choose another county

"Take a trip back in time! See the St. Croix River Valley the way it was meant to be seen - by rail! The Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway operates vintage railway equipment between Minnesota and Wisconsin on a fully operational REAL railroad line. Step back in time and take in the scenery! The St. Croix River Valley shows off its beautiful colors in the fall with the change of seasons. Ride the rails anytime of the year for a great family experience, to rekindle romance, or to experience passenger rail service the way it used to be!"
- section from Official Site

  (In Osceola, as you head south on Highway 35, proceed under the railroad bridge. Immediately turn right onto Depot Road. The Depot is one block ahead. Visitor parking is along Depot Road.)
114 Depot Rd.
Osceola, WI  54020

hours:
April thru October  (Thursdays)  11am and 2pm
(Sat & Sun)  11am and 2:30pm

This is a perfect example of the kind of humorous decorating that you can find in a northwoods tavern.  From the old "Polish Chain Saw" to the tried-and-true mounted deer head sporting sunglasses and a baseball cap, there is no shortage of barroom amusement if you know where to look for it.  This bar has changed hands and the fish has since disappeared.

"This pretty waterfall is located along Route 35 in the middle of the village of Osceola along the St. Croix River. It is easy to visit, and close to many other scenic sights. Definitely worth a visit."
- section from Go Waterfalling website

Flying Saucer on Road with Visible Hairy Pilot  (1974)

A rare combination of Moon-Men and Bigfootery.

Osceola UFO Sightings

" 'A mass of smoke was going straight up' from the ball. 'Something dropped out of the ball that appeared to be on fire.' The ball continued to move east at a steady, even moderate speed. 'Then the red just shut off,' and looked like a 'yellow light the size of a flashlight.' "
- section from UFO Wisconsin 04-04-82 report

"The Phantom Congregation"

Worshippers from decades past still attend services even after their deaths.

UFO in Amery  (1987)

"Epley said the saucer was about 30 ft. in diameter and travelling (sic) noiselessly from south to north at about 500 feet."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Ghosts of mafia victims have been seen in the years before the restaurant was demolished.

UFO Report Heard Over Police Scanner  (1988)

"A dispatcher said a caller had reported the sighting, claiming she was not 'crazy,' and that the unidentified object was still visible."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

The Weird Wisconsin website ponders the multitude of Devil-related place names in Wisconsin.

UFO Near Half Moon Lake  (1979)

"About three-fourths of the UFO was reddish in color. He described the top quarter as a combination of red, green, yellow and orange. The craft then shot across Half Moon Lake at 4,000 or 5,000 miles an hour, according to Breault."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Cluster of Lights in Sky  (1996)

"Beautiful 'tail of light!!' "
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Amery Poor Farm
private property

The ghost of a boy killed by cattle rustlers haunts house.

Interaction With a UFO  (2004)

"I took a 1,000,000 candle spot and flashed up a it as a joke.I said to my wife WATCH IT FLASH BACK OR COME OVER FOR A VISIT.It flashed back.I didn't think I was seeing right so I flashed again.It flashed back."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Johnnie B. Dalton's Supper Club

Ghosts have been observed in Bar's mirror.  See Unexplained Research link at right.

"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)

The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there.  Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.

Strange Blinking Lights over Lake o' the Dalles  (2006)

"It seemed kind of like twice as bright as some stars, and then we realised (sic) it was moving closer towards us."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

Moe Lutheran Church

"Moe church is haunted by a number of very angry spirits as well as is its cemetery. it is said that, in the early 1900s, the church was accidentally burned to the ground with more than 30 people inside at the time of the fire. The church was later rebuilt and has been haunted ever since. Towns people also say that in the early 1950s a young woman who had lost her infant child hung herself in the bell tower of the church. at times she is seen hanging in the bell tower as well as, seen walking through the cemetery with an infant held to her chest. These sightings have been reported to be the cause of numerous accidents on the road between the church and cemetery. Some that have been fatal."
- section from The Shadowlands website

Spooky Hollow

The Unexplained Research website retells the haunted legends surrounding this area of Polk County.

"...allows visitors to walk down a re-created Main Street of yesteryear, peek into a pioneer family's log cabin, visit a one-room schoolhouse, admire a century-old church, and view photographs, uniform and clothing, newspapers, weapons, and other memorabilia of the area's political, sports and military activities."
- section from Explore Wisconsin website

"Housed in Balsam Lake's historic old courthouse, this three-story museum's 57 exhibits take the visitor through the county's 150-year history, from first settlement by Yankee lumber barons and immigrant lumberjack/farmers through the present day"
- section from Explore Wisconsin website

  in old courthouse on Main Street
Balsam Lake, WI  54810

hours:
Memorial Day thru Labor Day  (daily)  Noon - 4pm

"Visit this museum's old country school, general store and railroad depot filled with intriguing artifacts of rural pioneer families, the telegraph station and iron road they relied upon for news of the world, travel and commerce."
- section from Explore Wisconsin website

  1 block south & one block west
of The Polk County Museum

hours:
Memorial Day thru Labor Day  (daily)  Noon - 4pm