Jesus Fernando was among the lifeguards at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park to wear a mask over Memorial Day Weekend last year as Wisconsin Dells was largely quiet due to the pandemic. Crowds picked up as the year progressed, but overall it was a down year for tourism destinations throughout the state.
Many stressed the offerings of the outdoors, others created drive-thru experiences and one business began shipping its much beloved donuts to customers who couldn’t travel.
Tourism destinations around the state were creative in 2020 as many of their customers chose not to travel or, for those who did, kept a distance from others.
The pandemic created one of the most challenging years in history for the state’s $22.2 billion tourism industry but entrepreneurial thinking helped ease some of the negative impacts, which won’t be fully realized until 2020 spending numbers are released in early May.
In Wisconsin Dells, where Memorial Day Weekend saw all but one of the community’s major waterparks shuttered and the downtown resembled a ghost town, tourism in 2019 was a $1.6 billion industry. If the region, which covers parts of three counties, were ranked among the state’s 72 counties, it would rank third only behind Milwaukee ($3.8 billion) and Dane ($2.3 billion) counties in overall tourism spending.
Visitors gradually began to return to Wisconsin Dells as the summer wore on and more attractions opened their doors. In the key months of June, July and August, room tax revenue was down about 40%, better than was originally anticipated.

Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park was the only major resort in Wisconsin Dells to open for the Memorial Day weekend, but had only a minimal crowd.
Leisure travel accounts for about 80% of the tourism spending in the Dells with the remainder coming from conventions and business meetings. And that’s good news for the area’s economy as vacation travelers will return more quickly than business travelers. National industry surveys indicate that 84% of travelers plan to take a trip in the next six months, the highest level since the start of the pandemic.
“We were already surprised by what we saw last summer,” said Romy Snyder, the longtime president and CEO of the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau. “It makes us feel optimistic and hopeful that it will be a better year for the businesses in general.”
Adjustments for the bureau in 2020 included slashing its marketing budget by 50% and having weekly marketing meetings. The plan for 2021 includes returning to 2019 spending levels but adding in more social media campaigns.
The pivots by local businesses in the Dells in 2020 included changing the way they interact with their customers, improvements to facilities that would have been difficult to do with larger crowds, reduced capacities and improved safety protocols.
Kalahari Resort, for example, installed scores of hand sanitizer stations, added an automatic express check-out process to minimize contact, encouraged cash-free payments throughout the resort and created a “wellness concierge” position to communicate safety initiatives and monitor new health standards.
Over at Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty, a staple for over 60 years, its world famous buttermilk donuts are now also being shipped to customers who took a pass last year on a visit.
“This has been the strangest, most challenging, stressful, craziest year we’ve experienced since we opened our doors in 1958,” the company posted on its website in November. “Reflecting on our season, we’ve learned a lot about our business, but mostly that we’re resilient. Our employees were like Swiss Army knives, hopping into any position that needed help in the moment.”

A 1,000-pound anchor rests before the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County's Peninsula State Park. Families seeking to isolate during the pandemic flocked to the area in 2020 to take in outdoor activities such camping, and visiting the beaches and 11 lighthouses that dot the peninsula.
Door County adjusts
In Door County, the finger of land that separates Lake Michigan from the bay of Green Bay doesn’t rely on youth baseball, hockey, soccer and lacrosse tournaments that bring in families from around the Midwest. Nor does it draw conferences and conventions that fill acres of event space, thousands of hotel rooms and multistory parking garages. There are beaches instead of waterparks, locally owned boutiques and no outlet malls.
That meant tourism spending may have been down by only 20%, according to tourism officials there, where 11 lighthouses dot the peninsula and were among the socially distanced draws last year.

