Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center

The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, located on the northern edge of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, specializes in connecting people of all ages with engaging activities related to the outdoors.

Congressionally designated a National Children’s Forest, the Visitor Center offers opportunities for youth and the general public to become more connected with the natural world.

The staff at the information desk, led by employees of the National Park Service (one of the partners at the Center), provides orientation to and detailed information about the Lake Superior Region. The staff is always eager to spend some time with visitors and perhaps even help them plan a fun day in the Northwoods.

Our exhibits illustrate the heritage and history of the Lake Superior Region, taking you back in time from the Ice Age to present day -­ illustrating stories of people who made this land their home. The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center has two theaters, the Martin Hanson Theater and the Northern Voices Theater.  The Martin Hanson Theater offers a selection of film topics ranging from delightful stories of animals to modern-day mysterious shipwrecks. The Northern Voices Theater features an engaging show using special lighting, music, sound effects, images, and unique objects to weave an entertaining story about the women and men who wandered, trapped, fished, logged, mined and farmed this rugged country.

Immerse yourself in the beauty of the northwoods wetlands on our diverse ¾-mile interpretive boardwalk trail that winds along a black ash swamp, sedge meadow, and mature cedar and tamarack swamp. In our Discovery Area children interact hands-on by exploring nature’s secrets: crawling inside a beaver lodge, finding animal tracks, building sandcastles, creating masterpieces with wood, catching butterflies and dragonflies.

Be sure to catch a view from our five-story observation tower. Take a peek through the high-power viewing scope. The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center is a multifaceted facility that has something to interest everybody who comes through our doors.