Bluegreen Colorful Places

Whether you hit the slopes or explore the Dells, Bluegreen's Christmas Mountain Village embraces winter fun. Winter has traditionally been Wisconsin Dells' quieter season.

Tell that to the kids whooping down Christmas Mountain Village's tubing hill. They skid to a halt with a brisk face full of snow that rekindles shrieks of winter fun.

On the nearby bluffs, skiers and snowboarders swish and weave down 11 runs threading through Wisconsin's Big Woods. From half-mile declines and challenging terrain to easy hills, they welcome every Bluegreen vacationer, regardless of skill level.

"My kids all learned to ski at Christmas Mountain," says Dawn DelSangro, an owner from Dyer, IN, whose two daughters and son are now ages 7 to 16. "The resort's activities for the kids are incredible. We just love it."

The best part—especially in winter—is being able to settle in and just relax. The 1,000-acre resort near Wisconsin's favorite vacation destination has everything on site. The Mountain Kids Club introduces kids ages 4 to 8 how to ski. Ongoing kids' programs offer crafts and activities, while a game room brings out families' competitive streaks. Dining options range from gourmet meals to more casual fare, such as taco pizza and a traditional Wisconsin fish fry.

GET WET AND WILD
Many would argue this is the Dells' best season. While some of the world's largest outdoor water and amusement parks are shuttered for winter, there is plenty of action left in the Dells. This is, after all, the place that invented indoor water parks, earned a no-contest claim-to-fame as Water Park Capital of the World and sparked a nationwide trend.

There are close to 20 choices, from big thrills and exotic themes, to smaller parks perfect for younger children on your next Bluegreen vacation.

Mount Olympus, one of the Dells' most legendary outdoor amusement parks, also has an indoor park, The Bay, which is available to Bluegreen Christmas Mountain Village owners and connected to Bluegreen Odyssey Dells. The park's Banyan Treehouse shoots guests down a tangle of body slides, while the Mystical Tower sends tube riders down the 10-story Anaconda, which snakes its way through the 55,000-squarefoot park. Older kids make their way across floating coins and play water basketball while younger ones dip in and out of geysers and slip down smaller slides at a 35-foot grounded pirate ship.

After drying off, guests ride go-carts, a roller coaster, bumper cars or jump into a ball pit at Mt. Olympus's Parthenon Indoor Theme Park.

At Kalahari® Resort and Conference Center's new indoor theme park, which offers day passes to the public, families challenge each other on the dizzying high-ropes course, ride a six-story Ferris wheel, zip across a multi-level go-cart track, and ride atop giraffes, zebras or a gorilla on the African-themed carousel.

DIVERSIONS & EXCURSIONS
Without summer crowds and carnival-like overload of enticements, downtown Dells and the Highway 12 "Strip" have breathing room in the winter as well as plenty of year-round attractions. Hands-on exhibits can be hair-raising at Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. Secret passages and hidden messages draw families through downtown's Wizard Quest or the grab-a-wand interactive MagiQuest that just opened at Great Wolf Lodge. At the H.H. Bennett Studio, history-lovers learn how an innovative, adventurous photographer introduced the world to the Dells' Cambrian sandstone canyons, gorges, bluffs and formations and launched a tourism phenomenon in the mid-1800s.

The Dells has always had its share of showmen, but none reached the fame of the Ringling Brothers. Their glitzy circus spent winters in nearby Baraboo, WI. The sprawling Circus World Museum, open weekdays through the winter, displays more than 200 vintage circus wagons and extensive exhibits that bring the Greatest Show on Earth colorfully back to life.

ENJOY THE OUTDOORS
The greatest winter attraction for Bluegreen vacationers of all ages is the perfect snowfall. Snowmobilers buzz along on the 400 Trail, starting from the historic train depot in Reedsburg. Named for the Chicago-to-St. Paul passenger train that traveled 400 miles in 400 minutes, the 22-mile trail follows the train's former route through the Baraboo River Valley southwest of the Dells with picturesque river crossings along the way.

Those who enjoy silent sports can blaze their own cross-country ski trail across the snow-covered greens of Christmas Mountain's 27-hole championship golf course. State parks also offer a chance to enjoy the solitude of Wisconsin's woodlands and the region's distinct geology.

The Dells' sandstone was once the shore of a prehistoric sea. Fastforward a few million years, and it was carved into gorges, cliffs and chimney rocks during the Ice Age when an ice dam broke loose and unleashed Glacial Lake Wisconsin into the valley.

Along Mirror Lake State Park's 17 miles of trails, you might catch the sun illuminating layers of icicles on carved sandstone cliffs. Two miles south of Baraboo, the state's deservedly most popular park— Devil's Lake—has 16 miles of trails in loops from easy to challenging. Families also can head to the park's sledding hill or try angling for trout or northern pike if the lake is thick enough for ice fishing during Bluegreen vacations.

The snow and ice flies on Jan. 23 & 24 for the Dells' biggest annual event, the Flake Out Festival. Artists shape snow into totem poles, VW Beetles and Packers football players with hopes of competing in the national snow-sculpting competition. Visitors attend snow-boarding demonstrations, take horse-drawn carriage rides, and linger for warm food, cool music and fireworks.

Christmas Mountain Village hosts its own Winter Carnival on Feb. 9, 2010. Kids try their own snow sculptures, dive into drifts to seek buried treasure, launch water balloons and see how many marshmallows they can eat. Anyone brave enough dons a bikini or boxers for an extra chilly rush down the ski hill. Golfers compete for the longest drive despite the lack of green or try a different kind of swing in a wood splitting contest. Couples face off in the resort's version of "The Newlywed Game" and enjoy the live bands at Mulligans.

For Dawn DelSangro, year-round attractions are part of the ongoing fun at Bluegreen's Christmas Mountain Village.

"You can't ever be bored when there's so much to do," she says. "Summer or winter."

Related Winter Sport Articles
Slippin’ and Slidin’ while Snow Tubing
Bluegreen Guide to Skiing in Nevada
From Cibola to the Snowbowl: An Arizona Ski Trip
Guide to a New York Ski Trip at Hunter Mountain
It's All Downhill... and Cross-Country with Bluegreen Ski Vacations
View More

Related Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Cheese - Follow the Cheese to Wisconsin
Bluegreen’s Top 10 Taste Temptations
Bluegreen Recommends Moosejaw Pizza & Brewing Co.
Bluegreen Buys: Tanger Outlets in Wisconsin Dells
Head to Wisconsin to Conquer the Dells
View More



Related Resorts
Christmas Mountain Village™ - a Bluegreen Resort