Angela Luberger, a jeweler who co-owns Plum Bottom Gallery in Egg Harbor, said sales were down in 2020 but have not decreased as much as she and her husband, porcelain artist Chad Luberger, had expected.
Angela and Chad Luberger’s Plum Bottom Gallery in Egg Harbor had been located in a rural area south of the village since 2007, but in 2019 the couple opened a second location in Egg Harbor to take advantage of the foot traffic.
Chad is a porcelain artist, Angela creates jewelry, and the couple also sell the works of 100 artists from around the country in a variety of mediums. Masks are essential for both customers and employees, and Angela said last fall that she was seeing more families during the week, when compared to past fall seasons. Many are buying art as a way to change up interiors after months of being stuck at home.
“People are still here. They’re coming for the colors and they’re still coming to Door County. We’re only a gas tank away,” Angela Luberger said. “We were expecting and preparing to be down 50 percent and we’re not down as far as we thought. We’re going to make it.”

The Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay tells the story of the peninsula's maritime history and culture.
At the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, exhibits were moved online and the museum store was actively promoted to encourage online sales of merchandise.
Plenty of options
Over at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, art kits were created for the local school district to distribute to families enrolled in summer programs, and later on those kits were made available to visitors to the bird-centric museum.
At Old World Wisconsin near Eagle, the state historic site was closed for most of 2020, but in October the gates opened for a “Fall Family Fun Drive,” in which visitors drove along a set route to take in the colors and the villages and farmsteads that date back to the 1800s. Over two weekends, the event drew about 2,500 people.

A living history museum that takes visitors back to 1800s Wisconsin, Old World Wisconsin allows visitors to experience everything from life on the farm to classes in a one-room schoolhouse and a visit to the town blacksmith. The destination was closed for most of 2020 but hosted in October an event that allowed visitors to drive through the massive site.
In Vilas County, Cranberry Fest in Eagle River and the Musky Jamboree in Boulder Junction were canceled. But with more than 1,300 lakes, those venturing Up North had plenty of options. Many also brought their bikes to ride the 45-mile Heart of Vilas County Paved Bike Trail System that winds through stands of pines and hardwoods and connects St. Germain, Sayner, Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters.
Cindy Burzinski, Vilas County’s director of tourism and publicity for the past 23 years, said while restaurants and some hotels and motels were challenged in 2020, those lodging facilities with kitchenettes and vacation home rentals were heavily booked as visitors sought to get away.
The result was an increase of $200,000 in sales taxes collected over 2019 to $3 million on $61.6 million in sales. In March and April of 2020, sales tax collections were up by $40,000 and $35,000, respectively, but down $15,000 in May when compared to May 2020. Sale tax revenue dipped slightly in June, was up $14,000 in July, down $11,000 in August, but up in September by $10,000.

Boulder Junction in Vilas County promotes itself as the "Musky Capital of the World" but the annual Musky Jamboree in August was canceled due to the pandemic. However, many people came to the region to bike, camp, fish and participate in other outdoor activities in 2020.
Considering the circumstances, the numbers offer a bright point and an indicator of the impact the outdoors had on the local economy.
“We had a really, very good summer because people could come up and they could social distance comfortably without trying to,” Bruzinski said. “We were promoting the (bike, hiking, ATV and snowmobile) trails that were less used so that they would find less people on them. And because we have 63 trail systems, there are a lot of trails that are lesser used.”

The U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship in February in Lake Geneva brought members of Sculptora Borealis from Wisconsin who are seen here working in their winning sculpture, "Inoculation," a COVID-19-themed piece that includes a syringe coming out of its head, as depicted in a clay model in the foreground.
Bookings down slightly
Walworth County saw a 34% decrease in overnight stays in 2020, but in January hotel bookings were off by just 3% when compared to January 2020, a positive trend, according to Stephanie Klett, president and CEO of Visit Lake Geneva and the former state tourism secretary.
The region features lakes like Delavan, Como and Geneva; nature preserves, plentiful outdoor dining opportunities, and in February of this year, Winterfest and the U.S. Snow Sculpting Championship. There’s also the 26-mile Geneva Lake Shore Path that provides up-close views of the stately homes that rim the lake.
“You’re going to feel safe here,” Klett said. “I marveled at our hotels, bed and breakfasts, our inns, our restaurants, our shops, at how quickly they navigated to address the situation in a safe way.”
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Mark Smith, a volunteer with the Door County Maritime Museum, drives a tractor pulling a wagon filled with tourists on their way to the Cana Island Light Station. Located near Bailey's Harbor in Door County, the 200-yard causeway is flooded with about three feet of water, making it difficult for travelers to walk to the island. The trip take about two minutes, but is a bumpy ride.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Cross roads in Door County near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Passengers crossing the causeway on their way to Cana Island ride in a wagon being towed by a tractor. This has been the preferred method of getting to the island for the past four years due to high water levels on Lake Michigan.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

