Wisconsin River

4 photos · 2024

4 photographs tagged Wisconsin River, 2024.

Law enforcement boats patrol the Wisconsin River in Milwaukee during the 2024 Republican National Convention. — Law enforcement boats on the Wisconsin River in Milwaukee during the 2024 Republican National Convention. The boats were part of security operations along the river near the convention area.

The District outdoor entertainment complex in Wisconsin Dells features dining, a converted bus stage, and riverside views. — The District is an outdoor dining and entertainment venue in downtown Wisconsin Dells, built around a shipping-container storefront and a converted vintage bus used as a stage for live music. A painted mural depicting the region's sandstone bluffs covers the adjacent building, a nod to the rock formations along the Wisconsin River that have drawn tourists to the area since the 19th century. The venue sits near a rail corridor that once served the logging and tourism traffic central to the Dells' development. It operates seasonally, combining food vendors, bars, and a performance stage for visitors during the area's peak summer tourist months.

Sandstone bluffs with layered rock formations line the Wisconsin River near Wisconsin Dells. — The Wisconsin River cut these sandstone bluffs over thousands of years, exposing layers of Cambrian-era rock laid down roughly 500 million years ago. The bluffs sit along the Wisconsin Dells, a stretch of river between Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton known for its exposed sandstone canyons and rock formations. Meltwater from the last ice age widened the river channel here, stripping away softer rock and leaving the banded layers now visible along the shoreline. Pine and hardwood forest covers the bluffs above the waterline, part of the mixed woodland typical of this section of the river.

Operator at the helm of an amphibious DUKW tour vehicle on the Wisconsin River near Wisconsin Dells. — The Original Wisconsin Ducks runs amphibious DUKW vehicles on the Wisconsin River near Wisconsin Dells. The DUKW was designed in 1942 by General Motors for the U.S. Army, built to ferry troops and supplies between ship and shore during World War II. Wisconsin Dells businessman Mel Flath began operating surplus military DUKWs on local waterways in 1946, starting what became one of the country's longest-running duck tour operations. Drivers steer the vehicles from an open rear cockpit, guiding each boat between river channels and wooded trail routes cut into the area's sandstone bluffs.

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