Visiting the Baldwin - Woodville area?
Here's some things to do while you're here...
Skydive Twin Cities is the largest skydiving center in the Upper Midwest. They offer a wide variety of airsports to the general public.
Founded in 1975, the Dropzone is run by Kerry McCauley, who began skydiving in 1986 and John Bucsko who beganskydiving in 1980.
Combined, they have been skydiving for over 50 years and made over 26,000 skydives.
Skydive Twin Cities hosts a meticulously maintained skydiving aircraft, the Cessna Supervan 900 (modified Grand Caravan).
The Cessna Supervan 900 is a fast climbing turbine skydiving aircraft with a large capacity of 17 passengers and one pilot.
Located on a privately owned airport that no other aircraft are allowed to use. This makes it a safe, quiet landing area for jumpers.
It is large, grassy, and obstacle free. For those making their first parachute jump, or as an experienced jumper, Skydive Twin Cities is recognized as the premier skydiving center in the Midwest.
Skydiving
The Baldwin Windmill
The Baldwin Windmill at Windmill Park, acclaimed as “the largest Chamber project ever”, was completed by approximately 30 local volunteers in 1987. Located along Highway 63, the windmill has been a spectacle of beauty and a symbol of heritage.
At the time it was built, the Chamber referred to the monument to the town’s Dutch heritage as “truly the ‘ornament’ of our fine village. It brings much joy to our residents as well as people driving through”.
The Baldwin Windmill is collaboratively administered by the local Chamber of Commerce and owned by the Village of Baldwin. Windmill Park, with picnic tables and a playground, has become a busy place for locals and visitors alike.
After the first “Let’s Go Dutch Days” festival in 1983, a windmill fund was started by Baldwin’s Dutch Ethnic Women’s Group, which solicited donations from the public with the help of the Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, $34,000 was raised to build the structure, and ongoing funding was provided through the “Adopt-A-Rock” campaign so anyone could buy a stone on the windmill’s physical foundation.
The construction of the windmill became a collaborative project. The rafters and supports were pre-fabricated at a nearby building materials company. Local fieldstone for the exterior base was split by hand by area laborers. A Baldwin sawmill owner provided boards for the walls, the exterior covered in cedar shingles.
A local electrician wired the windmill for power. The four 12 foot aluminum wind vanes were constructed by a local craftsman and are connected to a two-horsepower motor and gear reduction system that turns the vanes at five revolutions per minute. The vanes can be seen turning each day in summer from 4:00pm – 10:00pm.
There is no doubt about the Windmill’s attraction to locals and tourists alike. Lifetime Baldwin resident, Jerry Van Someren, says, “We hear a lot of comments about how pretty and what a nice addition it is. It’s not unusual to drive past and see someone out taking a photo of it.” With the village’s Dutch history, Jerry Van Someren summarizes, “It was a natural thing for Baldwin. After all, we didn’t have a place for a dike.”
– Mary Caton-Rosser
In 2012, Woodville completed a revitalization project that updated the heart of their downtown with two new parking lots that connected several attractions of the community including Steven Park, South Steven Park, the tennis courts, the Amphitheater, the Veteran’s Memorial and the Wildwood Trail.
Part of the project includes an eight foot wide sidewalk that is meant for bikers and walkers. This sidewalk is a connection beginning at the Wildwood Trailhead located in Steven Park and winds through the center of town where it eventually joins the south opening to the Wildwood Trail as it leaves Woodville.
One of the unique aspects of this sidewalk is the stamped Viking ships that are indicative of Woodville’s Norwegian heritage that is still recognized and celebrated annually.
Woodville is extremely proud of the impact this project has had, as our downtown certainly plays a major role in the overall vitality of our community. This project was not merely infrastructure improvements, but was an investment that enables Woodville to maintain the downtown area as a center of activity, including shopping, festivals and other holiday events.
Woodville Landmark
Local Parks
Hotels / Motels
AmericInn
(715) 684-5888
500 Baldwin Plaza Drive, Baldwin, WI 54002
Welcome to the AmericInn Lodge & Suites Baldwin, Wisconsin. We know there’s no place like home, but with our newly updated furnishings, room décor, flat screen TV’s and cozy Serta® Perfect Sleeper beds, the AmericInn Baldwin will feel like your home away from home.
(715) 684-2700
805 Energy Street, Baldwin, WI 54002
Located at intersection of Interstate 94 and US Highway 63, halfway between Eau Claire and the Twin Cities, our Super 8 Baldwin hotel near Crystal Cave offers comfortable rooms and convenience to
local attractions.
Super 8
Woodville Motel
(715) 698-2481
543 Co Hwy B, Woodville, WI 54028
16 Units – single and double, located on Interstate 94 at exit 24,
just 40 minutes from Minneapolis/St. Paul.