Sparta, WI Tourist Vacation Attractions and Activities

A vacation or day trip to Sparta, Wisconsin will be nothing more than wonderfully memorable. Although Sparta may be small, it has some mighty unusual, one-of a-kind tourist attractions and activities. Sparta is the county seat of Monroe County and is located in western WI. Sparta lays claim to being the Bicycle Capital of America" as it had Wisconsin's first railroad bed that was converted to a bike trail.

Speaking of bicycling, Sparta also lays claim to having the attraction -The Largest Bicyclist in the World. This is referring to a 32-foot sculpture of a cyclist from the Gay Nineties astride a high wheel bicycle. The sculpture was manufactured by the local fiberglass beacons the F.A.S.T Corporation - you will read more about this vacation attraction later in the article. The sculpture has been dubbed "Ben Bikin". You can find Ben proudly displayed in a roadside park telling visitors about the cool tourist attractions and activities in the area. If you are lucky enough, you may get to see a local fellow who dresses like Ben, calls himself Little Ben, and rides around town -kind of like the town mascot.

Just a ways down the road from Sparta is the most spectacular attraction - a fiberglass workshop called Fiberglass, Animals, Shapes, and Trademarks, or F. A. S. T. Corporation for short. The F.A.S.T. Corporation has been in operation for over 30 years and is well-known as the American Titan-Builder. A couple of the F. A. S. T's. largest accomplishments are a 200' sea monster located at another Wisconsin vacation attraction, House on the Rocks and a 145' muskie that resides at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, also in Wisconsin. Visitors are encouraged to roam what is called the Mold Yard -grassy acreage behind the factory - that is laden with old molds of previous projects. Strolling through the Mold Yard is free.

While you are in and around Sparta don't miss the cool attraction - the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bicycle Museum. The museum's slogan is "From sprockets, to rockets". Deke Slayton was an astronaut from Sparta and this museum has been created in his memory and features such exhibits as: A New Freedom: The Bicycle Revolution in America, Where Eagles Soar, Monroe County Aviation History, Shooting for the Stars: The Life and Adventures of Deke Slayton, and The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The admission price for these two museums is very fair - $3/adult and $1/children 6-15, children under 6 are free.

One last attraction, you won't want to miss while in Sparta, is the Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto in Cataract WI, only a few miles from Sparta. The Wegner's decided to jump on the cement-and-glass backyard creations bandwagon in the late 1920's and built a miniature glass church from scraps of things found around their home. The word grotto needs to be taken with a grain of salt as the Wegner's approach to a grotto was non-denominational. After the little church, the Wegner's continued to build small yard sculptures. Besides a miniature church, you will see an American flag, a 12-foot ocean liner, and a Peace Monument. The Kohler Foundation bought the property, restored the sculptures, and donated it to Monroe County to be used as a park.

So, as you can tell, there is no shortage of tourist attractions and activities in Sparta, WI. In fact, there are quite a number of very unusual tourist activities.