Kid-Friendly Things to Do in and Around Prescott, WI This Winter

Winter break with kids can go one of two ways: everyone bouncing off the walls at home, or everyone tired and happy after a day of sledding, kangaroos and pancakes. I’d pick the second one every time.

Prescott makes a great winter base for families. You’re 30 minutes from St. Paul, but it feels like a real getaway, and within about 30 minutes you’ve got tubing hills, a farm full of animals that’s open every day of the year, a classic small-town movie theater, bowling, and a sledding hill in a state park. Here’s how I’d fill a family weekend this winter.

Your Family Winter Weekend at a Glance

• Breakfast: Birthday Cake Pancakes at The Kitchen Table
• Animals: Kangaroos, alpacas and porcupines at Eagle Eye Farm
• Snow: Tubing at Trollhaugen, Buck Hill or Wild Mountain, or free sledding at Kinnickinnic State Park
• Indoors: Bowling, a movie at a 1927 theater, or the pool and waterslide at the Hudson YMCA
• Eagles: The free learning center at Freedom Park, on weekends

1. Breakfast at The Kitchen Table

Start the day on Broad Street at The Kitchen Table. Kids love hunting for the giant pen hidden among the hundreds of funny signs on the walls, and the staff are happy to joke right back. Order the Birthday Cake Pancakes (whether or not it’s anyone’s birthday) and the Mancakes, pancakes stuffed with sausage and pepper jack, for the bigger appetites. Grown-ups, the North Pole Mocha is on the winter drink menu. It’s walk-in only and closed Tuesdays, so go early on weekends. More in my Kitchen Table guide.

2. Meet the Animals at Eagle Eye Farm

About 25 minutes from Prescott, outside River Falls, Eagle Eye Farm is home to more than 130 animals from 14 species, and it’s open every day of the year from 10 to 4, rain, shine or snow. Kids can meet alpacas, llamas, goats and donkeys, plus a few surprises: kangaroos (one is named Rooby), porcupines, peacocks, mini Highland cattle, Kune Kune pigs, fluffy angora bunnies and even an armadillo.

A self-guided visit is about $15. For something extra, book ahead to feed Rooby the kangaroo or feed a porcupine. Before you leave, stop in the farm shop for alpaca socks. In winter, they’re the best souvenir you can buy.

3. Go Snow Tubing

Tubing is the great equalizer: no lessons, no rentals, just screaming down a hill and riding back up. Most tubing parks require riders to be at least 42 inches tall, so check before you go.

• Trollhaugen, Dresser: 10 lanes with a conveyor lift, about an hour from Prescott. Last season, tickets were $28 for all ages, tube included, with reservations required. Open Friday evenings and weekend afternoons, with extra days over the holiday break.
• Buck Hill, Burnsville: Lit, curbed lanes about 40 minutes away, with two-hour sessions that ran $17 to $26 last season. In late February, watch for their Northern Lights Tubing nights, with lights synced to music.
• Wild Mountain, Taylors Falls: Their “Wild Chutes” have a magic carpet, views over the St. Croix valley and evening “Starlight” sessions with colored lights and music. There are smaller tubes for little ones.
• Badlands SnowPark, Hudson: Seven lighted tubing chutes, about 30 minutes north. Check their site for this season’s hours and tickets.

Insider tip: If you’d rather keep it simple and free, Kinnickinnic State Park, about 15 minutes north of Prescott, has a sledding hill off the Brown Trail parking lot. Bring your own sled and a Wisconsin state park vehicle pass.

4. Bowling and a Movie

For a cold or snowy afternoon, head indoors.

• The Falls Theatre, River Falls: This little downtown theater opened in 1927 as the Princess Theatre, and the same family has run it since 1972. It still shows first-run movies on two screens at small-town prices.
• St. Croix Lanes, River Falls: A classic family bowling alley with a bar and grill serving pizza, sandwiches and appetizers, plus a Friday fish fry.
• Hudson Bowling Center: Another option up in Hudson. Call ahead, since league nights fill the lanes.
• The Hudson YMCA: A warm, zero-entry leisure pool and a 14-foot waterslide, just in case your kids need to swim in January. Call ahead about day passes.

5. See Where the Rivers Meet at Freedom Park

Back in Prescott, drive up to Freedom Park on the bluff, where the St. Croix meets the Mississippi. On winter weekends, the Great River Road Visitor and Learning Center is open Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from noon to 5, and admission is free. The exhibits cover eagles and river wildlife, river boats and the people who lived along the rivers. Then head out to the overlook and count eagles. They gather over the open water all winter, and kids who spot one first get bragging rights for the rest of the day.

Warm Up With Dinner

• Prescott Tap: The kids’ menu is $6.99 for kids 12 and under (pizza, cheeseburgers or tenders with fries), and there’s pool and arcade games.
• Two Rivers Lodge: Trains roll by the windows all evening, and the Paul Bunyan Carrot Cake is big enough for the whole table. Go early, before the late-night crowd.
• Prescott Roadhouse: $7 kids’ meals, including mac and cheese and corn dogs, plus brisket and sushi for the grown-ups.
• Ichiddo Ramen: Build-your-own ramen bowls are a fun first for a lot of kids.

See more in my guide to family dinner spots in Prescott.

Good to Know Before You Go

• Check hours before you go. Tubing parks open once there’s snow and cold, usually by mid-to-late December, and some 2026–27 prices aren’t posted yet.
• Pack extra mittens and socks. Wet mittens end a tubing session fast.
• Short days: In December and January, the sun sets around 4:30. Plan outdoor fun for midday.
• More winter ideas: See my winter events guide and ski guide.

Plan Your Stay in Prescott

Make downtown Prescott your home base and book direct with us: The Port of Prescott for boutique king suites steps from the river, Port After Dark for romantic suites made for couples, The Harbor Hotel for themed rooms and extended stays, and The Cove Guest House for downtown condos and group getaways.