There are restrictions to the times and days that you can play for free.  Free rounds are available Monday – Thursday after 11:00, and Sunday after 1:00.  Greens fees for 18 holes at Trappers Turn run as high as $84 during these available times during the summer.  The greens fees at Christmas Mountain are as high as $72 for 18 holes during these same days and times. 

Other golf courses participating in this promotion are The Bull in Sheboygan Falls, The Golf Courses of Lawsonia in Green Lake, Fire Ridge in Grafton and Bridges Golf Course in Madison.  To subscribe to Midwest Golfing Magazine, visit their website.

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Christmas Mountain Village, S944 Christmas Mountain Road, Wisconsin Dells, has 12 runs, 2 chairlifts, and a couple of tow ropes.  Skiers and snowboarders will find plenty to do in an afternoon or evening visit.  Prices are reasonable, starting at $15 for adult weekday evening sessions.  Christmas Mountain Village also offers snow tubing with a tow rope to get you back up to the top of the hill quickly.  Tubing starts at $15 for 2 hours (tube rental included).  As I wrote about in December, if you stay at Mt. Olympus this winter, they’ll throw in free lift tickets at Christmas Mountain.

About 20 miles southeast of the Dells in Merrimac is Devil’s Head.  Devil’s Head offers 28 runs and 2 terrain parks serviced by 10 chair lifts and 5 tow ropes.  Prices start at $30 for adult weeknight evening sessions, however on Thursdays it is only $14 for the evening session.

Also about 20 miles from the Dells is Cascade Mountain in Portage.  Cascade is the largest ski hill in the area with 36 trails and 4 terrain parks with 8 chairlifts and 2 tow ropes.  Prices start at $25 for night skiing.  Cascade also offers tubing for $22 all day during the week, or $22 for 2 hours on the weekend. 

The Wilderness also has a snow tubing hill named Glaciers Edge located at the Glacier Canyon Lodge.  Unfortunately they have decided to close the hill early this year, so it is no longer open.   They must not have been getting much use from visitors since they are equipped to make their own snow with snow making machines.

For additional information, including a full schedule of events, check out “The Dells” blog, written by Bubbi, who writes about the Wisconsin Dells from a  local’s perspective.

• Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
• Riverside & Great Northern Railway (new for 2009)
• Dells Army Ducks
• Christmas Mountain Golf
• Dells Comedy Club (new for 2009)
• Wisconsin Deer Park
• Mark Twain Boat Tours
• Chalet Lanes Bowling (new for 2009)
• Shipwreck Lagoon Mini Golf
• Top Secret
• Wild Thing Jet Boats
• Castle of Terror & Haunted Crypt (new for 2009)

Although the $99 price tag might seem high, it can be an incredible value if you take advantage of all of the offerings.  The pass won’t be available for use until May 23rd, however it can be purchased anytime on the Dells City Pass website.  I will certainly have more to say about the City Pass as the summer tourist season comes closer.

Last week, I posted about a deal where you can get 2 nights at the Copa Cabana Resort, or Quality Inn Antiqua Bay Resort, plus 2 passes to the Wilderness Water Park or a $50 Gift Certificate to a “popular restaurant” for $89 if you agree to sit through a timeshare presentation by Bluegreen.  As of right now, that offer is still available.  Obviously it won’t be lasting much longer if the sales offices are going to be closing.

This type of deal isn’t for everyone.  If you can’t stand the idea of spending part of your vacation in a sales presentation, then you should pass.  If you want to get a great deal though and don’t mind the sales pitch, this could be a very inexpensive get away (or a very expensive one if you can’t say no!).

The timeshare presentation is through Bluegreen Corp., which manages 2 properties in the Dells area – Christmas Mountain Village & Bluegreen Odyssey Dells (which is a part of the Hotel Rome property at Mt. Olympus).

• 3 days at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park ($120 value)
• 1 ticket to the Rick Wilcox Magic Show ($29 value)
• 1 ride on the Dells Army Ducks ($21 value)
• 3 days of golf at Shipwreck Lagoon ($24 value)
• 1 ride on the Mark Twain Upper Dells Boats ($21 value)
• 1 admission to Top Secret ($12 value)
• 1 ride on the Wild Thing Jet Boats ($21 value)
• 1 admission to the Wisconsin Deer Park ($10 value)
• 1 greens fees at Christmas Mountain Golf ($55 value)

The total value is $313, for $70.  Not bad.  There are a couple of restrictions.  First, the tickets to the Rick Wilcox magic show are limited to 50 per show available starting at 6:00 PM.  I can see this being a popular attraction and having trouble getting tickets during some of the busy nights during the summer.  You can upgrade your ticket for $18.86 (why not $19??) and avoid having to sit in the City Pass cheap seats.  The other restriction is at Christmas Mountain, where tee times are only available after 11:00 and you must rent a cart. 

With the amount of competition in the Dells, businesses need to think of unique ways to get people to come and spend their money with them.  This is a great way to get new customers.  By buying the City Pass, I would get a chance to try some of the things that I probably wouldn’t otherwise do – like Top Secret or the Mark Twain Boat Ride.  If you were going to be doing some of these activities anyways, like the Ducks or Mt. Olympus, why not spend a little extra money and get access to even more Dells attractions.  It will be interesting to see how this program is received this year.  I predict it will be a huge success, and you’ll see competing programs in the future.

Check out the Wisconsin Dells City Pass website for more information.

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