By Amy Guckeen

Long associated with romance, rejuvenation and relaxation, bed and breakfast inns aren’t your typical family destination. But parents shouldn’t discount B&Bs; these four Wisconsin inns love hearing the pitter-patter of children’s feet on the way to the breakfast table.

Riverview Bed and Breakfast, Neshkoro
Once a grandma, always a grandma - and that’s very obvious when visitors meet Marilyn Brockopp, innkeeper of Riverview Bed and Breakfast. With ten grandchildren of her own, she loves kids. Reluctant to lug the baby monitor or Pack ‘n Play? No sweat; Marilyn’s got both. At the breakfast table, children sidle up to their chocolate-chip pancakes in seats adjusted just for them. 920/293-4423

For family-friendly fun, round up a game of baseball, take a trip to the village and tube down the White River, or relax on the beach at Tuttle Lake. Day trips can take you to Wisconsin Dells, the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, or the state fish hatchery in Wild Rose. Then, settle in for the night with a board game or one of the inn’s age-appropriate DVDs.

Deer Haven Lodge, Butternut
Children aren’t just allowed at Deer Haven Lodge; the inn was specifically designed to host children - innkeepers Ken and Lori Kiefer’s many children and grandchildren. The whole family can explore the inn’s large wooded area via nature trails or feed the whitetail deer. Let the kids get creative with the inn’s stock of play clothes, dolls, toy refrigerator and stove, bikes, doll buggies and tinker toys. Need more? Check out the pool table, arcade games, Nintendo Wii, mini carousel, and child-sized replica of a log cabin. 715/769-3800

Once you’ve exhausted the inn’s activities, take a day trip to the Apostle Islands or Copper Falls State Park for fishing, kayaking and hiking.

Hazelhurst Inn, Hazelhurst
Eighteen wooded acres await families at the Hazelhurst Inn. Kids are no problem; even Fido is welcome here. The property is adjacent to the Bearskin State Trail, an 18-mile, former railroad corridor surfaced with compacted granite suitable for walking and bicycling in summer, and snowmobiling in winter. After a family hike or bike ride, relax on the patio and grill your own steak. There’s plenty of sleeping room here – request the master or double room; both have two queen-sized beds and a private bath. 715/356-6571

Nearby, Minocqua-Hazelhurst is a Wisconsin vacation mecca with loads of family fun including go-carts, horseback riding, fudge shops, lumberjack shows, a wildlife park, tennis and golf.

The Parsonage Bed and Breakfast, McFarland
If the thought of bringing your curious four-year-old to a B&B filled with priceless antiques has your stomach in knots, The Parsonage Bed and Breakfast is the place for you. “I come from a large family, my wife comes from a large family,” says innkeeper Craig Wrobel, a self-described kid himself. “Our bed and breakfast is just an extension of that. Kids are a lot of fun.”

Chauncy, a big stuffed bear, has a habit of joining the kids at the breakfast table. Other stuffed animals are stashed around the inn. Let the kids release some steam on the full playground behind the inn. Rainy day? Check out the inn’s library, stocked with age-appropriate books for everyone, or grab a board game and gather round the old oak table. 877/517-9869

The Madison metro area is alive with kids’ stuff. Try the Vilas Park Zoo, the Madison Children’s Museum, the Wisconsin Historical Museum, or the UW Geology Museum with its cool dinosaur skeletons.

Amy Guckeen is the assistant editor of Wisconsin Trails. She writes from Milwaukee. Content produced in cooperation with Wisconsin Trails. For a free trial issue of Wisconsin Trails magazine, please go to www.kable.com/pub/wtrl/subAll.asp.

This entry was posted in Places to Stay, Bed & Breakfasts and tagged Features and Profiles