Waupun: Nature, Sculptures and Culture

Waupun offers several specific reasons to plan a stay around your interests in nature or culture. These include northern access points to the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, the Waupun Sculpture Tour, the Heritage Museum, and an annual production by the Waupun Community Players. If you are looking for a hotel in Waupun, it may help to first decide which of these themes you want to shape your stay.

Nature at Horicon Marsh

Waupun has northern access points to the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Another specific nature attraction is the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour and Trails in Waupun. It includes a three-mile paved auto tour, three hiking trails, and a floating boardwalk. These options differ in form, ranging from an auto tour to walking trails and a boardwalk.

This lets you choose a focus for your visit rather than treating the offerings as a single trail system. If you plan to take the auto tour or hike the trails, check the latest tour and trail information before your visit, as operational details may change.

Sculptures in Waupun

Visitors can experience Clarence Shaler’s legacy through the Waupun Sculpture Tour. The tour also offers a virtual tour through the Otocast app. Those interested in Shaler’s legacy can use this as a thematic way to explore the tour; the app is the specific option for the virtual version.

The “Recording Angel” sculpture is also located in the central area of Forest Mound Cemetery on N. Madison Street in Waupun. This named location gives you a specific point of reference when exploring the city’s sculptures.

Heritage Museum: Building History and Exhibits

The Heritage Museum is housed in a Carnegie library dating from 1904. The museum displays two permanent exhibits and one temporary exhibit in the galleries on the main floor. Its themes can therefore be understood through both its collection highlights and the historic building.

The semi-permanent exhibits include “If The Walls Could Talk” and “A Bronze Age.” The first explores the origins of corrections and incarceration in America and Wisconsin. “A Bronze Age” focuses on Clarence Addison Shaler’s business and artistic activities. The exhibits emphasize different themes: one covers the history of corrections and incarceration, while the other explores business and artistic activities. This may help you decide which exhibit focus is most interesting for your visit.

Performances and Building History

The Waupun Community Players stage an annual production at the Historic City Hall Auditorium. If you plan to make a performance a fixed part of your itinerary, check the dates before your trip. Waupun City Hall and Auditorium was built in 1928; its history adds a point of reference in time to the cultural attractions.

This lets you orient your search around the program that matters to you during your stay.

Discover more destinations: Fond Du Lac, Rosendale, Brandon

See the broader travel overview: Fond Du Lac County.