Dells Boat Tours®

Take the children to see the giant Glockenspiel with a musical re-enactment of the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin every half-hour, on the hour. The legend goes that the Pied Piper rid the town of Hamelin of its rats and mice by charming them away with his flute playing. When the citizens of Hamelin refused to pay the piper the price they had agreed upon, he charmed away their children in revenge.

The German Glockenspiel with its fairy tale re-enactment is FREE making it one of the best Wisconsin Dells deals. It's located in the 400 block of Broadway, Downtown Wisconsin Dells.

Stroll the Dells RiverWalk with vistas of the Wisconsin River and its sandstone bluffs now easily accessible to the public for the first time in 75 years. This ¼-mile paved path offers Dells visitors not only a breathtaking view of the Dells' unique scenery, but sprinkles in game tables and comfortable benches along its expanse in invitation to sit a spell and take in all of Mother Nature's glory. Walk, bike or run the Dells RiverWalk, but be sure to put this special experience on your Wisconsin Dells itinerary. It's one of the most scenic Wisconsin Dells activities available and it never disappoints.

The Dells RiverWalk entrance is located at the 100 block of Broadway in downtown Wisconsin Dells. It's free and open to the public year-round.

Teetering rock formations, dark grottos, fragrant evergreens and fresh air mark this tour. No walking, just sight-seeing extraordinaire. See if you can memorize the names that have been given to the bluff formations over the years in the Dells, like Romance Cliff, Chimney Rock, Black Hawk's Profile and Demon's Anvil.

The on-water portion is scenic, of course, but the best part of this tour may just be the shore landings. At Stand Rock, see a trained dog leap from one sandstone bluff to another, recreating the famous 1888 photo taken by landscape photographer H.H. Bennett of his son doing the same. The second stop is at Witches Gulch, a glen with mysterious passageways that also provides a natural cool-down from your perch atop the double-decker boat.

The Wisconsin River at dusk is a thing of beauty. Listen to a narrative on the waterway, enjoy fine dining in Wisconsin Dells with a surf-and-turf meal, be serenaded with live music, and enjoy the pièce de résistance -- a stroll on torch-lit paths at the Witches Gulch shore landing.

The mode of transportation might be the biggest highlight of all here, because it's the only boat of its kind in the Dells -- an authentic paddle-wheel riverboat that seats 150 for a Wisconsin Dells dining experience.

Here's one last tip - regardless of the tour, be sure to watch for the swallows' nest built into the bluffs and the hemlock trees draping from the cliffs. These both came to be thanks to the porous makeup of the sandstone, making them an original Wisconsin Dells attraction.

This section allows you to download the Wisconsin Dells area price guide. We're certain you'll land on the right dollar figure.

http://www.wisdells.com/wisconsin-dells-family-vacation/search-guides/2015-Price-Guide.htm

If you like to hang out in a hammock on your vacation, this is not the itinerary for you. Now if you like to hang out at the waterpark or from a zip line, then start making a list of all the items on this adventure vacation checklist that you’d like to experience.

Let’s get right to the must-do and that’s ride and slide your way through a favorite waterpark or two. Outdoors, it would be impossible to choose between Noah’s Ark Waterpark and Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Parks, so make time for both. At Noah’s Ark, their new looping waterslide called Scorpion’s Tail is the largest in the world. At Mt. O (that’s what the locals call it), crash through the nine-foot waves of their Poseidon’s Rage surf pool.

There are a handful of indoor waterparks that make this itinerary, all housed at resorts that are nearly destinations unto themselves: Kalahari Waterpark Resort Convention Center, Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort, Chula Vista Resort and Great Wolf Lodge. Water roller coasters, wild funnel rides, racing slides, even a surf machine at the Kalahari rank high on the adrenaline-inducing chart.

Amusement parks come in the outdoor and indoor varieties too. Let’s start with outdoors. Timber Falls Adventure Park has two attractions that are noteworthy - their 70-degree banked and crazy-fast Hellcat roller coaster and their end-over-end Skyscraper ride that pulls four Gs at 60 mph 160 feet off the ground. At Mt. Olympus, all their roller coasters are a scream, but top prize goes to Hades, a wooden coaster made diabolically fun with a 65-degree drop, the world’s longest underground tunnel and speeds up to 70 mph.

Moving to indoor amusement parks, the Kalahari Indoor Theme Park is the featured spot. Check out their elevated go-kart track, rock climbing wall, ropes course and laser tag. If adventure is the ticket for your little ones, there’s Knuckleheads Bowling & Indoor Amusement Park.

Next up on your adventure itinerary - zip lines. The Wilderness Canyon Zipline Canopy Tours’ takes you over Lost Canyon and an expansive tree canopy. The other zip line, BigFoot ZipLine, has four water crossings.

Still high in the sky is the next recommendation and that’s parasailing. Lake Delton Water Sports has been hoisting riders 450 feet in the air for a sail around Lake Delton for a dozen years now. They have a second location at Castle Rock Lake in nearby Mauston. Holiday Shores Watersports Center flies riders up and down the Wisconsin River with the sandstone bluffs as the backdrop for their rainbow-colored sails.

Wisconsin Dells even offers some adventures in dining. At Marley’s - A Taste of the Caribbean, a hoppin’ spot in a new location, you can sample spicy jerk chicken and rum grouper. For an after-dinner drink, try Kahunaville Restaurant & Lounge, where bartenders juggle glasses and bottles as part of their drink mixology routine.

Lest you be left with the impression that adventure is only available in the summer months, think again. In the fall, there’s the haunted boat tour of the Wisconsin River. This after-dark excursion, hosted by Dells Boat Tours® includes a shore landing and a walk deep into Witch’s Gulch, perfect for Halloween-timed getaways. Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Parks has haunted nights at their amusement park too. For winter, what could be better than the cold-weather version of the waterslide - snow tubing. Hop on a tube and fly down a hill at Cascade Mountain Ski, Snowboard & Snow Tube.