Manitowoc submarine tour full#

Highly recommended if you are traveling the western shores of Lake Michigan or using the car ferry across Lake Michigan. Also more history regarding the building of the subs here. A time line of models of ships that travel the great lakes. Clean, a lot of displays, and information. The museum building is very well maintained.

If you have the chance to be in a smaller group on the tour grab it. Watch you head and knees moving through it!! The only down side was we were in a larger group which made it more difficult to see some things. Hard to image 88 men in these cramped quarters for 2-3 months at a time. It took between an hour and 1 1/2 hours to tour the sub with a knowledgeable young man as our guide. The tour of the sub alone is worth the trip. I enjoy history yet had no idea subs were built in the upper midwest. A lot of history in this museum about the area, the great lakes and the subs that were built in Manitowoc during WWII. Wisconsin Maritime Museum: Seniors beware of the submarine tour - See 527 traveler reviews, 273 candid photos, and great deals for Manitowoc, WI, at Tripadvisor. Almost looks like the sub is ready to cast off and head out on a mission. This article first appeared in the Summer Issue (Jul/Aug) 2019 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.We had taken the SS Badger across Lake Michigan and as you are docking you can see the museum and submarine clearly.

Manitowoc submarine tour full#

Please visit for a full schedule of events, hours of operation, and admission details.

The Wisconsin Maritime Museum is located at 75 Maritime Drive in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and is open year round, with hours adjusting seasonally. The Tolling of the Boats Ceremony at 10:00am on Sunday that weekend commemorated the US submarines lost in service in a moving ceremony on the deck of USS Cobia and was followed by special guest speakers and reduced museum admission. In 2019, SubFest was July 12-14 and featured music, food, sidewalk sales, self-guided submarine tours, fireworks, kid-friendly activities, and so much more. The biggest outreach event of the year - SubFest - happens the second weekend in July each year. Pier 75, the museum store, is stocked with special maritime gifts to make your visit memorable. Of course, no museum would be complete without a great place to pick up a unique souvenir. Located on the banks of the Manitowoc River just before it enters into Lake Michigan, the museum is also a great venue to relax at the end of the day on the roof deck SubPub in the summer. In particular, the Wisconsin Waterways room allows kids of all ages to engage in experiential learning with water tables and activity stations that may get visitors a little wet, but always puts a smile on their face. Hands on components throughout make this a perfect destination for families and multi-generational groups. These programs are popular with scout and youth groups and are a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with WWII history.Įxhibits on Great Lakes shipwrecks, Wisconsin boat building and maritime trades, and a working triple-expansion steam engine fill the museum galleries and tell a wider story of innovation, transportation, and recreation. In addition to daily tours, groups can arrange overnights on the sub year-round, complete with a comprehensive educational program and access to areas of Cobia usually not open to visitors. Guided tours are 45 minutes and run throughout the day. Our museum captures the history of Manitowoc on Lake Michigan and the entire great lakes region. Distinctively, Manitowoc turned out 28 submarines critical to US naval warfare in WWII, earning the city the title of “Freshwater Submarine Capital.”Īt the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, you can experience an in-depth tour of USS Cobia, an incredibly restored Gato-class submarine built in 1943 – identical to the submarines built here in WWII. Area shipyards were building graceful wooden sailing schooners in the 19th century and were turning out proud iron steamships by the turn of the twentieth century. Manitowoc’s rich shipbuilding heritage forms the foundation of the region’s largest maritime museum on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Ready to dive in maritime history? Look no further than the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.