Discovering Wausau, Part 1

This is the first of what I hope will become an occasional series as I continue to find my way around town and the amusements therein.

Oak Island & the Isle of Ferns

If there is something that impresses me about Wausau, it’s the city’s park system. It’s possible that this is because I’m coming from a city that had one or two really good parks and a handful of scary ones, but I’ve been finding little hideaways and good walks all over the place. My favorite so far involves an island park.

Oak Island is a riverside park with a playground, tennis courts, a half-pipe, picnic tables, plenty of trail-like sidewalk, etc. etc. Well-kept and clean, it’s what you generally expect from a park -- you can take the kids, have a picnic lunch, and throw a Frisbee without worrying too much about hitting someone.

At one end there’s a bridge that leads to an entirely different kind of park.

The Isle of Ferns is a natural history park that is accessible only by that single bridge or boat. Just after the bridge there’s a large meadow, perfect for a picnic blanket or a soccer ball, but the rest of the island is heavily wooded and, um, ferned. Trails wrap all the way around the island and crisscross it, with enough offshoots that you can completely avoid human contact for a couple hours if you want. (It takes a little finagling because it’s a fairly popular area, but it can be done.)

What I found most amusing about the whole park was that it’s right in the middle of the river that splits the town in two. Not on the outside edge, not hidden away and kept secret, but rather an oasis in the middle of town. But unless you pay attention, it’s easy to overlook. I realized I had crossed a bridge directly downstream -- in full view of the park -- a half dozen times without even realizing the island was there.

The only real downside I found was when I was walking along the western shore and couldn’t quite figure out where that low rumble was coming from ... until I realized there was a plant right across the river. Alas, it’s hard to completely escape the riverside industry around here, although I found that if I was on the northern shore I couldn’t really hear it anymore.

This is my favorite of the parks I've found so far, although in all fairness I have a lot of exploring yet to do. Later this week I'll end up at the disc golf park ... Yay.

In the meantime, though, I'm happy to have found a gorgeous place to escape to when my apartment starts to feel confined and my legs underused.