Some of my college freinds got arrested there for…well…recreating their bongs, what else.
“Let’s go to the Dells and ride the Ducks!”
-----MST3K
It was that comment that made me look up the Dells in the first place. Never having been to Wisconsin, I’d never heard of them before. They do sound kinda like the area around Niagara Falls. Or, from what I hear, the highways around the Smokey Mountains.
I’ll be there in few weeks. Me and the GF are going to the Kalahari Resort – indoor waterpark, but more importantly, in-room whirlpool and big ol’ bed. We plan some water activities that might scare the little kiddies if done in public.
That being said, I’ve been to the Dells several times. I’ve got a thing for “tourist culture/horror,” so it’s fun just to watch all the madness. But there are also some good things if you get off the beaten path. Once we rented a boat on the upper dells for the day and sped up and down the river, jumping the wakes of the tourist boats. That was damn fun!
I’d also suggest driving down past the Casino to Devil’s Lake State Park. There is some fantastic hiking along and on top of the bluffs. Also, you can take a little detour to Reedsburg, rent a bike, and ride the 400 Trail.
If you’re looking for things to do or see in Wisconsin, Wisconline isn’t the prettiest site, but it has a huge database searchable by location, date, keyword or subject. Check out the page of cheese factory tours! It’s also a family-run business. My family, specifically. [/plug]
My niece’s 4th birthday party is this weekend in the Dells. Care to swing by?
Seriously, there’s not much to do there off-season. If you’re into waterparks, the indoor parks can be a great time. By now they should have some mini-golf or go-kart tracks open. Medusa’s Drop at Big Chief rocks (lean forward right before you start down the “drop”) is pretty awesome. Raspberry beer (and huge gameroom/pool table area) at Moosejaw is a nice way to chill out with friends and meet other random passer-thrus.
I went there once as a kid, only stayed a day or two because we hit the Mall of America the same week as well.
All I remember is House on the Rock and ridin’ the Ducks.
House on the Rock is friggin weird. Ducks were fun-ish. My guide was cute (to me when I was 9) but he was corny. My mom bought me a set of postcards of the ducks and the guide was on one of them. I hung it on my bureau.