We went on the Lower Dells jet boat adventure. This was our favorite part of our trip to The Dells!…read more The price for tickets is $37 per adult. But if you purchase them online you can get $6 off each adult ticket. The price is the same for the lower and upper dells tours. The lower dells tour seems to depart more frequently. The upper dells tour is a little longer. Parking was plentiful for the Lower Dells. There's bench while waiting for the next tour. Be prepared to be soaked. They don't sell ponchos. You will be drenched from the power stops. The spin outs are fun but not as wet. Literally every seat will be wet. No life jackets for adults but children are seated towards the center of rows and do get life jackets. Our tour guide Nate was great. He was very knowledgeable about the scenery. The rock formations are very pretty. Your tour guide gets very close to the rocks. One guy in the front row reached out and was able to touch it. It's a great activity to get a break from the heat. But you should have a change of clothes ready, a towel, a swimsuit on, or be prepared to go back to your hotel for a shower afterwards. It was well worth the ~$30 for the tour. We liked it so much we considered going on the upper dells tour the next day but the timing didn't work out since those tours are more limited.

Our visit to the Wisconsin Dells area began with a journey along the River Walk. To our left was…read morethe scenic Wisconsin River and towering above to our right was the tourist-trap laden Broadway. In between, the River Walk features stories of the citizens of the Dells from the past and present. The stories displayed along the walk perfectly lay out what the Dells are - A narrative of 'loving and protecting' the nature while operating an area that exists solely on the exploitation of said nature. This is where we meet our Upper Dells Boat Tour. The Dells Boat Tours leave from a handful of flights of stairs down from the River Walk to a dock on the river. An elevator from street level is available to access the docks as well. I brought our youngest down the stairs in my arms while my wife brought our other children down in the elevator. Arriving at the front of the dock I was refused a seat as my whole party had not arrived yet. I explained my wife was on route in the elevator and would be joining momentarily, this was met by the greeter with a "We know what we are doing." My wife explained when she made her way down that voyage on a boat was first come first serve and apparently the ability to sit served as a queueing mechanism. Sure! The boat ride itself? Comfortable enough. Old boat, river tour. You know what you are getting. The boat had access to two stops (Witch's Gulch, Stand Rock) for some interaction and up close views of the natural wonders formed in the area. At face value there, the whole tour was pretty good. Nice sites. About two hours of activity. To me though, the tour, and all of the Dells collapses underneath the weight of its own hypocrisy. The guide and captain both carried forward the "We know what we are doing" and "Loving and protecting nature" attitudes introduced at the beginning of this experience, while also contradicting themselves throughout. The tour references George H. Crandall, speaking lightly to his idea that 'No man can own the Dells' and his quest to purchase and preserve as much of the land as possible to promote stewardship over private exploitation. You are then dropped off at a raised platform hammered over the Witch's Gulch area to walk to a concession stand and souvenir shop built onto a paved area. Early on in the tour the guide points out and celebrates a carving into the rocks by Leroy Gates, an early entrepreneur operating Dells Boat Tours, advertising himself and his tours. Later in the tour at Stand Rock, security cameras and warning signs surround some exposed sandstone where curious tourists have etched initials over time. Also carved into that sandstone? Another concession stand where you can purchase a beer or a $55 sweatshirt. Now, I'm not encouraging carving into the rock but these messages feel mixed. Stand Rock also presented a bizarre presentation of a dog jumping over a 5.5 foot chasm up 46 feet in the air, to recreate a famous photograph taken by local H. H. Bennett in 1886. Bennett is celebrated for his early photography work documenting the Dells area and discovering many of the natural wonders. This beauty is yours because others before you loved it - and we honor them by hanging signs everywhere, selling slushies, and installing this safety net between rocks in case something happens when the dog jumps? One of the more disappointing tid-bits passed on by our guide was of the local Ho-Chunk people being formerly known as the Winnebago, which was a name they did not choose for themselves and was ultimately viewed as a slur. The Ho-Chunk had to fight for many years to have their name Federally recognized. This story was told in sort of a jokey fashion, with the English translation of Winnebago landing like a punch line. It was also mentioned later in the tour that one of the Dells Boat Tour vessels includes Winnebago in the name. Near the end of the tour we are pointed toward the Kilbourn Dam which is presented as a historic and wonderful achievement. The Dam split the Wisconsin River and raised the water level of the new 'Upper Dells', which concealed many of the natural structures H. H. Bennett had previously documented. He was a fierce critic of the Dam, and died the year it was built. I am not saying we shouldn't encourage preservation and take the opportunity in our lifetimes to preserve nature for future generations to enjoy. I have loved every visit to a National and State Park and we are teaching our children to do the same. What I would prefer, is that we pick a lane here. You either rally against defacing nature, or you pump tourists up and down a river to your concession stands every 1/2 hour. You know when you meet someone who isn't genuinely presenting as themselves and it makes the whole encounter feel weird? That is essentially the feeling I left the Dells and the Dells Boat Tour with. We declined leaving with a souvenir photo.

