Experience the best of Wisconsin Dells

The Wisconsin River squeezes through a gorge of soft sandstone here, its cliffs carved into odd shapes and covered with ferns and moss. Nineteenth-century photographs by H. H. Bennett helped make the gorge famous, and holidaymakers have come since the railway arrived, taking boat tours between the rock walls.

Today the town is known for water parks, amphibious tour vehicles called Ducks, and theme parks along the main road. For quieter scenery, Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo to the south, has quartzite bluffs above a small lake, and Baraboo holds the Circus World museum on the site of the Ringling brothers' winter quarters.

Cheese curds, brats, fish fries, fudge and frozen custard are the local treats, and the supper clubs of the area serve relish trays and old-fashioneds. The resort season runs from late spring through summer, when the river is warm, and the cliffs are best seen in autumn colour.