Attractions

Unleash the kid in you at Circus World, located on the site of the original Ringling Brothers Circus winter quarters on the Baraboo River. This facility is recognized as the world’s premier circus history institution, and strives to keep the glamour of one of America’s favorite pastimes alive through the preservation of circus history, live circus performances, and educational outreach programs, including authentic horse-drawn circus parades. Open to the public since 1959, Circus World is home to several structures belonging to the original Ringling Brothers Circus and is considered a National Historic Landmark.

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum located in nearby North Freedom, Wisconsin, recreates life during the glory days of the steam engine. Children and adults alike are sure to love the museum’s educational exhibits, displays of rollingstock, and original, operating trains!

Don’t miss a trip to the International Crane Foundation, which works toward the worldwide conservation of cranes and the wetland and grassland communities on which they depend. Due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting, the population of these graceful birds, who have inhabited the earth for the last 34 to 50 million years, is declining. Families, groups, and schools are encouraged to visit the Foundation and participate in outreach programs such as staff presentations and the Midwest Sandhill Crane Count.

The mission of the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center is to provide a safe place and a comfortable home for abused,neglected, and unwanted big cats,and also to educate the public about these extraordinary animals. Currently twenty-six big cats live at the Center, including sixteen tigers,seven lions and three leopards. Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center gives these cats a chance at a peaceful and happy life, and a chance for the public to learn about them. Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center is a federally licensed facility.

Explore the legacy of Aldo Leopold at the greenest building in the United States, the Leopold Center. Located northeast of Baraboo on a rustic road along the beautiful Wisconsin River, the Leopold Center offers a wide variety of public programs. Learn about the author of A Sand County Almanac, go on a guided tour, or take a workshop on land management. The Leopold Center embodies Leopold's land ethic philosophy in a twenty-first century structure, built almost entirely from trees planted by the Leopold family in the 1930s and '40s. It was honored in October 2007 with the highest certification in the world by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

Stepping into the magnificently designed Al. Ringling Theatre is like being transported into the early pages of Baraboo’s rich cultural history. Built in 1915 and crafted in the style of the Great Opera Hall at the Palace of Versailles, the Al. Ringling Theatre has been an ornate fixture in historic Downtown Baraboo for over 90 years. Red carpeted hallways, intricate ceiling frescos, golden carved theatre boxes, and fine draperies attribute to the Theatre’s reputation as the “prettiest playhouse in America.” As the result of ongoing retoration efforts, visitors to Baraboo can experience the magic of the Al. Ringling Theatre as it was more 90 years ago.

Just a few blocks away from the Al. Ringling Theatre, the Sauk County Historical Society Museum is located in the carefully preserved Van Orden mansion. Thousands of artifacts relating to the pioneer, Native American, military, textile, and architectural history of Sauk County are displayed in over twenty rooms on all four floors of the mansion. The museum also supports a research library with an extensive collection of pictures, documents, and memorabilia relating to Sauk County and its inhabitants.

The night isn’t complete without a visit to Baraboo’s Ho-Chunk Casino and Bingo! Consider yourself lucky as you try your hand at Blackjack tables, slot machines, and intense games of high stakes Bingo at Wisconsin’s largest casino.