We recently spent five nights in Wausau WI while on our 50 state road trip. We’d been told by someone in Green Bay to bypass Wausau and head on to Chippewa Falls, but we’re glad we kept our plans as it was a nice place to visit.
Wausau’s a city that’s home to about 40,000 people, has a fairly cute downtown and some fun things to do in and around the area.
We didn’t get a chance to do a huge amount of exploring, but here are three fun things to do in Wausau that we did during our stay.
1) Rib Mountain State Park
Rib Mountain State Park is on the southwest side of Wausau and offers beautiful views of the surrounding area.
The daily admission fee for this State Park is $8 for those with Wisconsin license plates and $11 for those of us with out-of-state plates. It’s worth it though as it’s a great place to go hiking with all kinds of different trails.
To give your legs even more of a workout, climb the 96 steps to the top of the 60′ high Van Douser Tower.
At the top, you’ll be greeted with stunning vistas all around. A couple of people we met at the top of Van Douser Tower shared that you get amazing sunset views from up there if you stay at the park late enough into the evening.
Next to the tower are a couple of tall rock formations that you can climb up. I’m a child at heart, so I scaled both.
Address
Rib Mountain State Park – 4200 Park Rd, Wausau, WI 54401
2) 45 x 90 Geographical Marker
I wrote about the 45 x 90 Geographical Marker a few days ago, so check out that post for greater detail. It’s a fun and quirky thing to visit just outside of Wausau as it’s the center of the Northwest Hemisphere.
Once you’ve visited the marker, be sure to go to the Wausau Visitor Center downtown. They have a logbook to add your name to the list of people who’ve visited the 45 x 90 Geographical Marker, plus you get a free commemorative coin.
Addresses
45 x 90 Geographical Marker – 5651 Meridian Rd, Athens, WI 54411
Wausau Visitor Center – 219 Jefferson St, Wausau, WI 54403
3) Rib Falls County Park
After leaving the 45 x 90 Geographical Marker, we made our way back towards our hotel in Wausau. Along the way, Shae noticed a sign for Rib Falls. We love waterfalls, so I turned the car around and headed back in that direction.
It turns out that Rib Falls is a small town with a population of about 1,000 which is within the Wausau Metropolitan Statistical Area. While driving along, we came across Rib Falls County Park which had a playground, picnic shelter and, more importantly, some waterfalls.
To be fair, they weren’t the most incredible waterfalls we’ve ever seen – it was almost more like rapids. However, it was a fun stop along the way, especially because you have to take a narrow trail and clamber over rocks to get there. I was wearing flip-flops and just about managed to make it over them, but better footwear would be advisable.
There were people with kayaks in the parking lot, so it looks like that’s a good option along that stretch of the Big Rib River.
Address
Rib Falls County Park – 1725 County Rd S, Edgar, WI 54426
Question
Those were three things to do in Wausau WI that we enjoyed, but how about you? What other suggestions or recommendations to you have for fun things to do there? Let us know in the comments below.
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