Clowns, trains and mini-golf are among the attractions of this southwest Wisconsin city, which trades most on its fame as the birthplace of the Ringling Bros. Circus. It also offers families with children many other things to explore, including a state park ready to pop with fall color.

Juggle entertainment options

See the historic circus wagon collection and circus posters at the giant Circus World Museum, where those and other historical items abound. The jugglers, acrobats and elephants that perform under the big top are on tour for the fall and winter (shows will resume in the spring), but the museum remains open through September (550 Water St.; 1-866-693-1500; www.circusworldmuseum.com; $8 adult admission, $3.50 children).

Clamber aboard 100-year-old train cars and take a ride at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum just west of Baraboo in North Freedom (E8948 Diamond Hill Road; 1-800-930-1385; www.midcontinent.org; $15 adults, $9 children).

The great outdoors

Set out a picnic or rent a kayak at Devil's Lake State Park, just south of the city, where gray stone bluffs border a huge lake and lush trees dot long, grassy expanses. With nearly 10,000 acres, it is Wisconsin's largest state park (S5975 Park Rd.; 608-356-8301; $10 entrance, $12 single-person kayaks).

In the evenings, practice your putting at Devil's Lake Adventure Golf, with its 36 mini-golf holes. Hit golf balls through caves, up small hills and past watery trenches (open through Labor Day and then every other weekend through mid-October; S5798 Hwy. 123; 1-608-356-1188; $6.50 for 18 holes).

For a day trip, trek through the underground rock formations at Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mounds, about 40 miles south of Baraboo (2975 Cave of the Mounds Rd.; 1-608-437-3038; caveofthemounds.com; $15 adults, $7.50 children).

Where to eat

Baraboo has one of the nation's more well-preserved, quaint downtown squares. Furniture stores, a theater and, above all, relatively inexpensive restaurants set behind colorful, vintage facades surround a courthouse. For a few dollars, pick up some fruit or baked goods at the farmers market on Saturday mornings in the summer, then try the $6.95 Spanish omelet with chorizo and cheese at Birdie's Café (111 14th St.; 1-608-356-5647). The Little Village Café has rich and creamy peanut-butter-pie slices for $6 and other indulgent desserts (146 4th Av.; 1-608-356-2800; www. littlevillagecafe.com). Down one of the main roads, the Log Cabin Restaurant also boasts of its pie offerings, but try the $11 top sirloin plate first (1215 8th St.; 1-608-356-8245).

Where to stay

The Gollmar Guest House, near the central square, was built in 1887, and it soon was home to the Gollmars, a circus family related to the Ringlings. Some of the bed-and-breakfast's ornately decorated rooms have whirlpool tubs in large bathrooms (422 3rd St.; 1-608-356-9432; gollmar.com; rooms start at $90). The Inn at Wawanissee Point, located at the end of a hard-to-spot driveway off an isolated rural road about 8 miles from downtown Baraboo, has large, well-appointed rooms with balconies (E13609 Tower Rd.; 1-608-355-9899; www.innatwawanissee point.com, rooms here begin at more than $200 a night).

GEOGRAPHY LESSON

Baraboo, Wis., is 40 miles north of Madison and 13 miles south of Wisconsin Dells. The city of 10,000 is situated on the Baraboo River. The nearby Baraboo Hills were formed by glacial action.

GETTING THERE

Baraboo is about 225 miles southeast of the Twin Cities.

MORE INFORMATION

For visitor information, go to www.baraboo.com and cityofbaraboo.com.