Explore Madison's Historic Downtown

After breakfast at the ranch, you will start your day with a horseback ride along the trails. There's no experience necessary, and all levels are welcome. The difference between this ranch and the others is that at Southern Cross, they allow you to spend time with the horses, and assist the staff with grooming and tacking your hand-selected horse as if it were your own.
Even if you are not staying at Southern Cross, you can still book a horseback riding tour.

Once you have built an appetite after your horseback riding adventure, take a lunch break in the downtown historic district of Madison at The Sinclair, a gorgeous 1920s-style speakeasy concept that is a coffee shop by day and a cocktail bar and lounge by night. The menu offers breakfast pastries, wraps, salads, and small plates, and everything is fresh and made using locally-sourced ingredients.

After lunch, browse the collections at the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, which is dedicated to the life and art of Steffen Thomas. The museum features special exhibitions (check website for calendar), as well as a permanent display of Thomas’s sculptures, mosaics, paintings, and works on paper.

Continue your afternoon as an art connoisseur at the Madison Artists Guild Gallery, also known as MAGallery. With more than 100 artists including painters, photographers, woodworkers, jewelry makers, and “folks who simply love art,” MAGallery is a great spot to appreciate and shop for art.

Your last stop in Madison is what many consider to be "the town's oldest public art museum." At Madison’s Old Cemetery, you can see stone carving and crafts from all over the world utilizing a variety of materials including marble, slate, granite, cast iron, and bronze. Some known artists whose masterpieces are displayed here include Russian-born sculptor, Robert E. Launitz, Irishman Michael Muldoon & Co, and Edwin Greble’s Philadelphia Steam Marble Works.

On your way back into town, stop at a fast-casual restaurant for dinner. This iconic place has been around for 25 years and serves some of the best Hyderabad style biryanis, a patented chicken 65 recipe, and mango lassi - in a laid-back, family-friendly environment. It is a great place to grab a quick bite or pack some dinner to-go and continue your road trip. Closed on Monday.