Summer goes fast. Like, embarrassingly fast. One day you’re planning all the things you’re going to do and the next day the kids are back in school and you’re wondering what happened to June. So this year, we’re getting intentional about it. Here’s your Fond du Lac summer bucket list — things to eat, places to go, skills to learn, and moments to actually soak in before the season slips away.
Print it out. Check things off. Make it a competition. Whatever it takes.
☑ Get Ice Cream
Not one. All three. They’re each a completely different experience and they’re all worth it.
Gille’s Frozen Custard
A Fond du Lac institution — carhop service, turtle sundaes, frozen custard made on-site since 1949. This is what summer looked like before smartphones and it holds up completely.
Cowlicks Cones & Floats
The newer kid on the block on South Park Avenue, with creative flavors, boba, Italian sodas, and Lotus drinks for the non-ice-cream crowd. They also have their truck at the Downtown Farmers Market, which counts as two bucket list items at once.
Kelley Country Creamery
“Best ice cream in the middle of nowhere” — a short drive south of the city on the Kelley family’s fifth-generation farm. Watch the ice cream being made through the viewing window, order something weird (Maple Bacon, Caramel Pretzel Cluster, Karen’s Crazy Cake), and sit on the porch watching cattle graze in the pasture. It’s one of those places you feel genuinely good about after.
☑ Head to the Pool
Three great options, each a little different. Make it to at least two of them this summer.
Fairgrounds Family Aquatic Center
Multiple water slides, interactive water play features, a sandy area for the little ones, and grassy space for the adults who need a moment to just sit down. Full water park energy without leaving the county.
Taylor Park & Pool
An Olympic-size outdoor pool alongside a free splash pad, plus a park pavilion that’s been standing for over 100 years. One of those places that makes you remember why you love living here.
Fond du Lac Community Aquatic Center
Indoors — which means it’s always swimming weather. Two pools, swim lessons, and a shallow-end pool built for the tiniest splashers in the family.
☑ Ride a Bike
Fond du Lac County has over 50 miles of maintained recreational trails — the Wild Goose State Trail, the Mascoutin Valley State Trail, the Peebles Trail, and more. Grab a trail map from the Fond du Lac County Parks website and plan a route. There’s something about being on a bike on a summer morning that fixes things.
☑ Go for a Hike
You don’t have to go far.
Hobb’s Woods
Three miles south of the city — 60 acres of dense woodland, three miles of trails, and boardwalks crossing over Parsons Creek. The most popular trail in Fond du Lac for a reason. Bring bug spray and wear shoes you don’t mind getting a little muddy.
Mascoutin Valley State Trail & Eldorado Marsh
Five miles west of the city. The trail runs right through Eldorado Marsh — over 6,000 acres of state-owned wetland where deer, herons, waterfowl, and muskrats are a regular part of the scenery. Flat, accessible, and completely free.
Lakeside Park Harbor View Trail
A quick loop with a lakefront view when you want a hike without committing to a full afternoon. Already there for another reason? Tack it on.
☑ Play a Round of Mini Golf
Fondy Sports Park
Mini golf, go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, an arcade, off-road karts, and a rock climbing wall — all on one property on County Road D. You’ll show up for the mini golf and stay for two hours. Check fondysportspark.com for what’s open this season.
☑ Go to Art on the Island
Art on the Island — June 7 at Lakeside Park
One of those events that reminds you why living here is genuinely special — local artists, beautiful lakefront setting, the kind of afternoon that doesn’t need much else. Put it on the calendar now before it sneaks up on you.
☑ Spend a Saturday at the Farmers Market
The Fond du Lac Downtown Farmers Market is one of the best things we’ve got going all summer and it doesn’t get enough credit. Show up without a plan and just wander — you’ll leave with more than you came for. A few vendors worth knowing:
Sprinkles Mini Doughnuts
Self-explanatory. Just go. But in case you need an explanation, Sprinkles makes mini doughnuts right in front of you and delivers them into your hands warm and ready to devour.
Lubberts Farm & Greenhouse
Fresh produce and plants, GMO free, no chemicals. A great stop whether you’re cooking or gardening.
Arthur Bay Cheese Company
Something you’ll want to put on everything.
Gourmet’s Delight Mushrooms
For something a little different and worth the conversation with the vendor.
Toasty Oven Bake Shoppe
The kind of baked goods that make you feel like you’re treating yourself because you are.
Cowlicks Cones & Floats
Their truck is at the market too, so there’s really no excuse not to grab a drink while you shop.
☑ Visit a Farm
Kelley Country Creamery & Farmstead
The creamery sits right on the 200-acre Kelley family property — five generations of farming, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, and chickens all visible from the porch. Ice cream with a view of where it comes from. That’s the whole experience.
Airy Point Farms
Run by Derek and Nicole Sippel in Saint Cloud — a dairy farmer and a veterinary nurse who decided to grow luxury flowers and heirloom pumpkins and turned it into something really beautiful. Their self-serve farmstand is open daily through summer, stocked with fresh-cut florals that go fast. Follow @airypointfarms for bouquet workshops and U-pick events.
LaClare Family Creamery — Malone
A short drive up the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago and absolutely worth it. From spring through summer, 500 doelings are in the barn alongside a donkey, a llama, and resident chickens — plus the goats climb a 26-foot silo that you have to see to believe. Tour the cheesemaking facility through the viewing windows, grab lunch at the café, pick up award-winning goat cheese in the shop, and don’t skip the ice cream. Check laclarefamilycreamery.com for special baby goat events — they fill up fast.
