We are in the Dells quite often and were looking for different things to do so we decided to check…read moreout Baraboo and came across the mansion and brewery. Walking into the brewery was awesome, such a cool place and quite large. The girl at the spot were I believe you can order food wasn't too friendly but the bartender was awesome! Bartender was super friendly, I wish I could remember his name. We told him how we were looking for things to do and he was more than happy to write down some recommendations for us. I thought that was super nice because I feel like sometimes, at least in the Dells area, it seems like they get tired of us tourists and aren't always as friendly as I feel they should be considering they know they're working in a tourist area. We happened to be sitting next to the lady that does the tours so we thought, awesome, we love seeing old buildings and hearing the history so we signed up! It's $20 per person and about 50-60 mins. It was super cool to see, informative, the lady was friendly, and answered any questions we had. It was pretty amazing to hear that people actually live on the 4th floor, I wasn't expecting that for some reason. After the tour was over she played the large organ for us which was great. We sat down for another beer, listened to the awesome music the bartender was playing and set up our next tour at the Driftless Glen distillery. This was on our list plus it was one of the recommendations from the bartender. If your in the area and looking for something different to do, I highly recommend checking this place out!

This was a beautiful history lesson. The tour guide, Kim was very knowledgeable. I appreciated that…read moreshe included my 3 children in the conversations by addressing them, talking with them, and answering their questions. The house is beautiful and has so many gorgeous rooms and architecture. The tour ends in the brewery where Kim plays the calliope. She also offered the adults a free sample of beer from the Ringling brewery. Tour took about an hour and was well worth the time and money. Highly recommend.

Well, wow. What a history trip. I never went to a one-room schoolhouse, and it might be easy to…read moreromanticize the experience after visiting Reed School. There are two floors: the downstairs, which served as both the lunchroom, recess place on bad-weather days, and a general meeting room. The blackboards on the walls explain the history of the one-room schoolhouse, talk about the rules for teachers from the early 20th century, the salary earned, and give a general sense of the life of students and teachers. There are some videos available that go into more detail and one even includes a sample test. Upstairs is the schoolroom itself, complete with chalkboards, books, classic desks and various assignments, all available for viewing up-close. The woman working here has a classic school-teacher vibe and is absolutely delightful -- full of stories, answers to questions, and explanations for everything you see. Reed School is only open on the weekends, but is worth it for the chance to remind yourself of, or perhaps question, the advantages or disadvantages of schools today. According to the info, Reed School sets aside one day every so often for nearby fourth-graders to have the one-room schoolhouse experience. Sounds like it might be fun (I say as an adult who isn't doing it.)

Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area is a lot of fun to explore. I did a small amount of research…read morebefore going the first time, and I wasn't really prepared for the hike I found myself on. A few tips for anyone going here who hasn't been... 1 - there is a parking location around the bend that takes you to some muddy trailheads (this is where we started, and this is where GPS took us). We quickly found ourselves off-trail and climbing some very challenging terrain. If a heart-pounding, out of breath hike isn't for you - avoid this entrance. 2 - there is a free spring located on the closer side of the bend. If you park near here and look across the street you will see another trailhead leading into the gorge. This is a much more maintained and level trail. I didn't get to hike this one, but as we were getting water from the spring, I saw parent's taking children this way so it can't be too challenging. 3 - Van Hise rock is located between these two entrance's on the opposite of the street. Don't miss it. It's very cool. 4 - The water at the spring is DELICIOUS. Definitely definitely try it. We all filled our water bottles but witnessed several others brining gallon and 5-gallon jugs to fill up. This is a popular spot. *this is not part of the gorge, it is privately owned* I can't wait to go back and the parts I wasn't able to the first time!

Located just north of Rock Springs between Baraboo and Reedsburg, this natural phenomenon has been…read morea destination for geologists and students for more than a century. It's located in the middle of an area known as Ableman's Gorge, one of only two openings in the Baraboo Range. The Baraboo Range is a monadnock (a residual hill that consists of hard rock in an otherwise eroded area) located in Columbia and Sauk Counties, Wisconsin. This range of mountains is subterranean with only the peaks appearing above ground. The range consists of highly eroded Precambrian metamorphic rock, about 25 miles (40 km) long and varies from 5 to 10 miles (16 km) in width. The Wisconsin River, previously traveling in a north to south direction, turns to the east just north of the range before making its turn to the west towards the Upper Mississippi River. The eastern end of the range was glaciated during the Wisconsinian glaciation, while the western half was not, and consequently, marks the eastern boundary of Wisconsin's Driftless Area. There are only two openings in the Baraboo Range, in the east, where the Baraboo River exits the basin and in Ableman's Gorge, where the Baraboo River enters the basin. It is at this point where Van Hise Rock was pushed around, and upward, by geological forces. I can't even pretend to really understand it all (I'm not a geologist nor do I play one on TV) but I can see that what is usually a horizontal layering of rock is vertical in the Van Hise monolith. The result is that professionals and students from all over the world visit this monolith to see, and research, this unique example of earth forces over the millennia. And it's right here, on Wisconsin Highway 135, where anyone can stop and admire this geological marvel. PS - If you're a geologist and think I've mis-reported anything here, please send me a message and we'll see what we can do to fix it. :)

First of off I want to thank the the great group of guys that I meet on my visit for their…read morefriendliness who take care of this great property. The passion and vision for the property's future is refreshing with future additions, this is already cool but it will only get better with their vision and I can't wait to visit in the future. Yes it's a historic landmark railway station that you can go in and look at how it's been preserved from a place way back in time. The grounds also have a caboose that was converted into a man cave kind of a thing with a living area, kitchen and bathroom, one mans dream/vision. The depot basement is a model train room that is a work in progress with a working layout and running trains around the walls. This is also a great spot to watch trains with 25 to 30 a day that pass by the station with a track speed set at 60 mph. This is a great place for a rail enthusiast to spend some time. I'm honored to add them to yelp and post pictures so everyone can see that's it's more than just an historical landmark building. They also have a 24 hour web cam on YouTube to watch the trains.

Don't blink...you'll drive right past it. There is a small area to park, just careful pulling out.read more

Great piece of local history! Worth taking the time to stop and read about the cut...but be…read morecareful of you walk out into tje road to get a better picture because the xars can come up fast!

This marker is located in the Mauston rest area on I-90/94 which is near mile marker 75. The rest…read morearea has parking and restrooms so please take the time to review the marker while you're here. It reads, ""There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot." For those who cannot, Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac helps reveal the unsuspected natural riches hidden in these sand counties of Wisconsin." Continuing, "At the core of Aldo Leopold's writing is the concept of a land ethic in which love and respect for the land are the guiding principles. He believed that public conservation efforts had little chance of success unless private individuals felt a strong personal responsibility for the health of the land." And finally, "In 1935, driven to action by this philosophy, Leopold purchased a Sand County farm "worn out and then abandoned by our bigger-and-better society" and "selected for its lack of goodness and its lack of highway." There the Leopold family spent twelve years of time and effort changing their 80 acres of desolation into a showpiece of native Wisconsin habitat complete with abundant wildlife and restored natural landscape. In so doing, Aldo Leopold left us an inspiring example of the land ethic in action." This is marker number 270. It was erected in 1983 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. [Review 21142 overall - 283 in Wisconsin - 105 of 2024.]