Memorable Winter Family Winter Getaways

Known as an ideal mid-size city for outdoor sports enthusiasts, Madison offers a full menu of winter recreation, from ice skating at the picturesque Tenney Park pond to cross-country skiing on a number of groomed trails in the area. Kids who enjoy the thrill of downhill skiing and snowboarding won't want to miss an outing to Tyrol Basin in Mount Horeb or Devil's Head Ski Resort in Merrimac, both of which feature well-manicured terrain parks.

At the Madison Children's Museum, kids can capture their shadow, plant vegetables in a make-believe garden and join an expedition to a simulated paleontologist's lab and dig site. For a dose of the tropics, head to the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Botanical Gardens where a 50-foot-tall glass pyramid houses a tropical rainforest. Water lovers can enjoy the city's only indoor waterpark at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites on Madison's west side, where young sailors can play on a shrimp boat with water hoses, miniature slides and shooting fountains.