Things To Do, Places To GoDINING Without a doubt, Rene's (at Popp's Resort) is the best in the area. Sizzingly steaks, savory seafood, combo meals, and a nice soup and salad bar. Superb after-dinner drinks. Service is excellent. Dinner reservations are a good idea, but not essential. On busy evenings, staff may take your order prior to seating you. They have a large, comfortable bar area with plenty of tables, booths, and bar stools. Directions: up Peshtigo River Lane, turn left onto Parkway and left again onto County X, going over Twin Bridge and down the road on the left. Do not be concerned if there are a lot of cars. This restaurant is bigger than it appears and the staff can handle a crowd with ease. Open Mon-Sat at 5pm and beginning at noon on Sunday. 715-757-3411. Hilltop, on Parkway, has a fish fry on Fridays and prime rib on Friday and Saturday. They offer a nice soup and salad bar, and good thin-crust homemade pizza. They may take your order at the bar, but the place is small, and unless you've secured one of the few tables or barstools, waiting can be uncomfortable, but it's rarely a long wait. They begin serving dinner at 4pm. 715-757-3522 (They also have an ATM machine.) DeSmidt's Golf and Country Club is known for their prime rib and "traveling" salad bar. They open at 3pm during golf season and offer a fish fry on Friday nights. Up Peshtigo River Lane and turn left onto Parkway, left again onto X. Follow X to the intersection of X and A, turning right on to A. Turn right again on to Shaffer Road. 715-854-7939. Caldron Falls Bar and Grill - the site of the big hog sign - offers quality "bar food." This isn't a good place to take kids, but it's lively and fun for adults. Shaffer Park Resort - famous for fried chicken dinners since 1940, and deservedly so. Indoor and outdoor dining with a nice view and good service. Kind of old-fashioned, but charmingly so. Closed all winter, but open daily at 4pm in the summer. Follow X to the intersection of X and A and turn right. Turn right again onto Shaffer Road. 715-854-2184 In town, Gateway is a Crivitz-style sports bar/restaurant. Visit Iceburg for ice cream and flurries, burgers, hot dogs, wraps, etc., as well as home-made pizza. They're on Louisa Street. There are lots of little shops in downtown Crivitz, most off A west of Rt. 141. If you head up to Amberg to visit the many little craft and antique shops (north on Rt. 141), a meal at Newingham's is always a treat. Dock Side Bar and Grill, across the river, offers a variety of casual food. You can eat or relax with cocktails on the waterfront or in their well air-conditioned dining area. Everything has a homemade taste and feel. The owners, Skip and Diane, are warm and welcoming. Karaoke every Saturday night. Highly recommended for lunch and simple breakfast. Plus, you can pull in with your boat or snowmobile! Cash only. (They have an ATM machine.) Directions: up Peshtigo River Lane, turn right onto Parkway, and right again, just after the bridge, on to Eagle Road. They're a little ways down on your right. 715-757-3244. Sold early in 2011, the restaurant next door certainly has great potential, given its waterfront location and large outdoor eating area! We'll add them to our favorites list when kitchen and service issues are sorted out. FISHING At the condos: You'd be surprised at how many fish have been caught from the piers! In the late afternoon, the current is reduced to next to nothing (by the hydroelectric dam upstream). You'll catch bluegills and sunnies faster than you can get them off your lines. But that said, some very nice smallmouth bass and pike have been caught here too. Nearby boat launch areas also provide easy shoreline fishing opportunities. The rocky outcrops around Twin Bridges Park are a popular spot. Fishing from shoreline on Caldron Falls is always good (go back up Peshtigo River Lane and cross over Parkway, going up, up, up until you hit the crest. To the right is a walkway leading out on top of the hydroelectric dam - interesting, if a little un-nerving!) On High Falls Flowage, get into the back bays or fish the rugged sections of the river's "coastline." License Information: Wisconsin residents and non-residents 16 or older need a license. Children do not need to be accompanied by a licensed adult. However, if a child needs help to cast or reel in, the helper must have a license. WDNR does have a presence on the waterways; don't fish without a license. Both Tall Oaks General Store and Country Convenience sell bait and licenses (1 day pass: $8 WI resident, $10 non-resident, $24 for a 4-day non-resident pass, Annual family pass: $20 residents, $50 for a non-residents.) Absolutely no fish cleaning in the condos or the patio/balcony areas! GOLF Receding glaciers from the last Ice Age shaped Marinette County's lush rolling hills. providing the perfect typography for golf courses. Four are just minutes away - a fifth, Wildman Ranch's new 9-hole course, is nestled along the banks of the Menominee River, on the eastern fringes of the Crivitz Recreation Area. All are open to the public. DeSmidt's Golf Course and Country Club's original nine holes are an executive, par 29. It's rolling terrain is perfect for the beginner golfer, yet it is still a challenge for the expert golfer. The new nine is a par 36. With four tees on each hole, it will accommodate all levels of golfing ability. Non-summer rates: $45 for 2 people, 18 holes and a riding cart. Call for summer rates, which vary with tee times. 