Bay Beach Amusement Park is one of the genuine bargains in Wisconsin tourism: a city-owned amusement park on the shore of Green Bay that charges ride tickets at prices that haven't kept up with inflation — adults pay a dollar or two per ride, and admission to the grounds is free. The rides are old-fashioned rather than cutting-edge — a wooden roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a carousel — and the whole operation has the comfortable shabbiness of something that doesn't need to impress anybody because it already has their loyalty.
The park has operated since 1892 and has a loyal multigenerational following. It sits adjacent to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, making it easy to combine both in a single outing. The park is open May through Labor Day and is particularly popular on summer evenings with local families. It's the kind of place that exists because a city decided its residents deserved it — not because anyone was going to get rich running it.