Kenosha Outdoor Adventures!
On a recent trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin for my friend Annie Jansen and I, it was all about Kenosha outdoor adventures! I love the opportunity to get close to art and nature!
During our stay, we had amazing dining and lodging experiences. We stayed at the beautiful and perfectly located Captain’s Quarters next door and above Captain Mike’s, a great burger bar! The Airbnb is in the center of the harbor section of town. With two bedrooms, a bath, living room and kitchen it was perfect for Annie and me.
Our focus was to see what adventures this beautiful town on the banks of Lake Michigan had to offer! Hosted by Visit Kenosha, we had a sailing adventure, axe throwing fun, and outdoor hiking. We also enjoyed the lovely outdoor public art! Thank you, Visit Kenosha, and Meridith Jumisko Public Relations Director, for allowing us to visit and share this marvelous experience.
Getting started!
We began our fun experiences in Kenosha with a visit to the Wisconsin Welcome Center. Located at Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin, we were outfitted with all we needed to see where to go and when!
Sailing on Lake Michigan, priceless!
We sailed on Sail Away Charters with Captain Bart Mengo. We took a two-hour tour on Lake Michigan. This was a bucket list item for me! “I have been sailing since I was 23,” Captain Bart told us.
He explained all the safety features before taking us on the ride of a lifetime! Captain Bart and his late wife Tarha have been doing this for years. Captain Bart said, “I grew up in a motorcycle shop, and was a carpenter in a union for 40 some years. I still bike, carpenter and sail.”
“Every time you go out you just never know what is going to happen out here.,” he added saying every sail is an adventure. Most of all though, he added, “I love the people.”
The feeling was mutual. We had a great time sailing on the Great Lakes! Bart made us comfortable, shared about some of the experiences he has had, and filled a dream for me. He can take out up to six people on a sail, Annie and I felt honored that just the two of us were able to see the lovely marina, beautiful Lake Michigan and visit with a fascinating sailor!
Hawthorn Hollow hike, a Kenosha Outdoor Adventure!
After a great breakfast at Anna’s on the Lake, just a few blocks down from the Captain’s Quarters, Annie and I headed to a cool find, Hawthorn Hollow! We were so impressed that this all came about because of two women’s love of the land. Here is a little history from the website. “In 1935, Ruth Teuscher purchased 40 acres of land in the Town of Somers in northeastern Kenosha County. Inspired by a grove of native hawthorn trees growing along the Pike River, she and her sister Margaret, both teachers in Racine, named the property Hawthorn Hollow. They soon posted the land as a wildlife refuge, the first step toward developing what is now Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum….the Teuscher sisters deeded their property to the Hyslop Foundation in 1967. Since then, its Board of Trustees has made many significant contributions to Hawthorn Hollow.”
Our first spotting as we wound our way down the long drive at Hawthorn Hollow was the cool Observatory and the former stables where they now hold activities. Hawthorn Hollow today combines nature, history, and horticulture. Annie and I soon set out for a short hike one of their two miles of nature trails that wind through the woods of the Pike River Valley. We walked around the outside of the observatory. The mission for the observatory is to develop the Schoolyard Observatory as a premier destination for night sky observing in southeastern Wisconsin.
Annie who has a substantial flower garden at home was quite enamored with the blooms we saw along the way!
Hike, enjoy the garden, the observatory, and another Kenosha outdoor adventure.
Public Art, here, there and everywhere!
Do you love public art as much as I do? If so, then Kenosha is the town for you! Next door to Anna’s on the Lake, we ran across the Remember Pearl Harbor Memorial. Across the street, we spied the Veteran’s Memorial Fountain.
The Veteran’s Memorial Fountain , as the Pearl Harbor Memorial is near Lake Michigan. There is a marker that states, “This we shall remember that Kenoshans have fought and died in seven wars leaving a legacy of courage and devotion, and a selfless contribution to our survival as a free nation.”
The boulder that the fountain sits on is from a World War II Battle area near the city of Naha Okinawa. The sand is from the Omaha and Utah Beaches of Normandy France. The stone used symbolizes the battlegrounds of all wars where Americans have given their lives.
The Lone Soldier memorial is part of the Veteran’s Memorial Fountain. With a seven-foot-tall lone soldier, crafted in cast bronze, he represents the sacrifices made by those who served in the U.S. military.
Having been to Clear Lake, Iowa to the Surf Ballroom, the last place that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the “Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson played before the airplane crash, I was interested in the Winter Dance Party Sculpture Kenosha. These musicians played on January 24, 1959, just a short ten days before the fatal crash that killed the musicians along with their pilot, Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959.
The memorial was quite touching!
Boundless Adventures and Bristol Woods
Heading to Boundless Adventures located in Bristol Woods Park, this beautiful area has several options, withs 200-acres and 4.28 miles of hiking trails. It was exciting to learn that there is a summer weekly concert series “Bristol Woodstock”. The first place we headed upon arrival was to Boundless Adventures for our axe throwing adventure! Annie had done this a few times, I watched it in Kansas, but didn’t participate so I was a newbie! Our guide Chris Simond showed us the proper way to hold an axe, and how to throw it. Annie could do it with both her right and left hands.
I was not as adept as Annie, but I did hit the target and it felt like a million bucks!
Besides the axe throwing, Chris shared what else Boundless Adventures has to offer. “
“We do axe throwing and also have a ropes course that made of 9 different courses appealing to all ages,” Chris said. They offer beginning, intermediate, strength balance, tough pinnacle and then, Chris added, “There is the black course we call it extreme insanity.”
This is a family-oriented business. Boundless Adventures is a New York-based company that operates similar high-ropes courses in Purchase, N.Y. and Berlin, Mass. Chris said, “This is great for all ages we are called boundless adventures because you go beyond what you thought you could do both physically, and mentally.”
Chris took us on a tour of the amazing ropes course. This would be fun to try another time as long as I was on the beginner course!
Pringle Nature Center in Bristol Woods Park, a Kenosha Outdoor Adventure!
Pringle Nature Center is part of Bristol Woods Park. The website shares, “This is a regional resource where people of all ages can experience nature, environmental education, conservation and stewardship and in doing so, be inspired to become responsible stewards of the environment. Pringle Nature Center does this by: “Putting People in Touch with Nature.” The nature center is staffed by a full-time Naturalist and part-time Environmental Educator, with help from interns and volunteers who are dedicated to making this natural resource available to the public. “
I had a chance to meet the Environmental Education Director Mara Pfister and Elizabeth Alvery, the Executive Director. They shared the area began when a handful of small family farms donated the land. “The last property belonged to the Pringles,” Elizabeth shared.
It was a Pringle family member, Fancy Pringle that donated to funds for the Pringle Nature Center. Kids were enjoying classes and having fun the day we were there. One mom was reading to her daughter, it was a peaceful place offering the chance for everyone to try Kenosha outdoor adventures and get into nature.
Take the time to get outside and see nature and all that God has created. Kenosha, Wisconsin is where nature, art and Kenosha outdoor adventures are waiting.
