7 Playfully Peculiar Cities In Wisconsin

While Wisconsin is synonymous with dairy farming, craft brewery heritage, and freezing chilly winters, the state can be house to a set of cities with quirky traits and curious customs you will not encounter elsewhere. By totally embracing and freely displaying their oddities, these unconventional gems expose vacationers to novel experiences, a few of which go away them with extra questions than solutions.

In a state the place custom and small-town attraction run deep, these offbeat communities remind guests that “normal” is very overrated. So, whether or not you wish to immerse your self within the fantasy world of wizards in Wisconsin Dells or obsess over the paranormal in Prairie du Chien, listed below are playfully peculiar cities in Wisconsin price visiting.

Wauwatosa

This vibrant suburb exterior Milwaukee excites guests with the uncommon alternative to worship inside a UFO-themed church. The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is an iconic landmark in Wauwatosa that instantly grabs your consideration. This is because of its quirky saucer-shaped design with glossy curves, akin to a UFO. Its 106-foot-wide dome and pristine inside make it in contrast to another chapel within the nation. Designed by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, the constructing is listed on the NRHP and stays a stark visible spectacle within the area.

Wauwatosa provides nature lovers a quiet sanctuary to calm down and unwind at Hoyt Park, which options lush environment and a picturesque pathway straddling the banks of the Menomonee River. Alternatively, you possibly can embrace a contemporary purchasing and eating expertise on the Mayfair, which homes greater than 150 brand-name retail shops and eating places.

Wisconsin Dells

The “Waterpark Capital of the World” provides greater than its world-class amusement parks; it additionally thrusts visitors right into a world of journey and fantasy on the unconventional Wizard Quest. This family-centric attraction invitations you to resolve riddles and work out difficult conditions whereas navigating a maze of hidden passageways, obstacles, and traps. The 30,000-square-foot maze additionally permits members to work together with dwell characters by way of computer-interactive video games that carry the world of fantasy into actuality.

Wisconsin Dells can be house to the historic H.H. Bennett Studio and Museum, which hosts an uncommon occasion dubbed the Phantom of the Photography Studio. This pays tribute to the artwork of spirit pictures, which entails capturing the spirit of the deceased in {a photograph}. Lastly, you possibly can’t go away the city with out making an attempt out its waterparks, and there’s no higher possibility than Noah’s Ark Waterpark, which sits on 70 sprawling acres and options over 50 water slides.

Sister Bay

Sister Bay is a captivating vacation spot in Door County, cherished for its enjoyable waterfront, small-town really feel, and delectable eating scene. While the village homes a number of eateries and diners, Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant is by far probably the most recognizable. This eccentric restaurant stuns guests with a uncommon sod roof, the place you see a herd of goats grazing nonchalantly whereas gazing on the people beneath. After recovering from the unusual scene, patrons sit down contained in the eatery for scrumptious Swedish fare, with favorites like meatballs and Swedish pancakes on the menu.

Sister Bay Beach is a well-liked escape for vacationers within the city. Boasting a 600-foot seashore with powdery sands and gorgeous water views, it’s typically jostling with sunbathers, swimmers, and beachcombers. Meanwhile, a laid-back luxurious sail with Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours treats first-timers to a phenomenal perspective of the city from the water.

Sparta

This tiny city in Monroe County stands out for its uncommon cemetery of fiberglass sculptures made by an area firm. The FAST Fiberglass Mold Graveyard is an unintended park with curious sculptures of big shark heads, skulls, animals, birds, and different irregular molds. Spread throughout acres of a grassy, open area, the abandoned nature of the location and eccentric design of the sculptures instill an eerie feeling in visitors as they stroll by way of the location. For many newcomers, the world seems like an experiment gone dangerous.

The imposing statue of “Ben Bikin” is one other notable landmark in Sparta. It incorporates a big sculpture of an English gentleman on a basic bicycle, which honors the neighborhood’s biking heritage. Sparta additionally welcomes visitors to the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bike Museum to take a look at an superior assortment of dozens of bikes highlighting the evolution of transportation.

Shullsburg

Shullsburg makes it to probably the most peculiar cities in Wisconsin because of the mysterious Gravity Hill. This gravity-defying stretch of highway operates towards the legal guidelines of physics, with vehicles seeming to roll up the slope when left in impartial gear. However, this is among the many occurrences on the web site that appear to defy logic. While these could have vacationers questioning their notion of actuality, it may be defined as an optical phantasm as a consequence of a number of topographical parts within the environment.

The Water Street Commercial Historic District offers a uncommon look into Shullsburg’s previous days. Just exterior city, discover the Gratiot House Farm Bed & Breakfast, a Georgian-style limestone home highlighting the early life. Elsewhere, you possibly can pattern the city’s dairy heritage with a style of freshly made cheese on the Shullsburg Creamery.

Burlington

Like another city, metropolis, or village in America, Burlington celebrates Halloween, solely that it takes the celebration to a complete new stage with a wave of eccentric occasions. Popularly referred to as Burlington Spooky City, this enjoyable competition options greater than the traditional trick-or-treating. The “Coffin Races” go away an enduring impression on vacationers, and see members racing with elaborately painted and adorned coffins to the end line. Furthermore, the Spirit Walk within the evenings takes visitors by way of collaborating bars.

Burlington can be identified for its playful museum points of interest. The Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum reminds guests of a basic childhood toy and the tips they carried out with an enormous assortment of yo-yos. Meanwhile, those that fancy dwell performances can catch a transferring play or musical on the landmark Malt House Theatre.

Prairie Du Chien

One of the oldest cities in Wisconsin, Prairie du Chien showcases its enduring heritage by way of a community of historic markers and outdated traditions. Spiritualism practitioners and fans typically collect contained in the Nineteenth-century Villa Louis Historic Site for the Spiritualism within the Victorian Era. This paranormal-centric occasion explores a Victorian observe that concerned speaking with the lifeless. Visitors be taught the rituals concerned, browse spiritualism paraphernalia, and discover the legacy of America’s first spiritualist throughout this otherworldly spectacle.

A visit to Victorian-era Prairie du Chien awaits at Fort Crawford Museum. This restored fort shows an array of artifacts that chronicle army and native historical past. History apart, the city invitations visitors to experience its splendid out of doors surroundings on the grassy lawns of Lawler Park and admire spectacular panoramas of the Mississippi River.

From the coffin races in Burlington to the UFO church in Wauwatosa, these eccentric cities in Wisconsin go towards the grain with their unapologetic quirks and offbeat traditions within the United States. They provide extra than simply roadside curiosities. They have fun the weird in ways in which foster neighborhood spirit and spark curiosity. Whether you’re seeking the weird, the humorous, or the downright puzzling, these cities show that the Badger State’s attraction isn’t simply in its cheese, however in its splendidly bizarre corners.