Population: 11,000 or so. But it has an Equity theater that casts in New York, a full-fledged movie studio, a dance floor worthy of Fred and Ginger, an 8-mile bike trail with a covered bridge, mysterious Indian mounds, an honest-to-goodness frontier fort, enough bars along Main Street to support the most determined pub crawl, and a warehouse where you can buy art supplies and farm equipment.
In this south-central Wisconsin town on the Rock River, they don't just float your boat; they help you built it. They won't simply fly you up for the bird's-eye view; they'll jump right out of the plane with you.
High points
In any given week, some 7,000 people attend professional, Broadway-style productions at the Fireside Dinner Theatre (800-477-9505, firesidethe
atre.com), where every ticket ($67) includes a meal before the show. The Klopcic family's award-winning restaurant serves a crowd-pleasing menu in the intimacy of multiple small dining rooms. Looking at the outside of this low-slung, barn-red, rambling pyramid, you'd never guess it can seat 1,000 guests at once or that several gift shops are under the same roof.
For the remainder of 2011, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" runs through Oct. 23 and "A Fireside Christmas," Oct. 27-Dec. 22. The Christian concert series ($35) continues with the Pfeifers Oct. 4-5.
Over at Salty Earth Pictures (414-587-7615, saltyearthpic
tures.org), groups of 10 or more can schedule a behind-the-scenes tour of this working movie studio. The Dove Award-winning "Movie Critters Big Picture" and the feature-length drama "Journey to Paradise" were filmed here. So was the television sitcom "Fifth Pew From the Front."
From the street, the plain-Jane, battleship-gray office front is easy to bypass. But it hides 30,000 square feet of production space, one of the largest independent studios in the United States. During the two-hour tour ($12), owners Steve and Beth Zambo show you around nine soundstages, the props department, and dressing and makeup rooms.
In the 6,000-square-foot Stage 3, your group can participate in a game show or newscast while learning how Hollywood creates special effects. Tours conclude in the Second Take Resale Shop, where proceeds help fund this not-for-profit studio. Its sales floor doubles as a movie set, and the merchandise might have served as props or costumes.
Those who want to push the envelope wind up at AtmosphAIR Skydiving Center (920-568-1700, diveout.com). Owners Bo Babovic, with 12,000 jumps to his credit, and wife, Alex, with 4,000 jumps, take first-time skydivers through a 45-minute ground school where the focus is on preparing for the emotional extremes — raw fear, then bliss — of what they are about to do. Then it's time to suit up and take off ($219).
At optimum altitude, your harness is hooked to your instructor's for a tandem jump, and out you go. The 120 mph free fall lasts about a minute, then the parachute opens for a five-minute canopy ride.
But there's no shame in staying on the ground. Somebody's got to fire up the gas grill and spread the picnic table, which are permanent fixtures on the hangar's back porch.
That Fred-and-Ginger dance floor? It's part of the fine-dining and special-event complex at Central Coast Restaurant (920-568-9695, centralcoastrestaurant.com). Join them for dance lessons on Thursday nights, or just watch from the Vegas-style tiered seating.
Simple pleasures
Fort Atkinson is the southern headquarters of the Glacial Heritage Area Watertrails. Few know its routes better than Kim Grunow, who contributed his expertise to the water trail map. He also knows his way around boat-building and helps others learn the craft at Rock River Canoes (920-723-0657, rockrivercanoe.com). For a decade, he's been milling his own lumber into quarter-inch strips that eventually become canoes or kayaks, depending on each hobbyist's inclinations. Stop by this Main Street storefront-turned-workshop, and you'll see as many as a dozen boats in various stages of construction.
Southwest of town, skirting Lake Koshkonong, 11 effigy (animal-shaped) and conical mounds have stood for perhaps 1,500 years. These 4-foot-high earthworks are preserved in the Jefferson County Indian Mound Site. Inside the city limits along the Rock River, another ancient earthwork, the Panther Intaglio (an excavated hollow), is considered North America's only intact intaglio.
Then there's 1832 Fort Koshkonong. Its reconstructed wooden palisades and watchtowers, open year round, become the scene of the old fur-trading days during Buckskinner's Rendezvous.
So you see what I mean: That's a long list for a little town. There's more to see and do in Fort Atkinson, but this'll get you started.
If you go
Getting there
Fort Atkinson is 115 miles from Chicago via U.S. Highway 12.
Staying there
Chains include Holiday Inn Express (920-563-3600, holidayinn.com) and American's Best Value Inn (920-563-6444, abvicourtyardinn.com). B&Bs include Kosh's Lake View B&B (920-563-7476, koshslakeview.com) and Lamp Post Inn B&B (920-563-6561, thelamppostinn.com).
Information
Fort Atkinson Chamber of Commerce: 888-SEE-FORT, fortchamber.com.
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