This is not a conventional concrete zoo. The closest comparison would be from Disney's animal…read morekingdom in Orlando. The habitat is organic and large. There is a variety of animals that were either born into captivity or rescued. It's a very heart warming mission. The interactive design is refreshing and well worth the admission price, $12 for kids, $16 for adults and $15 for seniors. Picnics are encouraged.

Great zoo we loved that all the animals were active Most of…read morethe time you go to the Zoo and the animals are asleep. Veterans get in free every day very appreciated.

This is NOT a stuffy ol' museum!…read more When logging was the primary industry in northern Wisconsin (late 19th - early 20th Centuries) the logging was all done in the winter. The ground was frozen and logs could be moved without slogging down in the mud that would happen during Spring and Summer. A camp would spring up until the area was fully logged out, then over the summer, the camp would be relocated, anywhere from four to ten miles further away, in the next stand of lumber. Camps were sometimes named but often just numbered. Often a town would spring up around the camp but die off as soon as the camp was moved. Some survived, Laona is an example. In Laona's case, the Connor Family built a successful sawmill here, which is still in operation. When Camp 5 was logged out and moved on to Camp 6, a farm sprang up so the company could supply the camps with meat and vegetables for lumberjacks with voracious appetites. Descendents of the family that started it all decided to preserve the old lumber camp and farm, and formed a foundation to operate and preserve Camp 5. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and you'll find the historic farm (some of it still operational) and a logging museum as part of the old logging camp. Special events are held throughout the season (check the website for schedules) and it is all very educational while being fun! There's a guided tour of a managed forest that shows you how modern logging operations differ from the clear-cut-and-move-on method of logging from the 19th Century. You'll find displays of stump pullers, skids, water tanks and other logging equipment from the past. Check out the retired, heavy equipment and a Wisconsin Central switch engine that you can enter. Kids will enjoy the petting zoo, although the managed forest tour might not hold the attention of youth who haven't learned about the history of logging in Wisconsin. Be sure to visit the operating blacksmith shop! There's only one way to enter the museum, and that's by steam train! Climb aboard the Laona and Northern Railway for the three mile ride to the museum. You can sit in an open-air observation car behind the locomotive, or opt for riding in an antique passenger car or a caboose. (Yes, you can ride in the cupola.) The season runs from mid June to almost Labor Day each season, plus some Fall dates. Check ahead. A flyer with coupons is available at most hotels and tourist info kiosks in a 50 mile radius. There is a gift shop and lunch is available with a limited menu (freshly grilled burgers, brats and hot dogs) at prices you might expect in a captive situation. All in all, it's a fun couple of hours for the family. (Don't tell the kids they'll be learning something!)

This is not your average museum. There's no big fancy building with a marble entryway and…read moredressed-up docents. There *is* a big old steam train to ride on (you can even climb up a little ladder and see what's what). My husband went here as a kid and was dying to share it with our little rascals. You buy your tickets then hop on the train (it leaves maybe five times a day) for a short ride (15 minutes?) to an old logging camp. There are a couple of buildings with old equipment and pictures (and a buffalo hide rug that grossed my kids right out), which are good to browse through for a little while. Then you can pay extra for a pontoon boat ride (they take you on this very muddy river, tell you about the logging camp history, and hope for some wildlife) or take the included-with-train-ticket wilderness tour. We didn't take the wilderness tour because the kids were having too much fun in the petting zoo. There were goats, chickens, ducks, a little cow, and turtles to look at in their enclosure. They had adoptable kittens, too, but we resisted their fuzzy adorableness. There is a concession stand on the grounds (crazily expensive, as they all are) and the old camp slaughterhouse, which was eerie. There is a little nature trail with signs, but the bugs made sure we didn't get much out of that. There is a store they call the Cracker Barrel store, but it had zero in common with Cracker Barrel restaurants. It was full of souvenirs and candy (fudge and gummy), and that's where you buy the pontoon boat tickets. Next to this building is the Nature Center, which is a taxidermist's dream come true. Lots of dead stuff in there (again, the kids found it gross) but also some cool minerals and ammonites (I loved them!). We were there for about 2.5 hours and were ready to go by then, but it was a fun little place. It's staffed mostly by high schoolers, with train enthusiasts running the steam engine. We hopped back on the train for the return to the depot, where the kids got to line up and blow the horn. That was COOL. The guy in charge enjoyed it more than the kids, I think.

Great way to spend a day with family…read more We stay in cabins in Fay Lake and this makes a great day trip. If you little ones there isn't much better: petting zoo, real steam train to ride, nature trail, hay ride, old trains and big construction equipment they can climb on and play on, museum, ice cream, tours and more. My 4 year old grandson had a blast. Price is high. $20 per adult, $10 for kids over 2.

I happened to see a small advertisement for this place at a cabin we were staying in Eagle River…read more I am happy I did. About an hour away was a place that was so much fun to visit. We took an old fashioned steam train to a logging "town". Toured a museum on the logging industry in WI (very interesting) they had a working blacksmith, a petting zoo, a tour of the forest (very cool) and a general store. It was so much fun, my 6 year old loved it. People were so nice, the place was so clean. We did not do the walk to the one of the houses (no time but we will next time). We had so much fun and I am so glad that we found this place. I am now telling everyone to go visit this really cool gem in the north woods.

What an amazing way to celebrate Earth Day! My sister and I were the only people who booked a tour…read morethat day. We were the first visitors to see the new baby bison born that morning. Adorable!

Awesome experience, petting deer and wolves.. Tom is a great tour guide. LOVED IT!! We stayed at…read morethe Four Seasons Island Resort. Awesome hotel!!