715-854-7939 Directions: Parkway to X, right onto Highway A and right again onto Shaffer Rd. Hunter's Glen is just east of Rt. 141, off County W. 715-854-8008. This 18 hole, par 36 course, also has a large driving range, a bar, grill and beverage cart. $15/$20 per person Woodland Ridge is even closer. Take X back to Rt. 141 south and turn right onto Smith Creek Road. 715-854-7833. 27 holes with a bar and grill. Beechwood Golf Course is off of County Road W, 8 miles East of Rt. 141. 715-789-2844. Beechwood offers three different tees at each hole, and a bar and grill. WHITE WATER RAFTING The best in the Midwest! Try Wildman Ranch at 715-757-2938 for surprisingly affordable, safe rafting on the Peshtigo River. Wild and challenging in April and early May. Milder family-fun in June thru September - minimum age 12. It's a 30-minute drive each way. Turn right onto Parkway and follow it to the end, turning left onto County Road C/F. You'll see signs indicating a right turn. They also offer trips down the Menominee for those 16 and up. Good alternatives: Thorton's at 715-757-3311 and Kosir's at 715-757-3431. You'll pass both on the way to Wildman's. Rates run around $25-$30/person with longer trips and spring trips around $50. SWIMMING Twin Bridge Park is a full service beach just a few minutes south on Parkway. This 90-acre facility features a play area, a sandy beach with towering oaks for shade, and a roped-off swimming area. A rocky outcrop on High Falls Flowage, under the Twin Bridges, is a short walk away - a perfect place to drop a line! There is a $3 daily parking fee (no change). You can purchase an annual parking pass at Tall Oaks General Store for around $10. This entitles you to park at any of the Marinette parks; if you're planning on doing the waterfalls tour, it's a good value. Please, don't take our bath towels to the beach or out on boats! BOAT RENTALS You can rent a pontoon for the day from Bill's Four Seasons (715-757-2071) for about $175 per day. Handling a pontoon is like driving a car - or more specifically, a floating living room! It's a lot of fun and the waterways are highly navigable. Please note: just north and west of us is Peshtigo River Resort (a restaurant and tavern) and across river upstream is Dockside - another restaurant and tavern. Some rental companies will not allow their boats to come upstream to this area. Some may do so because they don't want people drinking and boating, though most will blame the "rock" as being an obstacle to safe passage. This simply isn't true - or the restaurants wouldn't get the boat business they do! About 5-8 minutes downstream is a boulder jutting 3-feet out of the middle of the river. It's well marked with signs on both sides. When you leave the condos, you keep the rock on your left, almost rubbing against it as you pass through the channel, for there are submerged rocks on your right. Returning, keep the boulder on your right. It's a bit like pulling through a garage. (So, that's left as you leave, right as you return!) The first time you do it, you will be anxious, and you'll want to go slowly, but soon, you'll be doing it without even thinking about it - just like pulling your car into a garage. The other boat rental options: Popps Resort rents everything from aluminum fishing boats to bare fishing pontoons to luxury pontoons. 715-757-3511. Also check out the marina at Pine Acres Resort (715-757-3894). Both places are nearby. OTHER ACTIVITIES and YEAR-ROUND FUN Look for the free Northeastern Wisconsin Great Escapes Tourist Guide at Tall Oaks, Country Convenience, or even here in the condo. It includes a calendar of events and advertisements for restaurant specials and local entertainment. Vacation Fun Park on X has a small arcade, bumper cars and bumper boats. Taller kids can drive go-karts themselves. Younger ones can ride in a double with Mom or Dad. They have a combo ticket which offers great savings over buying tickets for each ride, but you have to ask specifically for it. Open in the summer only. 715-757-2426 Twin Bridge Ski Club performs at the Stephenson Town Park by Boat Landing #3 (off Parkway, just past Popps) most Thursday and Saturday nights at 6:30pm. Pyramids, jumps, thrills! The team took 5th place in the 2010 Wisconsin State Water Ski Tournaments, and their own Becky Popp-Houvda won the award as the Best Femaile Skier! Pass-the-hat donations are requested to help cover gas and costume expenses. 715-757-3511 The Crivitz Ski Cats perform at Lake Noquebay Park (Hwy GG) on most Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 6:00pm. The Ski Cats took 2nd place at the State Tournament and received a special First Place award for their Pyramids. 