GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in Wisconsin
*For the top yearly events of Wisconsin, click here.
Apostle Islands
People visit the National Lakeshore at the Apostle Islands for many reasons, like hiking, swimming, sailing, camping, scuba diving, or paddling, but the Islands and the sea caves are the most popular. In the summer, people take cruises to the islands known as the jewels of Lake Superior and see the sea caves.
In the winter, IF it's cold enough, Lake Superior freezes over, and you can walk out onto the Great Lake to the ice filled caves. We got lucky. A record cold front hit the winter we were going. So, while everyone else was complaining about the cold, I was grinning ear to ear. Record cold front pretty much solidified (pun intended) my chances that the lake would freeze! You can marvel at the ice formations, stalactites, and frozen waterfalls. You can even slip and slide your way in and out of the ice caves to get an inside view. It's a bit of a hike to get to the caves, so if you have little ones, bring a sled so that you can pull them along.
Baraboo
This is the home of Dr. Evermor's Forevertron, the world's largest scrap metal sculpture that makes many of the Americana roadside attraction lists...only don't ask anyone in Baraboo if they're familiar with it. Every person we asked had no idea what it was. Once we found it, it turned out to be in an artist's yard...which is fenced in and was closed off. Some of the metal sculptures, like an insect and a giant heart, were out by the road, but the Forevertron was hiding somewhere behind that gate...which looked a little bit like the family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre may live on the other side...
Dr. Evermor's Forevertron
Bayfield
This town is the gateway to the Apostle Islands and is where we stayed on our Ice Cave adventure. It's also known as "America's Best Little Town" because of its small town beauty, nearness to the Apostle Islands, and because it's perched on a hillside adjacent to Lake Superior.
We stayed in the historic Old Rittenhouse Inn. This old Victorian home of a former Civil War general was turned into Wisconsin's first Bed & Breakfast. The rooms are filled with antiques, the views from the rooms are magnificent views of Lake Superior, and the service is amazing and friendly.
Milwaukee
The Harley Davidson Museum celebrates over 100 years of Harley Davidson motorcycles. The Pabst Mansion is the Gilded Age home of the Pabst family known for making Pabst Beer.
Mount Horeb
Confession: I began believing this town was a LITTLE bit of another Wisconsin false advertisement, which is what I felt Doc Evermor had been. It is called the "Troll Capital of the World." We rode through main street Mount Horeb and saw a couple of trolls and started getting near the edge of town. So, I stopped at a gas station and asked where we could see the rest of the trolls.
The girl at the station said, "they're on Main Street."
I said, "We just came through there, we only saw a few."
"Yep, that's them," she said.
"Isn't this the Troll Capital of the World?"
Her response, "I'm not sure why they call us that."
... Well, we spotted 6 trolls carved out of wood in various spots on Main Street, which they also call The Trollway, and the Grumpy Troll Brew Pub. At that point, I believed I could return home, carve 7 trolls, and put my town on the map as the troll capital of the world!! In reality, though, they have over 30. In the 101 Things You Just Gotta Do Before You're 12 book, they suggest taking your kids to a weird world capital, such as the Flannel Capital of the World or The Troll Capital, etc. So, checked that one off, with some interesting pictures.
Also, there's something really nice and heartwarming about a small town that has embraced a concept like this and joined in the party. They even have events where everyone dresses up as trolls. Sounds like a happy, homey town where everyone probably knows each other.
Wisconsin Dells
The Dells of Wisconsin, or Wisconsin Dells, is a 5 mile gorge on the Wisconsin River. The town is known as the Water Park Capital of the World because of its huge outdoor and indoor water parks, like Noah's Ark Water Park, Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park, and Kalahari Resorts.
