Located in the middle of Wisconsin and surrounded by Northwoods beauty, you’re sure to “get centered” in Wausau. After all, Wausau’s Marathon County contains the exact center of the northwest hemisphere. It’s halfway between the equator and the North Pole, and halfway between Greenwich Meridian and the International Date Line.
You’ll also find yourself right in the middle of Midwest hospitality in Wausau where our motto is “welcome home.” We take great pride in being named an All-American City with a low crime rate and above-average schools.
Wausau ranks as one of Wisconsin's industrial and insurance centers. Ginseng, a little herb with big healing properties, is also grown and sold here. In fact, 95 percent of all cultivated ginseng grown in the United States is produced in Marathon County.
For entertainment, our historic Grand Theatre, known throughout northern Wisconsin, offers an assortment of unique performances year-round. Musicals, ballets, live radio shows, children's productions, and international performers grace the theatre’s stage.
One of the top whitewater courses in the United States is located right in the middle of our downtown on the Wisconsin River. In summer, residents and visitors enjoy kayaking on the river and boating on Lake Wausau. The scenic Mountain-Bay Trail and a maze of single-track trails cut into a heavily-forested area give avid bicyclists a run for their money.
In September, we hold our annual outdoor Festival of the Arts. Nationally recognized artists line downtown streets with samples of their work. Fall also brings breathtaking, panoramic views of autumn colors from atop Rib Mountain.
Winter in Wausau means skiing and Rib Mountain has the highest ski-able downhill run in the state. There are also 73 kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails including in Nine-Mile Park, 750 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, and sheets of indoor ice for hockey, curling, and figure skating. Ice fishing on Lake Wausau and the many surrounding area lakes is also a popular wintertime activity.