Duck Boats and Big Foot in the Wisconsin Dells
If you’re visiting the Wisconsin Dells, you absolutely must take a Duck Boat ride! While many tourist areas offer duck boats, the Dells is the perfect place to take this type of tour. Read all about our ride as well as the rest of our day in Wisconsin.
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What are the Wisconsin Dells?
The Dells are both a gorgeous rock formation and a city in Wisconsin dubbed, “The Water Park Capital of the World”. When driving down the main drag of town you can certainly see why it is called this. Water park resorts line the street, but we managed to visit without going to a single one!
My family was in the Dells during week three of our epic road trip across the country (see everywhere we’ve visited here- Travel all 50 States with The Chaos Manager). During the trip I had given each kid a workbook with information about all of our stops. For detailed info on how these epic sandstone rock formations were made, check out this page from the Wisconsin DNR website.
While a lot of the town’s attractions are tourist traps, sometimes a tourist trap can be really fun! After a lot of research we decided to go on a Duck Boat tour, check out a kid-friendly restaurant and visit a cheese castle during our time in Wisconsin.
Dells Army Ducks- Duck Boat Tours in the Wisconsin Dells
What is a Duck Boat?
A duck boat is an amphibious vehicle that travels both on roads and in water. They were originally military vehicles called
D (stands for 1942, the year they were produced)
U (an amphibious utility vehicle)
K (front wheel drive)
W (twin, rear axles)
Soldiers quickly abbreviated this to Ducks and the name stuck.
More detailed history on duck boats and specifically how the duck boat tours began is available on the Dells Duck Boat’s website.
The boats are open air vehicles with seats for about 20 passengers. Two of our kids were lucky enough to share the front of the boat with our tour guide.
What Will You See on a Tour of the Wisconsin Dells?
The Dells Duck Boat Tour begins by taking you through a wooded area on the attraction’s property. You will continue the ride out onto the main roads.
Next comes the fun part, your vehicle will go from driving on land to floating in the water! The duck boat will enter the Wisconsin River as your tour guide tells you about the rock formations around you.
After riding down the river and learning about some of the major formations in the area, you will venture back to dry land. The tour takes about an hour and concludes back at Dells Duck Boat Tours property. You will also drive by their collection of vintage military vehicles.
If you’re interested in more military history, check out my posts on Battleship Cove in Massachusetts or The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
FAQs about Dells Duck Boat Tours
Hours, Admission, Etc.
Duck boat tours are available mid-March through mid-November. Hours are posted a week at a time on the bottom of their webpage.
Tickets are available for purchase online or in person. I bought mine super early during a Black Friday sale and scored a decent percentage off of the posted prices.
Prices are currently-
Ages 12+ $39.99
Ages 4-11 $26.99
Ages 3 and Under (must ride on an adult lap) FREE
Tours depart about every 30 minutes.
What amenities are available?
There are no restrooms on board the duck boats, however there is a gift shop with restrooms available before and afterwards. The gift shop heavily features big foot items. Big foot tends to be a reoccurring theme when visiting the northern Midwest!
Photos are available for purchase and tips are appreciated as well.
Food
Dells Duck Boat Tours has a food truck shed nearby, offering several types of cuisine and a full service bar. There is also a candy store in the parking lot. We chose to eat down the road at Buffalo Phil’s.
What else can you do at Dells Duck Boat Tours?
Aside from the duck boats, Dells also offers jet boat tours, putt putt golf, ziplines and more!
Buffalo Phil’s Grille in the Wisconsin Dells
If you’re looking for a kid friendly place to grab a bite to eat in Wisconsin Dells, look no further than Buffalo Phil’s Grille! Beginning with the above car in the parking lot, every inch of the restaurant has something interesting and unique to see.
Located at 150 Gasser Road
Wisconsin Dells, WI
53965
Buffalo Phil’s is open Sunday-Thursday from 11:00am-8:00pm and Friday-Saturday from 11:00am-9:00pm.
The menu is standard American fare and the food is decent. The food, however, is not the reason to go to Buffalo Phil’s.
Buffalo Phil’s Atmosphere
Lego
The above photos are just two of the many, many, many Lego displays at the restaurant. There are displays both up and downstairs. Walking around to look at the Lego is a great way to pass the time while you’re waiting for your food to arrive!
Trains and the Wild West
The restaurant as a whole has a western-ish theme, but the overarching theme is trains. Thomas the Train movies play on the large screen TVs that are situated throughout the restaurant. If you sit upstairs your drinks and some of your food will even be delivered by train!
There is a gift shop at the entrance featuring more western and outdoorsy items, as well as plenty of shiny toys the kids will want.
If you still haven’t had your fill of Wisconsin fun, keep driving east to Kenosha!
Mars Cheese Castle
About 145 miles east of the Wisconsin Dells in Kenosha, is a Wisconsin staple- Mars Cheese Castle.
This is a fun little stop featuring…you guessed it…cheese. The Castle has a store as well as a kitchen and tavern.
Hours and Details
The Cheese Castle’s address is:
2800 West Frontage Rd.
Kenosha, WI 53144
Mars’ hours of operation are as follows:
Store: 9:00am-7:00pm Daily- featuring gift shop items, Cheesehead gear, old fashioned candy and more.
Kitchen: Monday-Friday 11:00am-7:00pm/Saturday & Sunday 9:00am-7:00pm-the kitchen has…CHEESE of course! It also has a bakery and assorted meats and other specialty grocery items.
Tavern: 11:00am-7:00pm Daily- The tavern has a menu available online.
If you’ve been on the road for a bit and need a place to stretch your legs, grab a snack and use a clean restroom, this is a great choice!
Looking for a place to stay near Kenosha? My family loved the Home2Suites Racine!
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