715-854-7079 Crivitz-Stephenson Area Museum at 104 Oak Street is open noon to 4pm Wed-Sat. Crivitz was founded in 1883 by a forward-thinking businessman named Fredrick J. Bartels and was named after his hometown of Crivitz Germany. The Museum displays include logging, farm tools and equipment, and early home life in Crivitz Area. It's a good rainy day activity, especially combined with lunch in town, and a little shopping. 715-854-3278. Be sure to visit DeYoung Family Zoo in Wallace, Michigan. A 45 minute drive via County X east to Rt. 180, north to JJ east, and follow the signs. Exotic cats are their specialty. In early summer, when the babies are young, they let you pet and bottle feed the baby animals! Cash only entrance fees: 4 and under free, 5 - 15 are $8. Adults are $12. Open 10am-5pm, 7 days a week, May-Aug. Closed Monday and Tuesday in Sep and Oct, and by appointment thereafter. 906-788-4093. Take a hike! The Iron Snow Shoe Trail, which is closed to ATV traffic summer and fall, makes a nice walking trail. You crossed over it ywhen ou passed through the stop sign at the bottom of Peshtigo River Lane. Another nice place for a walk is Thunder Mountain Park - the highest point in Marinette County. This is an undeveloped 160 acre park with scenic views, peace and quiet. Up Peshtigo River Lane, and turn left onto Parkway. Follow Parkway south and then right onto Thunder Mountain Road. Thunder Mountain Valley Inn is a casual/rustic place to stop afterwards for a cold beverage. And of course, there's the many waterfalls, as noted in the Marinette County Visitor's Guide. Kirby Hills Ranch, 715-921-7278, offers horsedrawn wagon rides for small groups, as well as a couples sunset buggy ride with dinner and a campfire, and pony rides. Located a few miles west of downtown Crivitz on Country Road W. Bjorkman's Rocky Top Ranch on Chapman Road, Niagara (about 75 minutes due north) offers horseback trail rides, covered wagon and stagecoach rides and horse-drawn sleigh rides. A 2-1/2 hour ride with cookout is $65 per person. Riders must be at least 8 years of age. 715-251-4408. On a hot summer day, nothing beats a lazy tube ride down river with a floatable cooler you fill with your beverages (no glass!). Nearby Kosirs is a good choice when the Peshtigo River water levels are too low for white-water rafting. (715-757-3431). Their run lasts about 45 minutes to an hour and costs $8 for the first person, $5 for each additional family/friend. Peshtigo River Campground has a 2+ hour run, and costs $12 per person. Kayaking - Kosirs again! $25 for 2-3 hours, all down river! Or you can take a guided trip on the pristine Caldron Falls Flowage with Wildman Ranch. $35 - $55 per person with rates varying from youth to adult, and weekday vs. weekend. Paintball (about $40 per person) is a blast, if you'll excuse the pun. Kosirs has a course nearby, while Wildman's has one at their Menominee River camp. Wildman's offers guided ATV tours. Half-day trips run $150 - $185, depending on day of week and whether you are taking a single or double-rider. Drivers must have a valid driver's license. They also have a rock-climbing and rapelling course (about $75) and a high-ropes course (about $50), and in winter, a guided snowmobile tour ($160). Paust Enterprises, Caldron Falls Road, rents cross-country skis (715-757-3722). SHOPPING
Amberg Antiques and Sweets 715-759-5343
Bears in the Woods
Becca's Antiques and Trading Post 715- 856-6552
Cedar Branch Gallery and Gifts 715-582-3546
Cookie's Closet 715-757-9489
Country Bumpkin Crafts 715-757-3942
Crivitz Resale Shop 715-854-3862
Ileen's Emporium 715-854-2781
Jackpine Harry 715-856-5932
Konop Antiques 715-757-3760
Maureen's Place 715-854-3838
Northwoods Artisans Gift and Book 715-757-3880
Northwoods Interiors 715-854-2902
Northwoods Traditions 715-856-5251
Oak Hill Treasures 715-854-3590
On a Whim Boutique Wine and Gifts 715-854-2538
Parks Cheese and Candy
Pine Cone Home Decor 715-854-2844
Reeds N' Things 715-757-3122
Soup to Nuts 715-854-2000
The Crow's Nest 715-757-3441
The Nuthatch Gift Shoppe 715-854-2007
Thunder River Log Homes 715-854-2072
Tree Treasures Unlimited 715-854-7557
Woodland Wonders 715-757-2025 LEARN THE LINGO The Pig refers to the Piggly Wiggly, while The Hog means Caldron Falls Bar and Grill. On the other hand, Hamms is a Wisconsin brewed (and mostly locally sold) beer. We always bring some home! The Stop and Go: the traffic light at Rt. 141 and County W, or any traffic light for that matter. The first time we were told to turn at the "Stop and Go," we were looking for a White Hen or 7-11 type store! Watch out for the turkeys! At certain times of the day, and more so seasonally, flocks of wild turkey will cross the street without warning. You're probably alert for deer darting in front of you - but watch out for wild turkey! (not to be confused with Kentucky's finest!) Doing the Up North Thing: a phrase conceived by the Wisconsin Tourism, is what you're doing right now! Relax, enjoy, get out there!
"The owners of this place were more than just hospitable and kind. Our full appreciation and thanks goes to them."
Marco & Daisy
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