or less a suburb of Madison, but has retained its own identity and has some good shops and pubs downtown.

The highway becomes very rural, with beautiful scenery, west of Waunakee. You'll go through the small burghs of Springfield and Marxville. You'll also travel past Indian Lake, where you can catch the Ice Age Trail nearby, as well as a lot of pan fish in the lake. A historic chapel in the park also is worth taking in.

Highway 19 ends when it intersects Highway 14 near Mazomanie. Mazo is probably best known for having the state's only de facto legal public nude beach. No, we won't give you directions. You can ask when you get there.

Mazo also has a great deli, a rather quaint downtown and several interesting shops. From there, you can take Highway 14 east to Madison or west into the Driftless Area.

Highway 19 provides a great alternative to the freeway and allows the traveler a real glimpse of rural Wisconsin between Milwaukee and Madison, and beyond.