Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Car
GettingtothedellsfromMinneapolis(viaI-90/94,216miles)takes3.5hours.FromMadis-
on (via I-90/94, 56 miles), it takes one hour. From Chicago (I-90/94, 195 miles), it takes
3.25 hours. If you're heading south from Stevens Point (via I-39 and WIS 13, 79 miles), it
takes 90 minutes.
By Bus
Wisconsin Dells has no central bus station.
Greyhound
(800/231-2222,
www.greyhound.com
)
buses arrive and depart from the Travelmart station (611 Frontage
Rd., 608/254-5077).
By Train
Amtrak
(
www.amtrak.com
) stops at the junction of Superior and Lacrosse Streets north of
downtown; this stop has no quick ticket machine, so you'll have to use the Internet or a
travel agent.
Ifyouhadtodrawupquaintlittlecommunitiesfortouristbrochures,thiscouldbethemod-
el, a Tinytown, USA, where life still revolves around the courthouse square. Baraboo con-
sistently earns top-10 finishes in its category in media rankings of livability quotients na-
tionwide.
Andthen there'sthe circus. ThoughBaraboo hasalways been animportant regional cog
in dairy distribution, the local circus museum is what really draws folks. In 1882, a fam-
ily of enterprising local German farmboys named Ringling, much enamored of a traveling
troupe's performance in Iowa, organized the Ringling Brothers' Classic and Comic Con-
cert Company. Thus began that “greatest show.” Wisconsin would become the “Mother of
Circuses”—more than 100 circuses have had their origins and based their operations here.
Baraboo was home to the Greatest Show on Earth until 1918, and the Ringlings' legacy re-
mains its biggest draw.
