Make a splash in the Wisconsin Dells: nature's artistry and manmade froth lure families to Dairyland

Travel America, July-August, 2004 by Randy Mink

COMBINE THE BEAUTY OF THE NORTHWOODS WITH CARNIVAL-style hype, and you've got one of the most popular family vacation spots in the Midwest.

Going wild at the Wisconsin Dells can mean communing with nature or dangling from a bungee cord. Some visitors like the adrenalin rush of a roller coaster ride, while others prefer a scenic river cruise. Overnight options range from campgrounds tucked amid leafy canopies to the most elaborate water park resorts in the world.

Located 55 miles north of Madison in south-central Wisconsin, the Dells encompasses the city of Wisconsin Dells and village of Lake Delton. The year-round population is less than 4,000, but some 2.5 million guests flood in annually, more than half of 'em during summer. Many come from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas, and four out of five are repeat visitors.

From suburban Chicago, our family every year makes a short getaway to the Dells. Last summer we took Grandma and Grandpa with us, and I enjoyed some of the same things we did when they took me and my brothers there in the late 1950s. I remember staying at mom-and-pop motels, getting Indian drums or rubber-tipped spears for souvenirs, and eating at Paul Bunyan's, a lumberjack-style restaurant that's still around.

The first visitors to the Dells came by canoe 150 years ago and marveled at the bluffs of tawny, wafer-like sandstone along the Wisconsin River. Soon entrepreneurs started giving rowboat tours, and by 1873 the first steamboats ushered in the era of group travel.

French trappers had named the Dells, using their word dalles, which means "layers of rock." Similar bluffs are said to be found only in Potsdam, Germany, and parts of New York and Switzerland.

Various tour boats showcase the Upper and Lower Dells, sections of the river divided by a dam. The most exciting cruise by far is a jetboat ride, an option we hoped wouldn't be too racy for Grandma and Grandpa. Happily, they laughed and howled as much as everyone else when water rushed over the windshield and rolled over the sides, getting all of us wet, some soaked. After the first major splashing, Dad took off his hearing aid, anticipating more sudden stops followed by 360-degree spins.

Our skipper from Original Dells Experience Jet Boats, a former Navy guy, gave us plenty of time to relax as he related Dells lore and pointed out birds nesting in the cliffs. We glided lazily past secluded beaches before picking up speed and bouncing through water colored root beer brown by tannic acid from tamarack trees to the north.

Another day, we rode the "Ducks," reconditioned World War II amphibious vehicles that switch back and forth between land and water. College-student drivers lead rollicking one-hour romps that roar down wooded hillsides, squeeze through ferny ravines, and plunge into both the river and Lake Delton. As they have for generations, the young guides with Original Wisconsin Ducks tell corny jokes and point out sandstone formations--such as Hawk's Beak, Hornet's Nest, and Baby Grand Piano. On this classic Dells experience--a must for first-timers--you might spy a deer or wild turkey.

The Tommy Bartlett Show, a fixture on Lake Delton for more than 50 years, presents daredevil waterskiers and stage entertainment. Our favorite performer is the German comedian/juggler Dieter Tasso, who has appeared many summers since the 1970s. He is famed for his ability to balance more cups and saucers atop his head than anyone else, but we like his silly banter best. We usually see the Bartlett show at night, but there are afternoon performances, too.

Also highly recommended is the 90-minute magic extravaganza staged by master illusionist Rick Wilcox and his wife Suzan at the Rick Wilcox Theater. Visually colorful and full of costume changes, the fast-paced show appeals to all ages, from little kids to senior citizens. We especially like the acts where Rick seeks out members of the audience.

Other nighttime entertainment choices include concerts at the Crystal Grand Music Theatre (top country stars like Travis Tritt, Charley Pride, and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers) and down-home country acts at Wisconsin Opry, where a roast turkey dinner is served before the show. For early rock 'n' roll fare, catch the "Fab 50's Live" show at Chula Vista Resort.

Dells-area visitors have a choice of circus performances this year. Baraboo's open-air Circus World Museum presents a daily show under its Big Top tent. Located at the former winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. Circus, the nostalgia-filled attraction abounds with memorabilia, including ornate circus wagons. Kids can learn to juggle, ride an elephant, or take a whirl on the carousel.

Brand new in the Dells is Circus Royale, a two-hour Big Top show starring the Flying Wallendas at American World Hotel and RV Resort.

Our two favorite restaurants provide welcome escapes from the razzle-dazzle. For dinner, we like Ishnala, located down a long, winding road in Mirror Lake State Park, just minutes from the commercial clutter of Highway 12, the garish main drag. Meaning "By Itself Alone" in the Winnebago Indian language, Ishnala sits on a point of rock jutting into tranquil Mirror Lake. Through large picture windows, you almost expect to see Indians gliding across the water in canoes. (The Winnebago are now known as the Ho-Chunk tribe, operators of a mammoth casino in Baraboo.)