Nick is indeed a G definitely recommend coming and enjoying the views Loved it here…read more Idk what else

Tour guide was very funny. The scenic tour was a little pricey but very fun! It was a good…read moreexperience but definitely it something you need to do more than once.

had a group of 14, alex and britney were literally so fun so awesome so amazing love them so much…read more i hope y'all intend to keep them because they're soooo amazing and truly did make the experience better. britney is iconic and alex is actually so hilarious with how he engaged with the big group. love them both!! tipped them great and I hope to see them again next year if we come again. :) pls show this to them so they know the yelp review was left.

These have been around for a very long time. Cool concept, a motor vehicle that goes in the water…read more You probably have seen them driving around downtown Dells. Seats are a little tight but other than that...a great time!

Out of everything I did in Wisconsin, this was my favorite thing and it was actually a last minute…read moreaddition to the itinerary. I did 0 plans to do this. I love cave tours - which is what I was looking for - and came across this tour. This was very different than anything I ever done before which is why I ultimately chose it. And I made a good choice. I did not book ahead of time. I just showed up and they were able to take me. The whole thing lasted about 40 minutes. I wish it was longer. The pulled horses will take you through the canyon while the tour guides talks about the area, the canyons. It takes you through winding rock formations and narrow alleys. It is really beautiful and it doesn't matter how hot it is, it feels so good on the tour due to all the shade. It was very hot on the day I went but it felt great! We also got to see on Deer on the tour! It was a lot of fun and I did buy a t-shirt because I liked it so much. I would definitely recommend to check out at least once!

Took the family to Wisconsin Dells for the 4th of July weekend and did the Lost Canyon Tour on July…read more3rd. Anna was our guide, and Marvin & Mark were the horse‑powered dream team pulling us through the canyon like absolute professionals. Anna nailed it! She was friendly, funny, and knew the canyon history like she wrote the book. The scenery? Gorgeous. The horses? Legends. The whole tour? Peak vacation greatness. If you're bringing your family to the Dells, do this. It's beautiful, it's fun, and nobody gets sunburned in a canyon.

Myself and a few friends have been coming here for years. Always had a great experience with…read moreEVERYONE there. Even to the point that they even know us there. That's how good they are or that's how much we go there (twice this month alone). This weekend was the point that I decided to put in a review because of the people there. We usually rent a pontoon boat with a tube and have a BLAST! But even this weekend Jenna even rode by on a waverunner and asked if everything was ok while we BBQ'd on a beach. And it was, it's great to get that attention from a place that if I am not mistaken is family owned. But long story short everyone here is cool, from the rental desk to the people on the dock, to the guy directing traffic by the office. I'll be back here again many many more times to come. Also most likely at least once more this season alone. Worth the drive from Chicago!

Worst customer service ever!!! Asked where the boat rental was " well we have signs what dont you…read moreread them . Like excuse me?? Later talking to a friend on the phone. Mentioned "the parking is chaos?the parking was chaos? People were double parked. They had a guy directing traffic like 15 golf carts all over the Manager Yells" no it wasn't??...me "yes it was" her " cancel there reservation" a $500 reservation?? Ok Buy Felicia we are locals and we will never be back or recommend ever!! I have never been so poorly treated But after seeing other reviews, looks like this is their normal worst custom for service?! I do believe that a company would be so snotty and rude out of the gate!! Wow just wow!! This place is awful!!

Wish we could give more than 5 stars! This experience far surpassed my 6-year-old grandson's…read moreexpectations. We got to see a two-headed snake, so many gators, and the biggest snakes we've ever seen. The absolute highlight was when my grandson and his Dad got to hold a gator--he hasn't stopped telling everyone about it since! Definitely a must-see highlight of the Dells.

