The Mars’ Cheese Castle on I-94 in Kenosha has been around for over 65 years.

For as long as I’ve been able to read, the Mars’ Cheese Castle has been something that always caught my eye when traveling I-94 through the Kenosha area. It was a place I always wished my parents would stop at, even just to check it out. As a kid, I always wondered what it was about. Perhaps, having the word Mars in the name is what created such curiosity. After all, space was something that interested every kid that grew up with Star Wars and Mars meant it was from space didn’t it? A name like Mars’ Cheese Castle has to be one of the most interesting names you could give a business. I also always wondered why it was called a castle. For most of my life, it never really resembled a castle to me. Well, somewhat recently, that changed.

The new Mars' Cheese Castle really looks like a castle

Every place has it’s landmarks.

As a kid, I knew that when I saw that Cheese Castle sign heading home from Chicago, that the trip was finally getting close to home. Heading south on I-94, the Mars’ Cheese Castle meant that the Illinois-Wisconsin border was not too far away. Or, at least we were getting close to the Kenosha outlet malls when heading south.

The Mars’ Cheese Castle now really looks like a castle.

It has that wonderful old look of a stone castle on the outside. On the inside, it’s nice, clean, modern, and bright. A big improvement over what it looked like inside before (which looked a bit more like a dungeon than a castle to me). I’m pretty sure that the new building has something to do with the improvements on I-94 between Chicago and Milwaukee. It’s a beautiful modern new building that really shows off the wonderful things they have to offer to a someone traveling I-94 between Chicago and Milwaukee.

What does the Mars Cheese Castle have to offer an I-94 traveller?

• Cheese
• Sausages (and other meats like Canadian bacon)
• Fresh bakery
• A restaurant
• A tavern (with an outdoor “beer garden”)
• Souvenirs
• A place to walk your dog

The Mar's Cheese Castle has some new things for an I-94 traveller

In fact, they have over 300 different cheeses to choose from. They have gift boxes with cheeses and sausages. They have a selection of wines to take home as well as a tavern that serves microbrews. One of the things that caught my attention the most with the new building was the bakery with many different types of fresh breads and sweets to choose from. I don’t remember if they had a bakery before but the new building really shows it off. They have a huge new parking lot and an area near the southwest of the castle to walk your dog.

The Cheese Castle has a website for ordering their products online. While it’s great for buying gifts, I’d suggest stopping in at the Castle sometime. I don’t think the website does it justice.

Just look for the Mars’s Cheese Castle sign.

An I-94 landmark

It’s only about a half hour south of Milwaukee and less then 12 minutes north of the Illinois-Wisconsin border on I-94. There is easy on and off access to I-94 right there on Burlington Road / 143.

How could you say you’ve been to Wisconsin without stopping at Mars?

Address for Mars’ Cheese Castle:

Phone for the Cheese Castle:

Mars’ Cheese Castle website:

www.marscheese.com

Google Map to Mar’s Cheese Castle:

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The City of Kenosha has an electric trolley system.

This is something that not many, even from Wisconsin, might know about. You might see a few references to an electric streetcar and Kenosha. I mostly confused it with an Amtrak or Metra commuter line that might pass through the area. If you do travel through downtown Kenosha, you’ll see the tracks and possibly see the Kenosha trolley itself.

The Kenosha Trolley in Harborpark heads east

The Kenosha Trolley system offers an amazingly inexpensive ride.

As I write this, adult tickets are just $1.00. Children 12 and under are just $.50. Better yet, an all day pass is just $2.50. On Saturdays, that all day pass includes the city bus routes. A good deal but don’t plan to take the trolley too far. I’ll explain in a moment. The Kenosha Trolley is an inexpensive but short ride in one of Lake Michigan’s most beautiful developed lakefront communities.

The Kenosha Transit Electric Streetcar began operations in 2000.

The trolley cars were made in Canada in the 1950′s for the Toronto Transit Commission. Originally, the streetcar system had 5 cars that came from various locations after restoration and repairs. There are now a total of 8 of the PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) cars with some of them coming from the East Troy Railroad Museum. The streetcars themselves are beautifully painted, streamlined Art Deco era trolleys with the paint colors representing the different cities that at one time operated the same PCC type trolleys.

The Kenosha Trolley route:

The Kenosha Transit Electric Streetcar covers a 1.7 mile oval. It runs west on 54th St. to turn left at 11th Ave. right near the METRA station and looping around the Kenosha County Building. It then heads east on 56th St. going past the Kenosha County Courthouse as well as the Kenosha Visitor’s and Convention Bureau Information Center (the downtown Kenosha one) and several businesses. Just after the Kenosha museum in Harborpark it heads back north to 54th St. Basically, the Kenosha Streetcar route is 2 blocks wide and about 12 blocks long. If you miss a ride, instead of waiting the whole 15 minutes you can just walk the two blocks and catch it going in the opposite direction.

Current Trolley System hours:

Summer Hours: (April 1st – January 2nd)

• Monday through Friday: 11:05 a.m. until 6:35 p.m.
• Saturdays and Sundays: 10:05 a.m. until 5:35 p.m.

The Kenosha Streetcar is a tourist attraction.

A lot of sites I came across trying to find more information about the Kenosha trolley (like where to get a ticket for the Kenosha trolley) promote it as a commuter system. It does connect the Harborpark Condominiums with the METRA and the rest of the transit system and it does have some businesses on the line. However, it does not really go anywhere itself or connect the average user to anything. The distance it covers is nearly walkable in the time you could wait for a trolley. The route times start in late mornings and end early evenings so commuters cannot use it. There are no weekday routes at all for part of the winter.

