After leaving the busy twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, we were ready for a much more relaxed week in southern Wisconsin. That Sunday, we pulled into the small town of Lake Delton just on the outskirts of Wisconsin Dells. I must have read the campground information too quickly when I reserved it because I remember reading that it was a campground for older kids. It was then that I realized it was a campground for “older kids,” meaning a campground meant for just adults. Fortunately, kids were still allowed, but to go outdoors by themselves they had to be supervised by someone over 18 at all times. My bad! Especially since it happened to be during the week where one of my actual older kids was having his 14th birthday and he had to be stuck inside that week without one of us accompanying him.

Speaking of Wisconsin Dells, we weren’t quite sure what to make of it. With more than ten different water parks, a Ripley’s Believe it or Not, escape rooms, wildlife park, boat tours, quest adventures, and so many more attractions, it seemed like a place that people from all over Wisconsin and the surrounding states would flock to and spend their summers vacationing here. When I saw the Wisconsin Dells wedding chapel, well, that sealed the deal. It’s a mini Las Vegas, though in a much more family friendly sort of way. 

Want to take a boat ride and see the Dells? Of course! After all, the dells are what put this place on the map.

Wisconsin Dells Boat Tour 

Have you ever seen these rocks before? 

You might recognize it if you saw this picture first. This is Stand Rock, and what happened here more than 100 years ago is what made the dells famous. The person in the picture is a 14 year old boy whose task it was to leap across the chasm multiple times while photographer H.H. Bennett took the shot.

Why was this such an accomplishment? Because at the time, photography was in its infancy. Cameras had long shutter speeds often causing the subjects to need to sit still for long periods of time without moving so as to not blur. This is also why many people didn’t smile in early photographs. H.H. Bennett claimed to have a camera that could take photographs that would eliminate this blur. He received a lot of criticism for his claims and set out to prove what he was saying was true. He had to photograph a person in motion and what better way to do that than to have an eager young teen jump over a 40′ tall precipice and capture it mid-air.

This photograph’s popularity spread far and wide. People came from all over to see the amazing dells and changed the way people took were used to taking pictures.

These are the dells today… pillars of rock that jut out from the water topped with a cornucopia of trees of top like icing on a cupcake.

They’re unique in appearance and beautiful in composition.

Only reachable by boat is a little area known as Witch’s Gulch. A boardwalk runs through the naturally sculpted slot canyon in the rock taking you back to a meadow of sorts between the rock faces.

Wizard Quest

For Jaden’s 14th birthday, he wanted to go to a place that is unique to Wisconsin Dells, a place called Wizard Quest. Imagine a video game, escape room, and fairytale land all rolled into one and that’s how I could best describe this place. 

In a space nearly as big as a supermarket, you walk through different realms that have been decorated to resemble air, fire, water, and earth. In each realm you meet up with a character (with a tablet you are provided) and you are given quests to complete in that realm. For example, in one of the realms, we were given the task to find a baby lizard who had been wandered away from his mom and bring him home. We were given UV flashlights that would help locate his footprints in each of the rooms along the way. 

In the two hours we were given, we were able to complete one quest from each realm, so about 30 minutes per realm. Secret passages, hidden doors, mystical creatures, and clues followed us on the journey. We completed the quests on beginner level so that we would have enough time to visit all the realms and get a taste of what kind of quests and puzzles there were to solve. There were more advanced quests for those wanting a more difficult challenge, but I think we were right where we needed to be as beginners.

I would love to see this concept spread to other cities as it really puts you into the game, solving riddles, using detective skills, and having you come up with out-o-the-box solutions, instead of being holed up in front of a screen.

This was the earth realm. The fairytale like realm transported us into a forest with glowing lights and iridescent floors. 

The main corridor had us going back and forth between realms. Confusing as it was to walk down, it seemed like it went on forever if it wasn’t for the mirror at the other end.

The water realm took us underwater looking for clues.

The blacklights in this realm made every white object glow a fluorescent color.

It was really a unique experience every young problem solver should put on their bucket list.