Looking for a super cool spot to hangout for a bit and watch the spillway then you've found it!…read more So one early morning adventure we found ourselves here to watch and listen to the spillway as we waited for our friends to go start our breakfast adventures with. The spot we were at was across from the spillway it had a good amount of parking places and a few benches even though we were here early morning there was still a handful of people here some fishing and some launching their boat off for a day of fun! We pretty much just chilled here for a bit because it was peaceful with the sound of the water crashing and just the beautiful scenery it was definitely an awesome way to start the day! Overall this is a dam so you know what to expect it's just a chill spot to pass the time or fish either way it was definitely cool finding this and I hope to be back again sometime!

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.

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. :)

We had a great tour on Saturday morning at 10am, it went until almost 1pm. Bring the sunscreen and…read morebug spray but leave feeling truly inspired and attuned with nature. Lovely scenery, history and experience.

Nice facility in a nice area. Glad that the shack and surrounding area have been preserved…read more Challenge with this place is that there is so much natural beauty (and great ways to explore it) in the area that this particular facility isn't all that differentiated. If you are in the area for a couple of days, probably shouldn't make the cut in terms of things to experience, but if you have more time to explore the area, definitely a place to check out. Shack is only "open" on Saturday, but that is not really the reason to come to the facility. The hiking trails are open all week and cut through some beautiful ecosystems. I should also add if you are a Leopold fan (or A Sand County Almanac) this is obviously a must visit).

I woke up this morning to find an alert in my email: "Daily Diversion: 10 Wisconsin towns you've…read morenever heard of before" from the Kenosha News. Joke's on them perhaps, but I have heard of three of them. But, being bored due to lots of retail shutdowns, I mapped out several of the towns that looked semi-interesting, and settled on one that was not too far away: Hyde. It's near Spring Green and Prairie du Sac, but the real draw for me was an 1800s wooden water wheel mill. Hyde's Mill was built in 1850 on Mill Creek. The mill burned in the 1870s but was rebuilt. We noticed we were coming up on a road named Mill Road, so we took the turn and lo and behold, there was the mill. There were just a few people at the site: four eating Bob's Bitchin' BBQ carryout from Dixie plates sitting on the ground and a couple standing on the bridge overlooking the mill. It was a picture perfect day with blue skies and fluffy white clouds floating by, and when I stepped out of the car I could hear the rush of water coming over the stone dam. I took a perch behind the bridge on the sloping support and sat in the sun looking at the dam and listening to the water. This visit was good for my soul, and I could have sat there for two to three times as long as I did. It ranks up there for me with lunch hour visits to the Joan of Arc chapel in Milwaukee to sit by the fountain in the sun. Not much going on in Hyde otherwise, but I would definitely go back for this.

It's not a business, just a photogenic nineteenth century mill. There's a small area to pull off…read morebut no real parking area. Can't find a place to park? Just wait, most people do not stay long.

I will start off by saying I have been looking forward to visiting this place for YEARS. I am also…read moreNOT a circus fan. I remember being 3 or 4 years old and my dad taking me to the Circus and we left after about 5 minutes. I just hated everything about it. But I always enjoyed the Circus paintings, flyers, etc. from the old days. This place had TONS of that! This place is Ringling Bros original winter quarters. There is so much to explore. I've seen tons of videos on youtube of this place but it is does not do it justice with how large this place really is. This place took about 4 hours for me to explore. There's indoor and outdoor exhibits. The outdoor portion has historical buildings, which was really fun to explore. They did have a couple of shows going on but I came on a Monday and it was fairly quiet which was very nice. The only show I saw was the Circus they have which was actually VERY good. I was not looking forward to it but it was about an hour and it was so entertaining. I would 100% recommend and would come back. If nothing else, you can enjoy all the old posters and banners like myself.

Do you love the art of the circus and want to expierence the most unique museum ever? Well Circus…read moreWorld is for you. This place is Ringling Bros original winter quarters. There are a few different things to see here and I highly recommend spending the day exploring it all. First the main room when you enter will have history on the Ringling Brothers along with a few novelty items. Then next to it are all the animal houses that have wagons, dioramas, and so much more in each of them. They have things from Ringling, but also history on other circus's. Now you cross a bridge to the other side where they have the Hippodrome. In here they have a few small shows in here. They also have actual circus train cars that were used by Ringling. During the summer months they have a circus tent where they do a circus show that's free with the price of admission to the museum. Now the best part is the wagon area. It's a giant building that holds about 50 wagons from every circus around. The history of these wagons is amazing. Overall if you want a day of exploring circus history and want to see the live circus, visit this amazing place.

Rabbit Rock is a good-sized rock formation near Big Flats Wisconsin, and one of many in this area…read more The parking lot has had some work done recently, so it's much nicer than it was before. Not quite as impressive as Roche-A-Cri, but still a fun (and free!) stop.

What a great park right off Hwy 13. You could easily pass this while driving on Hwy 13 though. Look…read morefor the sign and small parking lot. It's definitely worth the stop. There's lot of little routes to the top; some a little more adventurous than others; depending on your courage and activity level. The jutting rocks form a rabbit at the top. Some others have decided to decorate the rocks with other art too. There were lots of kids venturing around the formation peeking in to the cracks and hearing their voices echo in the caverns. There's lot of trees lining the rock trails to help you maneuver around. The weather was great for a hike to the top. Watch for leaves and pine needles, as these make the trails a little slick. This would be a great lookout place for sunsets and a picnic. There are tables at the parking lot area. I didn't see any bathrooms though. I don't think you need a park pass to use this park either. This was a perfect way to spend an hour! But the wayside is NOT open year round it's closed during the winter months. From the top of the rock you can see for mile including view of Roche-A-Cri Mound in the state park. It's about 60 feet high to the top.

Montondon Park is a three acre park on the east side of Waunakee. The park is mainly undeveloped…read moreland, but has some terrific short hiking trails. The park's signature landmark is a red covered bridge, which is a popular spot for photographers. There also is an observation platform off Lawton Road, that offers a stellar view of the park.