Every parent with a teenager knows the drill: trying to compete with their group chat for weekend attention is a losing battle. But with Memorial Day weekend rolling around, I was determined to get some quality father-son time in. My target? A quick, epic road trip from the Fox Valley down to Devil’s Lake and the Dells.
After a little convincing, he was in.
First order of business was finding a place to crash. If you’ve ever tried to book a tent site at Devil’s Lake on a holiday weekend at the last minute, you already know how that went—totally booked. But then I stumbled across a deal at Mt. Olympus: a room plus waterpark passes for fifty-nine bucks. For that price? Sign us up. We packed some road snacks, hopped in the car around noon on Friday, and made the easy two-hour cruise down.
Hiking the West Bluff at Devil’s Lake
Before we even hit the main park entrance, we spotted a trail pull-off and decided to just go for it. Turns out, we stumbled right onto the West Bluff Trail.
If you haven’t done this one, put it on your bucket list. The views from the top are absolutely unreal. Just a heads up: there are no railings up there, which makes the natural beauty look amazing, but you definitely want to watch your step on those massive drops.
As you loop back down, you walk along the lakeside right beneath the cliffs. The rock slides with boulders the size of semi-trucks are incredible to see from the bottom looking up.
After the hike, we drove over to the main beach area. My son grabbed his fishing pole to cast a few lines from the shore. The park offers kayak and paddleboat rentals, but the wind was whipping pretty good, so we stuck to the shoreline. No luck catching dinner, but we grabbed some ice cream cones at the main lodge store to celebrate a solid afternoon in the woods anyway.
We already decided that we are 100% coming back here soon to conquer the East Bluff Trail. I hear that's where you get the really wild photo ops with the famous standing rock formations like Devil's Doorway and Balanced Rock. Stay tuned for those pictures, because we're hitting that side next.
By 6:00 PM, it was time to claim our room. We hit the main Mt. Olympus check-in building and got assigned a themed room right across the street from the waterpark.
Look, for $59, I wasn't expecting the Ritz. It had two queen beds, a wall with some Mt. Olympus wallpaper, a basic wall-mounted table, a mini-fridge, and a coffee maker. It’s a basic spot to rest your head, and for the price, it’s a total steal.
We dropped our bags and immediately hit the indoor waterpark. It’s not a massive footprint like the Wilderness, but it packs a punch. We tackled the Medusa waterslide, hit a couple of body slides, floated down the lazy river, and logged some quality time in the lukewarm hot tub.
By then, our stomachs were growling, so we headed out to Monk’s Bar & Grill for their world-famous burgers. I ordered the Monster Burger and my son went with The Works. They’re good, classic Dells burgers with fair prices. We actually ended up debating our top three favorite burger joints on the ride back, but Monk’s definitely holds its own.
After dinner, we weren't ready to call it a night, so we went to check out The Grateful Shed.
Man, this place was crazy fun! It's basically a massive, indoor food truck market and bar wrapped in a total retro wonderland. They have live music pumping, old vintage signs everywhere, and just an awesome, high-energy vibe. We caught some tunes, checked out the indoor trucks, and then headed outside to play some cornhole. We had an absolute blast—it's a must-stop if you're looking for a fun spot to hang out in the evening.
We made it back to the hotel and immediately hit the indoor waterpark before bed. It’s not a massive footprint like the Wilderness, but it packs a punch. We tackled the Medusa waterslide, hit a couple of body slides, floated down the lazy river, and logged some quality time in the lukewarm hot tub.
Saturday morning, we checked out, grabbed a killer breakfast with great service at BJ's Restaurant, and headed right back to Mt. Olympus because the outdoor park was officially open.
First, we hit the indoor theme park area (essentially a massive arcade) and found a soccer-style pool table, which was a blast. Then, we headed outside where the real madness lives.
My son immediately eyed The Rise of Icarus—the world’s tallest body waterslide at 145 feet. Now, I had tried a smaller indoor body slide the night before and felt every single fiberglass seam on my spine. I took a hard pass on doing a bigger, faster version. I happily played photographer from the bottom.
He climbed the endless stairs, launched into the tube, and came firing out the bottom 30 seconds later. He looked at me and said, "You were right, my back got absolutely shredded... but it was awesome." Pro tip for Mt. Olympus: if you’re doing the big body slides, wear a super tight swim shirt.
From there, we hit the Sky Swing, raced the go-karts, rode the Cyclops coaster, and then lined up for the crown jewel: Hades 360.
The ride broke down while we were in line, so we ended up waiting about an hour and a half, but man, it was worth it. That first drop fires you straight into a pitch-black underground tunnel at 70 mph before spitting you out into a 360-degree roll. It completely beats you up, but it’s such a rush we actually went back for a second ride later.
We grabbed some park food (a little pricey, but expected), checked out the crazy wave pool that throws massive 7-foot waves, and finally called it a weekend.
All in all? A legendary, cheap Father-Son weekend trip. If you see that Mt. Olympus deal pop up, grab it, pack a tight shirt for the slides, and go have a blast.