A wagon filled with tourists and being towed by a tractor makes its way to Cana Island in Door County.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The view from the outdoor deck on the Cana Island lighthouse near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Matt Paulson, assistant manager at Cana Island Light Station, takes in the view from the outdoor deck of the lighthouse.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The lighthouse on Door County's Cana Island was first lit in 1870. Today it is powered by an electric light but still uses the original Fresnel lens.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The keeper's quarters on Cana Island is next in line for a major renovation in the last phase of a four-phase project on the island that began in 2010.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The pantry of the keeper's quarters at the Cana Island Light Station in Door County.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The kitchen of the keeper's quarters at the Cana Island Light Station, which began operations in Door County in 1870.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The log book at the Cana Island Light Station recorded the events and minutiae on the island.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The Cana Island keeper's quarters is a two story structure near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The tractor that pulls tourists to Cana Island through three feet of water waits idling before crossing the causeway.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Mark Smith offers up some of the history of the Cana Island Light Station before pulling his guests across the causeway.
Sherwood Point

The last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Sherwood Point was established in 1883 and automated in 1983. It is only open to the public during the Lighthouse Walk, held the second weekend in June. The rest of the year, the facility is operated as a rest-and-recuperation area for active members of the U.S. military on a rental basis.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay tells the story of the peninsula's maritime history and culture.
North Pierhead Light

The North Pierhead Light on the Lake Michigan side of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built in 1882, renovated in 1903 and automated in 1972. The elevated walkway allows for maintenance workers to avoid getting wet from waves that crash into the break wall.
Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Station Light Tower

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Station Light Tower, left, was built in 1899 and automated in 1972.
Baileys Harbor

The old Baileys Harbor lighthouse is commonly referred to as the "bird cage." The lighthouse was built on an island near Baileys Harbor in 1852 and removed from service in 1869 when the Baileys Harbor Range Lights were built. The light is now privately owned.
Bailey's Harbor range light

It appears to be a schoolhouse but in reality is one of two range lights near Bailey's Harbor. The range lights helped guide boats to the safety of Bailey's Harbor from 1869 to 1969 but were automated in 1923. When the upper and lower lights were parallel to each other, sailors knew they were in safe water. In 1993, the Ridges Sanctuary restored both range lights. The grounds of the range light structures are open to the public, but the structures themselves are not.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

One of two range lights that for 100 years helped guide boats safely into Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The top of the more inland range light at Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

This range light owned by Ridges Sanctuary is adjacent to a road but for 100 years helped guide boats into nearby Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

Some of the 73 interior stairs of the rear range light, seen here in 2017, on Plum Island allow access to the top of the tower on the southwest side of the island.
Plum Island

The rear range light stands out on Plum Island and is seen herein 2017 from the Washington Island Ferry as it departs Northport Pier off the tip of the Door County Peninsula.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

John Lauber, an architectural historian and historic preservation planner checks out the light and Fresnel lens of the rear range light on Plum Island in 2017. The light is used in concert with the front range light 1,650-feet away and allows sailors to coordinate their position through the Death's Door Passage. The range lights have been used since 1897.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located in Peninsula State Park and built in 1868. Three keepers manned the light until 1926, when the navigational mechanism was automated.
Door County lighthouses and range lights

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park can be toured.
Eagle Bluff

A 1,000-pound anchor rests before the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County's Peninsula State Park.