Plamann Park 2025 08

Two weeks ago we finally visited Plamann Park. This is a park that I can remember visiting as a child. And I’ve used the Disc Golf Course many times throughout the years.

Key Features

• Plamann Lake & Inflatable Aquapark (Wibits): A man-made lake with a sandy beach, offering swimming and a popular inflatable water park with various obstacles and slides, perfect for summer fun.
• Children’s Farm: A unique, free attraction open during summer months, featuring young farm animals (calves, goats, piglets, lambs) that visitors can observe and pet from outside their pens. It provides an educational and engaging experience for families.
• Disc Golf Course: A highly-rated, 27-hole disc golf course with varying terrain, including hills and wooded areas, popular among local enthusiasts.
• Extensive Trail System: Miles of self-guided nature and hiking trails winding through scenic hills, woods, and prairies, ideal for walking, running, birdwatching, and enjoying the changing seasons.
• Winter Recreation: Plamann Park transforms into a winter wonderland with two sledding hills (one large, one small), groomed trails for cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing, and access to the wider Outagamie County snowmobile trail system.
• Playgrounds: Multiple playground areas, including one with a sandy bottom near the Children’s Farm, catering to younger children with swings and slides.
• Sports Facilities: The park offers various sports amenities, including volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and baseball diamonds available for rent after league seasons.
• Picnic Areas & Shelters: Numerous picnic tables and reservable shelters (like Brandt and Roblee Shelters) with amenities such as kitchenettes, grills, and nearby restrooms, perfect for gatherings and events.
• Educational Trails (Cow Path & Bird Trail): Specially designed educational walking paths, including the “Cow Path” shaped like a Holstein cow and a “Bird Trail” shaped like a chickadee with signs about native birds and a Butterfly Trail and Waystation.
• Seasonal Events & Accessibility: Plamann Park hosts various seasonal events, such as “Pints at Plamann” in the summer, and is generally wheelchair-accessible in key areas, including entrances and parking.

Review

In the header I mentioned that we finally visited Plamann Park. I say this because this should have been one of the first parks we should have visited for this site. It’s a large park on the north side of Appleton seems like a no brainer to visit.

Until this year though, the park did not have proper hiking trails. This year they have started building a paved trail that circles parts of the park. Up to this point the trail was the road through the park and a few small mowed trails around the Children’s Farm.

However we went to Plamann not expecting a newly paved trail. Our plan was originally to walk the road and explore the educational trails. We were pleasantly surprised by the upgrades to the park.

We parked near the Hillside, a newly erected enclosed pavilion or event hall. We had taken note of this newly paved path as we entered the park. Our other parking options were the lake and disc golf parking or between the softball fields and football fields.

A few years ago they blocked of the road that used to loop the park. This was done to make the section between the Hillside and Montessori a walking path. This area of the road had a lot of foot traffic already as the disc golf course crossed this section of the loop.

After parking we started walking east toward Montessori. We walked down into the small valley between the Hillside and the swimming lake. A small stream split the park at the low point between the two hills.

As we followed the old roadway back out of the valley the newly paved trail branched off to the north. Looking to explore we followed the new trail. Going through the disc golf course and passing the other roadway through the park. This new path lead all the way to Broadway Dr near the main entrance to the Park.

Turning west the trail crossed the double laned main entrance. Here the new pavement disappeared as the parks department was still in the process of completing the new trail. However the gravel base was already laid down so we continued our hike as the trail curved south to follow the main roadway.

Once again we crossed the little stream that flows through the park. Here we found a sign labeling the stream Apple Creek. This Apple Creek does eventually connect with the Apple Creek Trail creek. It is much smaller though.

Continuing on the trail we followed the main road past the park department buildings and between the baseball and football fields. But just before we got near the parking lot where we parked the trail forked. So instead of hooking back east to our car, we turned south and explored this new path.

This part of the trail followed another old loop of road through the park. However with the upgrades they are doing to the park the old road is being turned into a walking path. But they are also creating a new side entrance to the park off of North Meade Street.

As we followed the new loop in the trail we passed the Cow and Bird learning trails. These trails mowed into the long native grasses. They branch away from the Children’s Farm and have learning kiosks along their path.

Plamann Park had plenty of visitors that day. I wouldn’t have call it busy but I was surprised that running through and stopping on the path was a White-tail Deer fawn. It stopped and looked as us as we approached but eventually continued its run through the park.

Finishing the new loop we returned to our car. It wasn’t a long hike, just under 2 miles. But the day was getting hot and we had other things to do. So we left the park.

Plamann Park is a great place to go. With plenty of things to do its rare to find the park empty. We saw people visiting the Children’s Farm, the Hillside had signs for an up coming event, and there were plenty of cars parked near the swimming lake’s entrance.

Regardless of what I think of the park its enjoyed by many of its neighbors. Montessori is a bilingual elementary school based in the park. And our son spent two years of T-ball digging in the out field years ago. So needless to say we will return. Maybe not to do another post, but most definitely to disc golf.

Thanks again for reading. And feel free to share and post below.