ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Cool Off in the Waterpark Capital of the World: Wisconsin Dells

Updated on June 12, 2008
 

Midwest vacation destinations are hot this year, if you live close enough to drive to one of the great places to visit in the Midwest that you can drive there without taking out a second mortgage to fill the gas tank! While gas is high, airline tickets are simply out of the vacation budgets for many families this year. Midwest family vacation options offer a lot of natural beauty as well as attractions, depending on where you decide to travel. Midwest destinations tend to be family friendly and you can pack in more than one Midwest family vacation spot into one trip.

The Wisconsin Dells area has suffered some damage in 2008, but most resort areas are back open!

History of Wisconsin Dells

The first amusements at the area now known as the Wisconsin Dells started over 150 years ago when a few visitors enjoyed a rowboat ride on the Wisconsin River. They came for the scenery, which was like none other in the region. Sandstone bluffs that tower high over the river. Next came steamboat tours began, hiking trails, and souvenir shops. All this by 1890. During the 1930's and 40's more attractions were gradually established. Then in 1946 Mel Flath brought the DUCKS to the Dells and an institution was born. These WWII land-to-water vehicles were used for land and water tours of the area. Crowds were drawn to the attractions added in the 1950s: the Tommy Bartlett ski show, Storybook Gardens and Fort Dells. Although it has a long and successful history as a vacation destination, the Dells reinvented itself in 1994 when the Polynesian Resort Hotel enclosed their water park, making it the first indoor water park in the country and transforming the Wisconsin Dells into the waterpark capital of the world! But there are many, many more things to do besides ride the chutes at the waterparks.

What To Do at the Wisconsin Dells

The cool thing about a Wisconsin Dells vacation is that you get modern amusements as well as classic Americana style leisure activities.

River Cruising

The Wisconsin River is the real life version of those lazy rivers you'll find at the water parks. Take a slow ride along the Upper Dells on a double-decker riverboat. Relax and enjoy the guided tour, but plan to get off the boat to explore caverns at Witches Gulch, or watch a dog jump from bluff to bluff at Stand Rock, where H.H. Bennett captured his son jumping mid-air (the first stop-action photo) in 1888.

Shopping

You must pick up a pair of Minnetonka moccasins while you're in the Wisconsin Dells area. You'll find them, and lots more, at Parson's Indian Trading Post, one of the world's largest retailers of Native American.

Movie Watching

Nothing brings back childhood like a family trip to the drive-in. Load up the kids and take the whole family to the Big Sky Twin Drive-In Theatre, just outside downtown Dells. In case you don't know the drill, you watch the movie from your car (or lawn chairs next to it) while the sound comes through your radio. It's old school high tech! (Remember those old speakers on the window?)

DUCK Riding

This is a classic Dells excursion you don't want to miss. You'll see all the natural glory of the Lower Dells while being entertained by the drivers' family friendly comedy.

Tommy Bartlett Ski Show

This is another not-to-be-missed event. You'll not believe what these talented professionals are capable of!

More to do:

  • Eat fudge
  • Play mini golf
  • Drive a go-kart
  • Visit the waterparks
  • See the Circus World Museum
  • Stay in the Seth Peterson Cottage (the only Frank Lloyd Wright structure you can rent!)

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)