Welcome to Upham Woods
Operating since 1941, Upham Woods is a model residential outdoor learning center, managed by the University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension. The center sits on a prime location on the Wisconsin River, two miles north of the Wisconsin Dells, offering an excellent “river classroom” to study both the natural and cultural history of Wisconsin. The center rests on 318 total acres of forested land, including a 210-acre island called “Blackhawk Island.” The facility consists of 14 buildings including a fully equipped nature center and a raptor enclosure housing educational birds of prey. The center supplies lodging for 200 people, meals, and outdoor education year-round for youth and youth leaders, including environmental lesson plans, summer camp programming, leadership workshops and other conferences.
Upcoming Events

Donate to Upham
Upham Woods has long provided environmental education to the public, making certain this valuable knowledge and connection to nature is accessible to the people of Wisconsin. To help ensure we can continue this mission, we are happy to accept any donations or contributions our community might send our way.
Recent Blog Posts
At Upham Woods, we believe that learning should be a joyful and inclusive experience for people of all ages. That’s why we were thrilled to collaborate with “Grandparents University” and had memorable nature classes, where kids and their grandparents came together for a fun-filled exploration of nature and wildlife. For the first day, our dedicated […]
Hi Everyone! My name is Katie, and I am the Accessibility Intern at Upham Woods! Since my last blog post, the summer has picked up and many exciting things are happening at Upham Woods. Two of the projects and initiatives I have directly participated in are Upham Woods’ new partnership with Access Ability Wisconsin (AAW) […]