Headed to Wisconsin Dells

We will be headed to Wisconsin Dells on Tuesday. We will be meeting some friends and spending a couple nights. We will be staying at a Jellystone. You talk about over priced campgrounds they are outrageous. Thank goodness we have some free nights of camping to use up there, otherwise it would be over $100.00 for two nights. That is insane .

This will be our forth trip this summer and we have yet to bump into another Heartland owner maybe we will this on this trip.

We'll be back at the Dells at the KOA the first weekend in August. It's not $50 a night and pretty nice pull-through sites up top. Free WiFi too. Maybe you'll be around then too?

Jim

That weekend will be right after we return from our vaction and the week before we go to Door County. It is possible that our plans may change and we could be in that general area. I will have to keep that in mind if our plans do change. Time will tell.

Where are you staying in Door County. We stayed at Wagon Trail CG. really nice when we were there.

Jim

$50/night does not sound that bad to me. We paid almost $130/night at Boyd's Key West CG in Key West FL in 2006, but didn't have much choice as it was on our "must visit" list. Thought of parking it and driving down and using a hotel until we found out what those rates were charging. Probably could have found a cheaper CD in one of the neighboring keys, but we wanted to stay at Key West. We did have two extra adults that added to the cost.

Hey Chuck,

Well, due to my own ignorance, I'm sitting here looking the fool . I just checked the KOA for rates and guess what, it's about $50 per night before the KOA Kard discount and $55 on the weekend nights . Guess I don't look at rates very close. I just know where I want to go based on past experience or recommendation and book it.

//heartlandowners.org/attachments/koa_pricing.bmp

Now $130 - that is spendy. But, you get the ocean! That's worth something for sure. And in a super-high touristy area. I'll bet it was awesome.

What was it like pulling the rig down to Key West?

Jim

Well, due to my own ignorance, I'm sitting here looking the fool .

Click to expand...

You're slipping Jim, that's twice in as many days!None (just my ornery streak coming out.)

We'll be there July 21st - 27th. Staying at Sherwood Forest - $41.00 per night minus 10% Good Sam's Club discount. Any advice? What are some of your favorite things to do in the area?

Jim, that 5er always tows like its not even there, regardless of where I take it - although I have not been in any hills to speak of yet. Of course corners in towns and getting in and out of fuel stations is sometimes a bit tricky.

The route to the Keys is good, not at all narrow.

Actually, we were not directly on the ocean at Boyd's, but only a couple of blocks away from it.

Cheryl,

I'll tell you what we usually do in the Dells but when you said "any advice", are you asking about your CG? If so, we've stayed at a few and driven through the rest, including Sherwood Forest. When we bring in the kids and want tent sites across from our RV site or when we want a cabin for them near our RV site, we stay at the KOA on Stand Rock Road about a mile from your CG.. Very well run and modernized place.

As for what we do, the main event for us in the Dells is of course the water parks. Our favorite is Noah's Ark.

We always like to work in a meal, seated outdoors at Marley's too.

Oh yes, we nearly always have to shoot at least one round of mini-golf at Pirates Cove, by your CG. We usually do this at night when it's cooler. Did it at noon one day. Big mistake. Uber crowded and 100 degrees in the shade, except there wasn't any shade to be found.

Every other year, we try to hit the Tommy Bartlett Show (on water). Same for Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory.

If the kids bring a new friend, then we always do the Original Wisconsin Dells Ducks. Our dogs like it too!

Last year, I took the kids to Monster Truck World for a ride through the woods. What a kidney buster that was! They loved it. Then there's always shopping downtown. Been to the Ripley's once (this one was sort of lame compared to others I've been to).

This year, we plan to do Mt. Olympus as it looks like we can do everything all on one property for a single outrageously expensive ticket price (welcome to The Dells!).

Have fun!

Jim

wow the Dells sounds like Kash on Arrival !!

It's a great place to take the kids in the summer if you live between say Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago, up to Green Bay and not sure how far south. But yeah, bring lots of cash.

Jim

Thanks for the links Jim. I was looking for the best site-seeing, touristy things to do. It will be just Nelson and me. Our kids are all grown up now, but we're both big kids at heart. I had heard about the ducks up there (they have them in Branson, too) and they were on the list. We hope to spend a few days up in the Apostle Islands before the Dells, but I haven't made the reservations yet. I'm really looking forward to this trip. We drove through the Dells area on our way home once and I thought the cliffs were just beautiful.
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Only time Nancy and I go to the Dells without the kids is to help with the spring clean-up at the KOA (free camping!). So I am unsure as to more adult sights to see.

Here's a link to the July calendar of events there.

If you're interested, Ho Chunk Casino is nearby. Here's a link to a page on their web showing area activities too.

Also, if you are interested in a CG that is pretty quiet and caters more to adults than to families, Country Roads is a great place to try. We've stayed there a few times. It's a great place to overnight at too as all sites are pull-through and it is right off the expressway in Lake Delton. Here's a link. Home Depot and SuperWalmart are within a mile of here too.

Oh, also new to the Dells is the Tanger Outlet Mall. Stores continue to open up there.

Almost forgot this, when staying at Country Roads once, we asked about a place to go for breakfast. One of the owners (Terry) suggested Grandma Honeys. Wow - it was great. It's a must do if you like a homestyle, hearty breakfast. We're not doing much of that anymore but it's nice to indulge now and then and even Cracker Barrel can get old.

Have fun.

Jim

Since we live about 15 minutes from a Race Track and Gambling Resort and have only been there once (very boring in my opinion) I doubt if we will go to the Casino. I picked our campground based on reviews from http://rvparkreviews.com/. We don't mind other kids around. I'm a kindergarten aide, so I'm used to them. We wish ours would go, but they are 22 and 24 and have lives of their own now.

The first time I was in the Dells the only thing they had was a boat ride. I think that was around 1952. I took my kids to see the Dells in 1971 and they remember the big strawberry's dip in chocolate.

WI Dells $

Take a look at the Red Oak CG @ Wi Dells (page 1491 of the Trailer Life Directory). It is actually located in Baraboo, Wi. Last year it was $10.00 a person for FHU 50 amp, sewer, elec). Nothing fancy, but the sights are level and pull thru. Pool is okay, but nothing else for the kids. Pets welcome, and there is plenty of area to walk and hike. It is on HWY 12, 0.5 S of I90/94, exit 92. No WiFi, etc. Geraldine and I camp there when we go to the Dells for shows and other Dells $tuff. Red Oak is a good place to park, sleep and roam the Dells. They do not take credit cards or checks, only cash - American.

We would rather stay right in the Dells. We can bike or walk to a lot of the attractions and not have to worry about finding a parking space for the big truck - not too mention the price of fuel. And, my reservations are already made.

We did end up staying in Jellystone for two nights. Thank goodness they were free nights because the sites we had were not flat and we were about 75 yards from the interstate. The kids loved the water park and had lots of fun. We also did the Wis original ducks. The kids had a great time.