My son has become Mr Alligstor almost overnight (well it started maybe around May of this year and…read moreapart from his normal video gaming, Alligators -- and to a lesser extent Crocs and Caimans) are his jam. He had been watching science-related videos, reading books, talking alligators and crocs nonstop. We were planning a mini father son trip and I wasn't sure where to go, when to my surprise I saw that Wis Dells had an alligator place! So we actually headed up there from NW Chicagoland for Alligators first...and boy this did not disappoint. The place was surprisingly very clean and not smelly at all--I had a college roommate who bought an old Used car that had a garter snake in it and he kept it and boy did it smell...so this is no small feat to keep it clean with this many reptiles. It was the first thing we did in Wis Dells and my son was there a good couple of hours (entrance was about $20 for us to visit and then you can buy food to feed -- meat packets were very reasonably priced), and also feed alligators, pythons, snapping turtles, alligator snapping turtles, caimans live mice and/or rats depending what the animals needed that day. Thankfully the owners -- lovely people who have been there nearly 30 years -- feed the live animals we don't have to touch them. I'll admit that left me a little squirmish but my son was in heaven. We were there about 2 hours (most folks I imagine last about 30 mins) and my son was really excited to see the animals -- behind closed glass tanks. They have 14 or so gators in the big tank right as you walk in, have an albino alligator (large one too) in a separate tank behind. Several pythons- including a jumbo yellow scary python and one a little smaller next to it. They have turtles, some smaller snakes, and some toads etc in other cages.... I figured we saw all we could ever see that first 2 hours as it isn't the biggest place, but my son really wanted to go back before we left, so we went back 2 days later and I don't know how we missed it on day 1, but they had a photo opportunity to hold an alligator (its mouth is taped for safety) and that was the thrill of my sons life! He's been telling everyone about that post our visit. Overall it was impressive how clean and not smelly the place is, showing the care the handlers/owners take to these animals. One bit of advice, while they have some very brief blurbs on some (not all) of the animals, I'd recommend adding more complete blurbs in the animals like a traditional zoo would. They also have an opportunity to buy alligators (which presumably is legal in Wisconsin) and that is something I'd never recommend -- Thankfully they aren't cheap so kids likely couldn't do that without a parent being involved:). All in all across 2 visits we were there 3.5 or so hours and my son had the absolute best time of his life. I can't thank them enough and they were super great to him answering his questions, etc (especially since on the second visit they were pretty darn crowded but they gave my so. Extra special treatment :) ). A wonderful experience-- and a reminder of the things we parents do for our kids lol - as Id never be there if it was t for my son, let alone be there twice! We will be back too next time we go to the Dells (I hadn't been to the Dells in over 20 years--first time as an adult, and I hadn't a great time, but this was amongst our biggest highlight of the trip)

This was super easy and fun for my first kayak experience. I really enjoyed my day. Staff was…read morefriendly and helpful in helping me figure things out

No wake area, perfect for kayaking!…read more Mirror lake rentals is inside the park, so you do need to get a state park pass for your vehicle. It is $10 a day, or $35 for the entire year. It is recommended that you book in advance if you are a large group, as the kayaks seem to be limited. It is a very popular place, as the scenery changes dramatically. The lake its' self is rather small, but is connected to windy rivers that are lined by orange cliffs. There is a nice mixture of shaded areas, as well exposed sunny areas. There are many beaches to pull up onto, and a dam at the end of the course. The lake is very friendly for beginners and experts. Kayaks are $10 an hour or $25 for a half day. It takes about 2 hours to get to the dam and back, more if you go casually and like to stop a lot like we did!

The whole crew over here at Dells Watersports were amazing. We were out there with our crew of 11…read morewe rented a pontoon boat and two jet skis and they were very accommodating to helping my mom get down to the water because she has a little bit of walking issues. They got us on our boat and on our way to have a great time out on Lake Dalton if we ever are in the Dells again, we'll definitely come back!

We've rented pontoons from them and it has always worked out beautifully. The kids love it and the…read moreprice seems reasonable. My only complaint is not with the company but the long time it takes to wait and fill the boat up with gas at a station.

Renting a pontoon with Schleef's was a great experience! We were looking for something to do and…read morelove boating but don't yet own our own - googled and found Schleef's - called them and the super friendly voice set us up with a half day pontoon rental later that same day! And best of all they have amazing prices, $135 for four hours which is like a hundred dollars or more less than the other options. Lake Delton was a great small lake to cruise around, throw the anchor out and swim and fish. We will definitely be back this summer to do it again with Schleef's! Very friendly, family owned service and was a great experience!! Also, their fish & bait shop across the street from the lake was great too! Excellent prices, super cheap hooks and lures, live bait, and easily walkable from the bait shop right into the pontoon to go fishing. 5 out 5 stars hands down!

Awesome boating experience!!!! We came up to go boating, and after another company "lost" our…read morereservation we thought it was going to be a bust. However, after we explained the situation that happened at the other place, they put an extra boat in just for us! They wanted to make sure we enjoyed our time in the Dells, so they went above and beyond for us! I'd highly recommend supporting this family owned and operated business! Great people, and we had an unforgettable time! Thank you so much for making our whole day much better!

This review is specifically for the bait shop portion of this business. I have been here a few…read moretimes with a friend who buys the bait here for Dells fishing. This is the only place in the Dells that he is willing to buy bait. The place is always clean. It's well stocked. There's lots of fresh options, lures, snacks, and a clean bathroom. Cute building. Easy parking. Safe space outside for riders to stretch their legs. To fish in the Dells or nearby this is the place to get live bait.

My family has been coming here for almost 30 years and I'm happy to say that they've always been…read morevery nice and have always made sure we had a safe and clean place to sleep.