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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Wausau
Give Wausau one full day plus a second for Rib Mountain or Granite Peak; base downtown or at the US-51 exits, and drive — buses run every 30–60 min.
Wausau is a small city on the Wisconsin River in North Central Wisconsin, about 80,000 people in the metro, with a compact downtown and a ski hill on Rib Mountain four miles southwest. It works as a one- or two-night stop on a Wisconsin road trip, not as a destination in itself. A car makes everything easy; without one, the spread-out sights get slow.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Jun–Sep for trails and baseball; Dec–Mar for skiing
- Avoid
- Nov and Apr (mud season, lifts and trails often closed)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $70–110 excl. bed · Mid $120–190 excl. bed · High $200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $3–6 |
| Diner breakfast | $10–16 |
| Friday fish fry | $14–22 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / six-pack at a store | $5–8 / $9–13 |
| 8 km (5 mi) taxi or rideshare5 mi (8 km) taxi or rideshare | $15–25 |
| Metro Ride single fare | $2 (check) |
| Museum entry (Woodson Art Museum is free) | $0–10 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CWA · Central Wisconsin Airport, Mosinee
- About 19 km (12 mi) south of Wausau; daily flights to Chicago O'Hare, Minneapolis and DetroitAbout 12 mi (19 km) south of Wausau; daily flights to Chicago O'Hare, Minneapolis and Detroit
- AUW · Wausau Downtown Airport
- General aviation only; no scheduled airline service
Typical fares
- CWA → downtown Wausau, taxi or rideshare
- about $35–50, 20–25 min (check)
- Metro Ride single fare
- $2 (check)
- Granite Peak adult one-day lift ticket
- from $52; night skiing from $28 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Drive. Roads are well kept and parking outside downtown is free and at the door; downtown parking is cheap and easy to find. Metro Ride runs eight city routes at 30-minute intervals plus one route each to Weston and to Rothschild/Schofield, with transfers at 555 Jefferson Street downtown. For a north-to-south trip, use the US-51/I-39 expressway along the west edge instead of city streets.
See and do
Known for
- Rib Mountain State Park
- Granite Peak Ski Area
- Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
- Birds in Art exhibition
- Wausau Woodchucks baseball
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Stevens Point | I-39/US-51 south, about 72 km (45 mi)I-39/US-51 south, about 45 mi (72 km) | About 50 min |
| Marshfield | State Highway 29 west, about 97 km (60 mi)State Highway 29 west, about 60 mi (97 km) | About 1 h |
| Medford | State Highway 29 west, about 72 km (45 mi)State Highway 29 west, about 45 mi (72 km) | About 45 min |
| Shawano | State Highway 29 east, about 105 km (65 mi)State Highway 29 east, about 65 mi (105 km) | About 1 h 10 min |
| Rhinelander | US-51 north, about 120 km (75 mi)US-51 north, about 75 mi (120 km) | About 1 h 20 min |
| Green Lake, Wisconsin | State Highway 29 east then US-51 south, about 160 km (100 mi)State Highway 29 east then US-51 south, about 100 mi (160 km) | About 1 h 45 min |
Sleep
- Downtown Wausau
- Walk to the 3rd Street shops, the Grand Theater and the river; two B&Bs and one full-service hotel.
- US-51 exits south and west (Rothschild, North Mountain Road, Stewart Avenue)
- The motel strip: free at-door parking, easy on/off the expressway, 10–15 min drive to downtown.
- Weston (State Highway 29 at Camp Phillips Road)
- Newer roadside hotels with pools; best if you are heading east toward Green Bay or Shawano.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Please | Please |
| Where is the restroom? | Where is the restroom? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
| I need help | I need help |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Buses are clean but infrequent: a 30–60 min wait is normal, so plan around one or two rides, not a full day.
- Ski season at Granite Peak usually runs mid-November to mid-March and depends on conditions — check before booking a ski weekend.
- Lodging fills and rates jump on Artrageous Weekend (early September) and ski weekends: book ahead.
- Winter driving: snow and ice on I-39/US-51 and Highway 29 are routine from December to March.
Wausau is a low-risk small city; the real hazards are winter driving on I-39/US-51 and Highway 29, deer on rural roads at dusk, and thin ice on the Wisconsin River — never walk on it.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Wausau yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Rib Mountain State Park
- Granite Peak Ski Area
- Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
- Birds in Art exhibition
- Wausau Woodchucks baseball
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Wausau: www.visitwausau.com/
- Wikivoyage: Wausau, revision 5265292 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5265292
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Wausau
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No consulates in Wausau; the nearest are in Chicago and Minneapolis. US passport agencies: Chicago and Minneapolis (check).
Tipping: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/wausau). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.