☑ Get Your Meat from a Local Farm
This is the summer to find out where your food comes from.
May Hill Farm
A regenerative family farm near Campbellsport, just south of Fond du Lac, raising grass-finished beef, heritage pork, pasture-raised chicken, and eggs. Order online and pick up at the farm, catch one of their monthly pop-up farm store mornings, or get delivery to Fond du Lac. Check mayhillfarmwi.com and their social for the schedule.
Open Road Ranch
Another local option worth looking into — check the Farmers Market and their website for availability.
At the Market
Several vendors at the Downtown Farmers Market sell locally raised meat and eggs too, including Red Cedar Ridge Farms and Wachholz Family Farm. Stop and talk to them. That’s the whole point.
☑ Plant a Garden
There is still time. If you want to start with good plants and good bones:
Lubberts Farm & Greenhouse
Bedding plants, vegetable and herb starts, hanging baskets — all GMO free, restocked daily at their self-serve farm stand on Kelly Road just south of the city.
Berry Patch Nursery & Garden Center
A local favorite for annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, and patio pots.
Hounsell’s Greenhouse
Been doing it since 1966. A reliable, full-service spot for getting your garden right.
Fond du Lac Community Garden
If you want to skip the backyard setup altogether — plots are available for rent at the corner of Grove Street and Pioneer Road. Starting at $30 for the season, with water access and shared resources included. Register through the Fond du Lac County Extension office. One of the best deals in the county.
☑ Watch the Fireworks on the 4th
Festival Foods Fireworks at Lakeside Park — July 4, 9:30 PM
The main event. Get there early, stake out a spot on the lakefront, and settle in.
Americana Concert at the Lakeside Park Bandstand — July 4, 7:30 PM
Before the fireworks, the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band plays patriotic favorites, marches, and classic American composers. It’s the kind of evening that just feels like summer is supposed to feel. Stay for both.
North Fondy Fest — June 20 at Village Park
If you want a warm-up: North Fondy Fest has its own fireworks show and it’s a great community night out. Check northfondyfest.com for details.
☑ Make S’mores
Simple one. Find a fire pit — Buttermilk Creek Park has grills, or set up in the backyard — grab your marshmallows, your chocolate, your graham crackers, and actually sit outside after dinner while it’s still light. Summer evenings here are long and warm and genuinely lovely and we spend too many of them inside. This is your reminder.
☑ Go Sober-ish
Whether it’s your thing all the time or just something you’re exploring, going sober doesn’t mean staying home or settling for a water. Fond du Lac has genuinely good options.
Lavish Coffee
A non-profit coffee shop on North Portland Street owned by Grace + Truth Christian Fellowship — and one of the best-reviewed spots in the city. Specialty coffee drinks, soups, sandwiches, and baked goods made with local ingredients. The kind of place you walk into and immediately feel like you’re among good people. Great morning option, great afternoon option, great anytime option. Follow them at @lavishcoffeefdl.
The Dandelion Lounge
A Wisconsin craft mocktail company making sophisticated, alcohol-free cocktails — not the syrupy, afterthought version. Real craft. Check their Find Us page for where they’re popping up near Fond du Lac this summer.
Forward Beverage Co.
A Wisconsin-owned NA beverage company making craft soft cocktails and social seltzers — including their In-Fashioned, a non-alcoholic take on Wisconsin’s beloved brandy old fashioned. No artificial sweeteners, no food dyes, electrolytes included. Available online and locally right here in Fond du Lac. Kelly is keeping this one in her fridge all summer!
Cowlicks Cones & Floats
Lotus energy drinks, Italian sodas, boba, and limeades. If you want something festive in a cup on a summer evening, Cowlicks delivers without a second thought.
Keggers Mobile Bar
Hosting a party, backyard event, or celebration this summer? Keggers is a mobile bar service that custom crafts both cocktails and mocktails for your event. The sky’s the limit on the mocktail menu — they work with you on a custom signature drink. A great way to make sure every guest at your summer gathering feels taken care of.
☑ Learn a New Hobby
This is the summer to actually try the thing you’ve been saying you want to try.
The Creative Studio at Quilting Legacies
Brand new and already the spot for paint-your-own pottery and sewing. If you want to make something with your hands this summer, start here.
THELMA — Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts
Art classes for all levels downtown — painting, drawing, fiber arts, mixed media — taught by working artists. For kids grades 4–8, On Stage @ THELMA is a two-week theater camp where they learn lines, choreography, and help build sets for a real musical production.
Fond du Lac Community Garden & County Extension
If gardening is your thing — or you want it to be — the Extension runs workshops and the community garden gets you growing immediately. Start small. See what happens.
☑ Take a Family Walk in Your Neighborhood
No destination. No plan. Just out the door after dinner while it’s still light out, phones in pockets, just walking. There is something about a summer evening walk through a Fond du Lac neighborhood — the sound of kids in yards, sprinklers running, neighbors out on porches — that is one of the best free things this city offers. You already live here. Use it.
Summer goes fast. But it also goes exactly as long as you make it feel. Get out there.
What’s on your list that we missed? Drop it in the comments.
