Waupun combines natural attractions with a diverse cultural scene: Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, a sculpture tour, a museum with several exhibition themes, and an annual theatrical production offer different ways to experience the area. Waupun therefore has something to offer visitors whose stays focus on nature, art or history. The specific places and activities provide a framework for planning without limiting your visit to just one aspect.
Nature at Horicon Marsh
Waupun has northern access points to Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. In Waupun, the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour and Trails includes a three-mile paved driving tour, three hiking trails and a floating boardwalk. These offer different ways to visit the refuge: a drive, hiking trails and a boardwalk. If nature is your main focus, you can use these options to consider which type of visit best suits your interests. Operating details may change, so check the latest visitor information before planning your trip.
Art and the legacy of Clarence Shaler
The Waupun Sculpture Tour lets visitors experience the legacy of Clarence Shaler. The tour also offers a virtual tour through the Otocast app. This provides an explicitly app-based virtual option alongside the tour; include the app in your plans if you would like to use this feature.
One specific art site in Waupun is the sculpture “Recording Angel.” It is located in the central area of Forest Mound Cemetery on N. Madison Street. This location information identifies the cemetery, the street and the area within the cemetery. This makes it possible to pinpoint the sculpture separately from the broader Waupun Sculpture Tour.
Exhibits at the Heritage Museum
The Heritage Museum is housed in a Carnegie library dating from 1904. Its main-floor galleries feature two permanent exhibitions and one temporary exhibition. The exhibition themes offer different ways to explore history and culture: the semi-permanent exhibition “If The Walls Could Talk” explores the origins of corrections and incarceration in America and Wisconsin. “A Bronze Age,” also semi-permanent, focuses on Clarence Addison Shaler’s business and artistic activities.
Those interested in local history can explore both the building and the exhibitions here. The connection to Clarence Addison Shaler links one of the museum’s themes with the legacy also brought to life by the Waupun Sculpture Tour. The two offerings focus on different things: the museum explores Shaler’s business and artistic activities, while the tour focuses on his legacy.
Theater and a historic venue
The Waupun Community Players stage a production annually at the Historic City Hall Auditorium. If you would like to include a performance in your stay, check before traveling to see when a production is scheduled. Another historical reference point is Waupun City Hall and Auditorium, built in 1928. Theater and architectural history are therefore among Waupun’s cultural highlights, though they answer different questions: the production provides an occasion to attend an event on a specific date, while the building’s construction date puts the history of the venue into context.
Hotels in Waupun for your stay
When looking for a hotel in Waupun, it helps to first decide what your trip will focus on: the refuge, the sculpture tour, the museum exhibitions or a theatrical production. This way, your accommodation search can reflect what you would like to experience locally. If you have several interests, you can make time for both nature and culture; for specific planning, it is worth checking the refuge’s operating details and the dates of any performance you would like to see.
Discover more destinations: Brandon, Fond Du Lac, Rosendale.
View the main travel guide: Fond Du Lac County.