As a means of transportation into Kenosha it still has problems. Unless you arrive by bus or train in the first place, there is no good place to park your car and catch the trolley to Harborpark. I did not even find convenient parking at the Kenosha Transit Center (which was not even open to the public when I was there – while the trolley was operating). While tokens for the trolley can be bought at the Kenosha Visitor’s Center, reader Dee has pointed out that you can also just pay for the fair on the trolley like a transit bus.

A Kenosha Trolley System car decorated for Christmas heads south near the METRA station

If you are visiting Kenosha from Illinois on the METRA, the trolley is a great way to arrive.

The trolley stops right by the METRA station. It would then take you right to the Harborwalk and Lakefront. You could also take the bus and visit the rest of Kenosha from there.

I’d like to spend a day in Kenosha, Wisconsin starting with the Kenosha Trolley.

It looks like the best place to park would be by the Kenosha museum by Harborpark. I’d take advantage of the all day pass on Saturday and use the bus to tour downtown Kenosha. The Harborpark area is a very beautiful area along Lake Michigan. There is a lighthouse nearby. The city of Kenosha some very interesting shops and the area is really nice. I think it is a great attraction for Kenosha as well as the rest of Wisconsin.

A ride on the Kenosha Trolley might also be fun to do when visiting the Jelly Belly Factory in Kenosha or shopping at the Prime Outlet Mall in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

Address for the Kenosha Transit Center

(The Trolley passes right by and has a stop.)

Phone for the Kenosha Transit Center:

Website for the Kenosha Transit System

Kenosha.org

Google Map to Kenosha Transit Center (near Harborpark)

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The Jelly Belly Center tour and candy store Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

If you like candy and jelly beans in particular, the Jelly Belly tour is a fun tour for nearly any age.

That's 10100 Jelly Belly Lane

The Jelly Belly Center is just a few minutes east of the Prime Outlets Mall Pleasant Prairie. Just a bit north of the Wisconsin-Illinois border. It is a great option to give the kids a break from shopping at the mall. Or, you can do some jelly bean shopping in the store.

The Jelly Belly tour takes about 35 minutes.

The Entrance To The Jelly Belly Factory Tour

You ride a train for the entire tour so anyone can take the tour. The only hard part will be standing in line to get on the tour. Everyone is given a paper hat before taking the tour due to FDA regulations. The warehouse the tour takes place in contains over a billion jelly beans.

The tour is primarily a train ride around the huge jelly bean warehouse.

Driving this must be a great job!

The train driver gives a live commentary as you stop at various places along the tour. There are videos showing the different parts of jelly bean making. Making a jelly bean takes several days and the tour covers all the steps. There are also examples of older outdated equipment along the way showing how jelly beans have been made in the past.

It's a comfortable ride for nearly anyone.

The Jelly Belly Candy Company is has a long family history.

Started in 1869 by Gustav and Albert Goelitz, the Jelly Belly company still has family members in the corporation and the making of jelly beans. The Jelly Belly Center has many photographs showing the history of the company.

Don’t miss the jelly bean art.

There are many large images created entirely out of jelly beans. Some of them contain thousands of jelly beans. These huge images are along the tour and in the tour center.

There is a section about Ronald Reagan in the Jelly Belly store.

Ronald Reagan’s mention of jelly beans really helped the Jelly Belly company take off. While it had been doing good before, the introduction to the press by Ronald Reagan vastly increased exposure and the company has expanded greatly since.

Ronald Reagan memorabilia in the Jelly Belly Factory Store

The tour ends at the Jelly Belly Factory Store.

All the different flavors of gourmet jelly bean are available. You can also try samples. The Jelly Bell factory store also has candy that did not make standards in shape for sale at a discount. This is a Jelly Bean lovers heaven. You also get a free bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans for taking the tour.

Don’t forget to learn what the most favorite flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans is.

It has changed over the years a bit. I was surprised.

The tour runs all seven days a week.

9am – 4pm. The tour and store are closed on some holidays. You can call the tour phone number to check if there are any changes.

Jelly Belly Center Tour Information Phone Number:

• 1-866-868-7522

The address for the Jelly Belly Center:

• 10100 Jelly Belly Lane
• Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158

To get to the Jelly Belly Center Tour and Store from I-94.

Get off I-94 at exit 347. Go east on State Route 165 (also called Lakeview Parkway). The Jelly Bell Center (Jelly Belly Lane) is at the intersection with State Route 31 (Green Bay Road).

Map to Jelly Belly Candy Company in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin

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The Jelly Belly Website:

• JellyBelly.com

Welcome to the State of Wisconsin!

Wisconsin welcomes you.

The welcome sign on I-94 follows the Wisconsin State Police weight station on I-94. It is just over the Wisconsin-Illinois border in Kenosha County, WI.

Wisconsin gets its name from an American Indian word for the wisconsin River.

Jean Nicolet and Father Jacques Marquette explored Wisconsin in 1673. The Native American guides called the Wisconsin River Miskonsing, Meskousing. The spelling of Wisconsin varied for many years until territorial legislators endorsed the current spelling.

The first exit after the Welcome sign will take you to the Kenosha Wisconsin State Travel Center.

You can get information on many popular Wisconsin attractions there. Many of which will be covered on this site eventually. The eastern I-94 frontage road can be taken south from the exit if you wish to get close to the sign. There is also a small motel just south of the sign on the frontage road.

Map to the Wisconsin Welcomes You sign.

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