A good road slip is fundamentally an American ritual of passage , and Wisconsin is one of the safe states in the Union to enter on one … specially given that our state is altogether full of whacky attractor and charmingly dubious " biggest [ any physical object imaginable ] " claims . Fortunately , only the flimsiest of excuse is involve for you to laden your car up with friends and hit the road , and on that score , we ’ve got you covered …
The trolls of Mount Horeb
Mount HorebThe piffling town of Mount Horeb , Rebecca West of Madison , was settled mainly by Norwegians who brought their troll folklore with them . One Scandinavian gift shop on the independent route through township started put troll out on their front lawn in the seventies , and teamster took card . When the main road was rerouted , the township decided to build up the " Trollway " to keep dealings get through , and trolls popped up all over the lieu . Now the gravid - nosed , four - fingered statue do everything from act as the piano accordion to slip chicken .
A graveyard for discarded fiberglass statue molds
SpartaFor decades , the FAST Corporation ( that stands for Fiberglass Animals , Shapes and Trademarks ) has been create fibreglass statue . All those hollow molds take up a lot of room , though , so when the company is done with them , it lines the old molds up in a theater on its dimension . There they pose , abandoned and broil in the sun , where any Wisconsinite can in all probability recognize some of the molds from defunct Wisconsin Dells drawing card .
The biggest musky
HaywardIf the real record - setting muskies at the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Hayward are n’t large enough for you , just ill-use outside . That ’s where " Big Musky " dwell , and he ’s the gravid fiberglass carving , and the with child Pisces the Fishes , in the populace ( and , coincidently , made by FAST Corporation ) . you may climb inside the four - news report fish and go forth on the deck of cards inside his lip , where apparently you may also take perfect hymeneals photos . He ’s surrounded by oversized freshwater buddies like perch and bluegill .
National Mustard Museum
MiddletonWisconsin love Germans , and Germans love mustard , so a Mustard Museum in Wisconsin is a match made in heaven . The founder , Barry Levenson , just resolve to start collecting mustard one day in the 1980s , and has now evolve a assembling of 5,624 mustards from all 50 states and over 70 countries for visitors to gaze at . There ’s also Indian mustard ads , ex mustard pots , mustard mascot , and of course , a gift shop where you could buy a million variety of mustard and Wisconsin - themed talent .
International Clown Hall of Fame
BarabooCoulrophobes , steer clear : the Clown Hall of Fame will be the stuff of nightmares for you . For those of us who find buffoon a little weird but benign , this is a unique minuscule stop near the Wisconsin Dells . Part museum and part archives , it ’s where you ’ll find everything there is to know about historical buffoon . It ’s loose by appointee only , however , so call ahead .
Mars Cheese Castle
KenoshaChicagoans are very familiar with this one , as it ’s one of the last stops in Wisconsin to stock up up on Spotted moo-cow and cheese curds before they get back home . It was moved years ago due to main road construction , but now it really is a giant castle , and fortunately , the original sign was maintain and moved , so it still shine as a beacon of dairy intersection and beer from the expressway . Grab a grilled cheese sandwich , or take a buttocks in the tap house where cheeseflower open and Bloody Marys await you .
The exact center of the Northern half of the Western Hemisphere
AthensFun fact : the accurate center of the Northern one-half of the Western Hemisphere is in Marathon County . That seems a little convolute , and it should believably be a geographical – not geologic – marker , but we ’ll take what we can get in the middle of nowhere . If you terminate up visiting , stop by the Wausau Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitor Center to sign the 45 x 90 Club guest Quran , and get yourself a commemorative coin to boot .
House on the Rock
Spring GreenForget any of those " preoccupied " spot : House on the Rock is by far the creepiest thing in Wisconsin . So many child ( myself included ) have memories of elbow room of instruments that wager themselves , giant sea animate being , dusty manikin , and so many dolls … dolls in an orchestra , animatronic dolls , doll riding a carousel , doll with taxidermy … it ’s really bloodcurdling hooey . Ironically , the Infinity Room , which juts out over a ravine with no supports , is supposed to freak multitude out , but it ’s really the least scary part of the whole billet . Still , people enjoy riding the giant indoor carousel and gazing at a million Santas , so it ’s the most popular tourist attracter in Wisconsin .
The world’s largest six-pack
La CrosseWhere but Wisconsin would the world ’s large six - gang of beer be located ? in the beginning painted Old Style by the G. Heileman Brewing Company , the beer storage tank car are now possess by the City Brewing Company . Though it ’s now a vinyl wrapper rather of paint , the La Crosse Lager invention allows beer fans to still stare yearningly at the cooler that hold 7,340,796 potty deserving of brew . According to the very helpful mark , that would supply one person with a six - pack every twenty-four hours for 3,351 years .
Chatty Belle
NeillsvilleThe world ’s largest speak cow ( 16 ft tall and 20 ft long ) was named Chatty Belle by a first grader constitute Jody in 1967 , and for her winning entry , she get what every honest Wisconsin girl has always stargaze of : 100lbs of butter . Chatty Belle stay on bigmouthed , thanks to a coin - go voice box , but she does n’t always work any longer .
Sputnik crash site
ManitowocIn 1962 , a 20 pound chunk of the Soviet artificial satellite Sputnik fell into the centre of 8th St in Manitowoc . The spot is marked by a metal circle in the street , but the plaque is at the curb , where gawkers wo n’t get run over . Naturally , occupier distinguish this " momentous " function each class with Sputnikfest , a tongue - in - face political party that includes an foreign pet costume contest , the Miss Space Debris Pageant , and a Cosmic Costume contest . All that ’s missing is a Khrushchev look - alike competition .
Wisconsin Concrete Park
PhillipsFred Smith part create his Concrete Park in 1948 at the age of 62 . He was a tavern owner and a feller , and when ask , he sound out he had no idea why he built the sculptures he did . Most are representation of mass and animals , made out of wood , wire , and hand - mix concrete . Before the concrete cure , Fred would decorate his nontextual matter with whatever he could observe , including beer bottle from his bar . There ’s over 200 pieces on the situation , which is now a public park and a noteworthy example of American folk art .
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Emmet Brown/Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame
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Fickr/Ann Althouse
Flickr/jpellgen
Flickr/John Kroll
Flickr/jpellgen
Flickr/Dakota Callaway
