Landing at Central Wisconsin Airport in Wausau gives you an easy home base, with nearby cities and getaways close by. Wausau is a river city on the Wisconsin River with a granite mountain at its back, which gives it a ski hill, a whitewater course, and more outdoor variety than most towns its size. The downtown 400 Block hosts summer concerts, the art museum draws bird lovers from around the world, and the surrounding county grows most of the ginseng in the country.

Standout experiences around Wausau: - Ski or snowboard at Granite Peak on Rib Mountain, one of the biggest hills in the Midwest - Hike the quartzite ridge trails at Rib Mountain State Park for views over the valley - Watch kayakers run the downtown whitewater course on the Wisconsin River - See the Birds in Art exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum - Wade among the boulders at the Dells of the Eau Claire County Park - Stop at a ginseng farm stand and learn why Marathon County grows so much of it - Eat a Friday fish fry and a brandy old fashioned at a classic supper club

The airport is in Mosinee, about 15 minutes south of Wausau, and Stevens Point with its Point Brewery and riverfront is 35 minutes. Minocqua and the Northwoods lakes are about an hour north, Wisconsin Dells is 75 minutes south, and Eau Claire and Green Bay are each about 90 minutes. Fall color on the ridge usually peaks in early October, and the river trails are at their best then. Wausau is a quiet base with a lot of range.