Things to Do in Appleton
Appleton Things To Do Guide
Regardless of the time of year, there are always plenty of fun things to do in Appleton. During the summer months, an abundance of hiking trails, nature preserves, and parks are the ideal setting for outdoor adventures. When the weather turns cold, Appleton activities switch gears and transform into skiing, ice fishing, and hockey in the winter wonderland. Families can tour educational and historical museums or amp up the energy at an amusement park. Beat boredom any time of year with the exciting stuff to do in Appleton.
Nestled next to Lake Winnebago, Appleton is home to a variety of parks, nature preserves, and stunning natural beauty. Hike the trails in High Cliff State Park and absorb the wonder of the rugged and natural surroundings. With a 100-boat slip marina, visitors can enjoy views of the limestone cliffs from the water or by land. The Heckrodt Wetland Reserve is a popular Appleton activity for students and adults alike, due to the abundant wildlife, breathtaking botany, and educational activities.
When the snow starts to fall, as it does frequently during the winter months, cold weather Appleton activities abound. Take in the splendor of the season with free outdoor ice skating at Appleton Memorial Park, Erb Park or Jones Park. Many of the parks, including High Cliff State Park, are open year-round to accommodate cross-country skiers and snowshoeing lovers. At the Family Ice Center, lessons and free skating are available indoors for figure skaters and hockey players.
There are a host of Appleton attractions for families that are offered all year. Learn more about the history of the area at The History Museum at the Castle, which hosts a Houdini exhibit, or let the little ones run amok in The Building for Kids, an interactive children’s museum. For the serious shopping enthusiasts, the Fox River Mall is the largest mall in the area.
Things to Do Deals
Maple Lanes
- South Business Drive
Two hours of bowling on one or two lanes at an alley that also features sand volleyball courts and a golf simulator
Bridgewood Golf Course
- Neenah
Small, fast, elevated greens combine with water hazards and dense tree lines to challenge golfers as they traverse 2,934-yard course
Pro Fitness, Inc.
- Green Bay
Fitness professionals give one-on-one guidance during personal-training sessions as members lift and run their way to health
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
The crunch of fallen leaves or packed snow telegraphs the motions of warriors hidden in the underbrush on the outdoor fields at Commando Paintball Sports. Paintballs whisper through the air, flitting out from the barrels of Tippmann FT-12 or Piranha markers. The projectiles splatter against two-story forts or hollowed-out vehicles on the three wooded fields, which stay open year-round in almost any weather. On the urban combat field, patrons take cover in any of 20 buildings, including a three-story bell tower perfect for getting a birds-eye-view of opponents. Those seeking tournament-style play compete in a hyperball field designed by expert players. Laser tag keeps clothing clean while still eliciting floods of adrenaline.
Named for the mythical bird famous for its fiery rebirth, the Green Bay Phoenix shares its spirit with many esteemed sports programs, including a women’s basketball team that has been ranked as high as 16th in the NCAA Division I and a men’s squad that has made the NCAA Tournament four times. One of only four Division 1 schools in Wisconsin, the Green Bay Phoenix is a member of the Horizon League and their teams––including men’s tennis and women’s swimming and diving––have brought home a total of 29 league championships over the past decade.
Carved out of 640 acres of Wisconsin farmland, the 4.048-mile, 14-turn racetrack at Road America allows roadsters of all size and stripe to careen the original track design throughout the raceway’s full season of stock-car, motorcycle, and vintage-car collecting events. The iconic raceway, one of the fastest permanent road-racing tracks in the world, nurtures aspiring Andrettis through its driving school and accommodates gatherings with group outings, such as go-karting, snowshoeing, or geocaching adventures. On race day, guests can take advantage of golf-cart rentals to enjoy the action and fill up on snacks at some of Road America’s 13 concession stands.
Founded in 1969 by a group of commercial fishermen, Door County Maritime Museum’s three locations illuminate the history of area waterways and the seafarers who've traveled them. The 20,000-square-foot Sturgeon Bay location, open 365 days a year, focuses on the evolution of shipbuilding. Its galleries house model ships ideal for transporting hand soap across sinks, along with displays on lighthouses and shipwrecks.
For an interactive adventure, patrons can board a fully restored Chicago fire tug from the 1960s for a two-hour in-water cruise, narrated by a trained docent. The Gills Rock location focuses on the shipwrecks that have peppered the Door Peninsula region, with supplementary exhibits on Great Lakes pirate Dan Seavey and maritime life-saving techniques, such as never boarding a ship named Titanic. Alternatively, patrons can climb 97 spiral-staircase steps to the summit of the Cana Island Lighthouse, which, along with the keeper’s house, has been preserved since 1869. In addition to educational displays, the museum also hosts various events to unite the maritime-enthusiast community. :m]]
While the S.S. Badger has been honored with a placement on the National Register of Historic Places, its beginnings were humble. First setting sail in 1953, the Badger originally carried railcars, along with a few select passengers, across scenic Lake Michigan year round. Now the last of the United States’s coal-fired steamships, the 410-foot vessel ships cargo of a different kind, transporting guests and their vehicles across Lake Michigan with the comforts and amenities of a modern cruise ship, with efforts to improve their ship environmentally in the near future.
While the boat embarks along between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, guests amble through the open deck for views of the scenic shorelines or set up shop on deck chairs, armed with a cool drink and a Mermaid-to-English dictionary. The ship’s shaded interior entertains with movies, guests shouting at celebratory bingo, and arcade games giving off musical tones as kids set new high scores. For a more muted ride, private staterooms let guests snooze away the hours, and a quiet room elucidates the ship’s history in hushed solitude. An in-house bar blends, shakes, and stirs ingredients into a range of refreshing cocktails, while the café showcases artfully crafted sandwiches like a deli hall of fame.
