Wisconsin splash

Just try and stay dry in this Midwest water wonderland

The first visit to Wisconsin Dells can be a shocker for families who think they have a handle on the Midwest. Veteran travelers often shake their heads in amazement after scouting the town. Blazing road signs advertising family frivolity are a foreshadowing of unbridled energy, but the real thing is like a double-decker ice cream cone waiting to be devoured. Kids of all ages quickly realize they have arrived at the maverick of the Midwest. Life is sweet and no one can even think about uttering "boooring!"

The Dells, 55 miles north of Madison and bordered by tidy farms with red barns, tireless tractors and fields of crops, is an oasis of attractions filled with everything from fast-track go-cart rides and towering roller coasters to huge water parks with thrill rides designed to make you shout with glee.

Themed Adventure Golf complexes abound (a big step up from miniature golf), where you hit the ball in Shipwreck Lagoon or Pirate's Cove and are challenged every step of the way. Guests can hop on a helicopter for an overview. One mile north at Hyde Park Station, ride the Riverside & Great Northern Railway past scenic vistas, or take a guided horseback ride through the forest and see gorgeous flat layers of rock and abundant bird life. Bungee jumpers can fly into the Wisconsin beyond and play Bankshot Basketball. A respite is a stop at the family-- owned Wisconsin Deer Park, a Wisconsin Dells tradition since 1952, where life slows down for a lovely deep breath in a 28-acre forest setting alive with 100 tame deer that love to be hand-fed.

Another popular Dells tradition is the dramatic Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show. With an amphitheater of the same name holding more than 5,000 guests, the audience is entertained three times a day, regardless of the weather, by fearless and undaunted waterskiers, jugglers and other acts. The skiers seem to walk on the waves-smiling and throwing kisses to the crowd-as they are pulled across Lake Delton, performing jumps and comedy routines behind speeding boats. The spectacular setting is perfect for a water show of high-quality national talent, and is finally topped by a pyramid consisting of 12 skiers, balancing three high, crowned by a single skier holding Old Glory.

Noah's Ark, America's largest water park, is a whopping 65 acres that includes the Midwest's two largest wave pools, 32 waterslides and a 600-foot-long enclosed waterslide (the only one of its kind in the region). It is sparkling clean and well monitored; here families can come together to have the times of their lives. You won't see the latest bathing suit fashions, but who cares. The clans arrive in the morning prepared to spend the day, though parents often slip off to play a round or two of golf, leaving teenagers to soak and stare at one another.

Like ants in a nest, guests splash in the ponds and wave pools, glide down dare-devil slides, ride tubes along a winding flow, burn their bodies under a tricky Wisconsin sun and chow down on all the stuff kids love. Guests can choose from 12 restaurants and outdoor lounges and then hang out at one of the 20 picnic pavilions.

The present-day Wisconsin Dells is a mini-Midwest concept of Las Vegas with family and wholesome Americana a top priority in place of casinos. It features the joy of nature in place of girlie shows and glitz.

It all began when early settlers discovered the beauty of the Wisconsin River and, along the river's banks, the dazzling rock formations carved by the great ice flows of the Cambrian period. When French explorers discovered the unique area, they called it "Dalles," which means "a slab or tile-like-rock." The area became known as Wisconsin Dells.

Today, the rowboats that once carried passengers up and down the river are gone. However, a narrated sightseeing boat cruise on the Wisconsin River to the Lower or Upper Dells is nature at its finest. The two-hour Upper Dells tour, a 15-mile round-trip beauty, includes a walk through lush, narrow canyons filled with 30 different kinds of fems. The tour also offers marvelous nature views and steep-sided rock formations, which is Cambrian sandstone and among the oldest exposed rock in the world. Black Hawk Island, a Forest Research Station, is where one of every type of tree and other plant life that lives in Wisconsin is rooted.

An excursion back into recent history is a ride on an Original Wisconsin Duck. It's a one-hour journey over land and water in the Lower Dells through eight miles of scenic trails into the backcountry, past the rock walls of Red Bird Gorge, and on the curves of Roller Coaster Hill where the guide quipped, "The only function of this lake is to breed mosquitoes."

First used as amphibious landing craft during World War II, the Ducks saw action in Korea and are seen in old World War II action footage, crammed with soldiers and marines, bullets zipping overhead. The green-and-white Ducks are a unique experience: floating down the Wisconsin River, then suddenly mucking through a creek and up a bank into the forest.

Wisconsin Dells' newest shining star is the splendid 206-room Black Wolf Lodge. The rustic, northwoods-log-style building, with one of the world's largest indoor water park, was specifically designed for mom, pop and the kids. While the kids are entertained in the separate 20,000-square-foot water park, the parents can enjoy the roaring fieldstone fireplace, the Loose Moose Bar and Grill and the Southwestern-style decor with touches of Native American art, or lounge in the jacuzzi suites with soothing music. Open year-round, the family-owned Black Wolf Lodge should be on your "must-see" list. The lodge is located near the intersection of Interstate 90-94 and Highway 12 at Wisconsin Dells.

The Wisconsin Dells is a study in contrast. If ever a destination has something for everyone, this might be the place. TL

WHEN You Go

Contact the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau at (800) 223-3557 for festivals and events. Or visit their Web site at www.wisdells.com

The Black Wolf Lodge can be reached at (800) 559-9653. There are 22 campgrounds in the area with 3,000 campsites, including the five-star Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resort; (800) 462-9644, and Devil's Lake State Park, S5975 Park Road, Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913; (608) 356-8301. (The Circus World Museum is also in Baraboo.)

Call the Riverside & Great Northern Railway for train times at (608) 254-6367. The season runs roughly from Memorial Day through Labor Day with beautiful fall foliage, boat rides, historic horseback rides, Tommy Bartlett's Robot World & Exploratory science center with a Russian-built MIR Space Station.

The Good Sam Club is hosting the 1999 International Samboree over August 37,1999, in Madison, Wisconsin. Call (800) 829-5140 for details on what "might be one last crack at summer camp before the millennium madness hits," as Bev Dalton, events director for the Good Sam Club, mentioned in her April column of sister publication Highways.

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. Jun 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved