14 Things to Do in Northern Price County WI Catawba Fifield

Three towns, 1,652 people combined, and more public land than you can explore in a week. This is the northern Price County nobody talks about.

Most Price County tourism guides focus on Phillips and Park Falls. Makes sense. They’re the population centers. But drive north of Highway 8 and you hit a stretch of Wisconsin where the towns get smaller, the forests get bigger, and the list of things to do gets longer if you know where to look.

Catawba (pop. 141), Fifield (pop. 948), and Prentice (pop. 563) sit within a 25-mile corridor along Highway 13 and Highway 8. Combined, they have fewer residents than a single block of apartment buildings in Madison. What they do have: the highest point in Wisconsin, two wild rivers, a 1.5-million-acre national forest, 450 miles of ATV trails, and enough logging history to fill a museum. Three museums, actually.

We’ve driven this corridor dozens of times. Here are 14 things worth doing across all three towns, organized by area so you can plan a loop.

Catawba: The Smallest Stop

1. Paddle the South Fork Jump River

The South Fork Jump River crosses Highway 86 just south of Catawba, and almost nobody paddles it. The Jump River system forms at the confluence of the North and South Forks in southwestern Price County and flows roughly 25 miles through Rusk, Taylor, and Chippewa counties before hitting the Holcombe Flowage. The South Fork near Catawba is small, rocky, and quiet. Class I riffles break up flatwater stretches. Smallmouth bass hold in the current seams. Walleye sit in the deeper bends.

No outfitter runs shuttles here. You’re on your own. Park a vehicle downstream, paddle back to it. The water is shallow in summer, so a canoe works better than a kayak. The banks are undeveloped for long stretches, and you’ll see more deer than people.

See also: Best Fishing Spots in Price County: A Local’s Guide for species, regulations, and access points on the Jump River system.

2. Explore the Catawba Historical Museum

The Catawba town hall was built in 1921, and the village incorporated in 1922. The building doubles as a historical museum with logging tools from the Red Birch Lumber Company era, photographs from when the railroad came through in 1884, and records from the Catawba State Bank, which opened in 1916. Peter Hammer ran the sawmill and the Commercial Hotel. Hamm’s Brewing Company operated a saloon and pool hall. Gruber’s store and opera house hosted community events.

The museum is open by appointment and during community events. Call the village clerk to arrange a visit. You can see everything in 30 minutes, but it tells the story of a town that went from logging camp to railroad stop to farming community to one of the smallest incorporated villages in Wisconsin.

3. Fish the South Fork for Smallmouth Bass

The South Fork Jump River near Catawba holds smallmouth bass in numbers that surprise people who assume a river this small can’t produce. The riffles between pools are where the bass sit. A small crankbait or tube jig worked through the current breaks will get hits. Walleye are present in deeper holes, especially where the river bends and scours out pockets.

Shore access is limited. The best fishing requires wading or a small boat. Bring wading boots with studs because the rocks are slick. The Jump River got its name from either the jumping rapids or a 19th-century forest fire that jumped the river, depending on which local historian you ask. Either way, the water moves faster than it looks and rises quickly after rain.

4. Drive the Highway 8 Scenic Corridor

US Highway 8 runs east-west through Catawba, and the stretch between Prentice and Kennan is one of the most underappreciated drives in northern Wisconsin. You pass through alternating patches of Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, county forest land, and small farms. The terrain rolls through glacial moraine country, with the South Fork Jump River visible from the highway at the Catawba crossing.

This is not a designated scenic byway. There are no signs, no pull-outs with interpretive plaques, no visitor center. It’s just a good road through quiet country, and in late September when the maples turn, it’s as good as any drive in the state. The speed limit is 55, but you’ll want to slow down for the deer crossings.

Fifield: Where the Flambeau Crosses the Highway

5. Paddle the South Fork Flambeau River

The South Fork Flambeau runs right through Fifield, and it’s one of the quieter paddling rivers in northern Wisconsin. The North Fork gets more attention from outfitters and guidebooks, but the South Fork has less traffic, calmer stretches, and some of the best smallmouth bass water in the region. Naturalist Aldo Leopold wrote that his father deemed all good camp spots, fishing spots, and woods “nearly as good as the Flambeau.” That quote is from the 1940s, and the river still delivers.

You can put in near Fifield and paddle downstream toward the confluence with the North Fork inside the Flambeau River State Forest. The river mixes flatwater with Class I riffles, which means it’s beginner-friendly but not boring. Eagles, otters, and the occasional black bear on the bank.

9 Mile Tavern, about 9 miles west of Fifield on Highway 70, rents canoes and kayaks. The bar opened in the 1930s and was run by Carm Ehler from 1958 until she passed at age 98 in 2023. Her family still runs it. Rent a boat, paddle the river, come back for a beer.

See also: Free Camping in Price County, WI: Where to Pitch Your Tent for riverside campsites along the Flambeau corridor.

6. Visit the Round Lake Logging Dam

The Round Lake Logging Dam sits 18 miles east of Fifield on the South Fork Flambeau, where the river flows out of Round Lake. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only known surviving logging dam in northern Wisconsin. Loggers built it between 1878 and 1886 to impound water for log drives on the Flambeau River system. They’d build up a head of water behind the dam, then release it all at once to flush logs downstream to mills in Eau Claire and beyond.

The structure is preserved and publicly accessible within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. You can walk up to it, see the timber construction, and read about how it worked. The Forest Service, Price County Historical Society, and Friends of the Round Lake Logging Dam rebuilt it between 1992 and 1995. It’s a 10-minute stop if you’re driving through, but it connects you to the history of the area in a way that a museum display can’t. This is the actual infrastructure that built Fifield.

7. Hike to the Fifield Fire Lookout Tower

The Fifield Fire Lookout Tower is a historic Forest Service structure in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007. The Wisconsin Conservation Commission built it in 1932, and the U.S. Forest Service took over operations in 1935. It remained in use until 1973, when aerial detection replaced ground-based fire spotting.

The tower itself may not be open to climb. Check with the Medford-Park Falls Ranger District for current access. But the hike to reach it takes you through northern hardwoods and pine plantations on forest roads that are quiet and rarely traveled. Pair it with the Round Lake Logging Dam and the old Fifield Town Hall (built 1882, burned in the 1893 fire, rebuilt by carpenter Theodore Ristin the next spring) for a self-guided history tour of the town.

8. Eat at Northwoods Supper Club

Northwoods Supper Club in Fifield is the kind of old-school Wisconsin supper club that people drive from Wausau to reach. Friday night fish fry is the main event. The building sits along the highway corridor, and the menu leans toward the classics: fried walleye, prime rib on weekends, and a salad bar that hasn’t changed in 20 years. This is not a place that tries to be trendy. It tries to be consistent, and it succeeds.

Call ahead for hours, especially in the off-season. Supper clubs in northern Wisconsin keep irregular schedules. If Northwoods is closed, 9 Mile Tavern west of town serves food and rents boats, so you can combine lunch and a paddle.

9. Explore the Price County Historical Society Museum

The old Fifield Town Hall, built in 1882, now houses the Price County Historical Society Museum. The original building burned in the fire of 1893 that destroyed 60 buildings in Fifield’s business district. The town rebuilt it the next spring with the same dimensions, under carpenter Theodore Ristin. Rebuilt structure is what you can visit today.

Inside: logging photographs, tools from the lumber camp era, records from the early sawmills that lined the Flambeau, and exhibits on the ghost town of Coolidge, which sits somewhere within the town borders of Fifield. The museum operates seasonally, typically Memorial Day through Labor Day, with weekend hours. Admission is free.

Prentice: The Crossroads

10. Ride ATV Trails Straight Out of Town

Prentice sits inside the Price County ATV trail system, which covers more than 450 miles of funded routes across county forest roads, town road connectors, and seasonal trails. You don’t need to trailer your machine to a trailhead. You unload at the staging area near the village, ride out, and come back for lunch.

The trails connect north toward Park Falls, south toward Phillips, and east into the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Spring through fall, ATVs and UTVs are a common sight on Prentice streets. The village welcomes riders with parking and trail staging areas near the highway corridor.

Ripsaw Saloon at 1117 Railroad Ave has trail access directly across the road. You ride in, lean the machine against the post, eat a burger, and ride back out. Riders from Wausau and Eau Claire drive two hours to stage here instead of somewhere closer.

See also: ATV Trails in Price County, WI: Complete Guide for trail maps, staging areas, and seasonal rules.

11. Walk the 17-Stop Village History Walk

Prentice exists because two railroads crossed here. The Wisconsin Central Railroad built its line through the forest in 1873, heading from Stevens Point to Ashland. The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway came through in 1893, crossing the first line at the south end of town. Everything built after that, from the lumber mill to the tannery to the commercial district, exists because of that junction.

The Village History Walk covers 17 landmarks from that era. You start at the old depot area, wind through the commercial district on Railroad Avenue and Main Street, and end near the tannery site. The plaques tell you what stood where. The Jump River Lumber Company sawed 100,000 feet of lumber per day at its peak. Fayette Shaw’s tannery produced 200,000 hides of sole leather annually, making it the second largest of its kind in the United States. It burned twice in 1906 and never reopened.

The whole walk takes under an hour. No app or reservation needed.

12. Fish and Paddle the Jump River

The Jump River runs right through Prentice. The Ojibwe called it Manidoons-ziibi, or Little Spirit River. In the 19th century, loggers drove timber down it to the Chippewa River mills. Today, fishermen and paddlers use it for recreation.

Public access points near the old mill site let you launch a kayak or canoe without a shuttle. You can paddle a short loop and take out at the village park. The river holds smallmouth bass in the riffles, walleye in the deeper pools, and northern pike in the slack water. The Jump River system is also one of twelve areas in Wisconsin where lake sturgeon may be legally harvested by hook and line.

The water level changes fast after rain. One theory about the river’s name is that the water “jumps” up and down rapidly after storms and thaws. Bring a rod and walk down to the bank. No permit needed beyond a Wisconsin fishing license.

See also: 5 Secret Swimming Holes in Price County for places to cool off after a hot day on the river.

13. Climb Timms Hill, Wisconsin’s Highest Point

Timms Hill is the highest natural point in Wisconsin at 1,951.5 feet, and it sits in Timms Hill County Park in the Town of Hill, about 15 miles from Prentice via Highway 86 and County Road H. A public observation tower sits at the summit. On a clear day, you can see Rib Mountain, 44 miles to the southeast by line of sight.

The 10-mile Timms Hill Trail connects to the Ice Age Trail, a National Scenic Trail that stretches 1,200 miles across glacial terrain in Wisconsin. You can hike a section of the Ice Age Trail as a day trip from the Timms Hill parking area. The trail passes through second-growth forest that was logged in the early 1900s and replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

This is the one attraction in northern Price County that shows up in statewide guidebooks. Most visitors drive in from Ogema or Tomahawk, but the Prentice approach via Highway 86 and County Road H is shorter from the east. The park has a parking area, picnic tables, and the observation tower. Free admission. The tower is open year-round, but the stairs can be icy in winter.

14. Eat at Northern Point Pub

Northern Point Pub sits on County Road A just north of Prentice at N5250. The phone number is 715-428-2010. The kitchen hours are seasonal, so call before you drive out. When Ripsaw Saloon closes on Tuesdays, Northern Point is the local fallback, and some locals prefer it for the quieter atmosphere and the view of the surrounding farmland.

The menu is standard Northwoods bar food: burgers, wings, Friday fish fry, and a Saturday night special that changes. The beer selection leans toward Wisconsin brands. What you’re paying for is the location. County Road A north of Prentice is one of the quietest stretches of paved road in the county, and the pub sits right on it. Ride your ATV up from the trail system, eat, and ride back.

See also: Complete Price County, Wisconsin Tourism Guide 2026 for the full county-wide itinerary.

Cross-references: Wisconsin Distilleries Guide: Spirits Worth the Drive from Prentice | Bars in Phillips, WI: The Real Northwoods Drinking Guide

See also: our weekend weather preview

Planning Your Northern Price County Loop

You can hit all three towns in a weekend if you plan it right. Day one: start in Catawba with a morning paddle on the South Fork Jump River, then drive east on Highway 8 to Prentice for lunch at Northern Point Pub or Ripsaw Saloon. Spend the afternoon riding ATV trails or hiking the Village History Walk. Day two: drive north to Fifield, paddle the South Fork Flambeau, visit the Round Lake Logging Dam and the historical museum, and have dinner at Northwoods Supper Club.

If you have a third day, drive to Timms Hill early. The observation tower is best in morning light, and the Ice Age Trail section nearby is worth at least two hours of hiking. Head back through Ogema and Kennan to complete the loop.

Distances are short. Catawba to Prentice is about 15 minutes on Highway 8. Prentice to Fifield is about 20 minutes north on Highway 13. Fifield to Timms Hill is about 15 minutes east on Highway 86 and then south on County Road H. You can base yourself in any of the three towns and day-trip to the others.

Gas stations are in Prentice and at the Highway 8 and Highway 13 intersection. Stock up before you head into the national forest sections. Cell service drops out east of Fifield on the way to Round Lake, so download maps ahead of time.

What you won’t find in northern Price County: crowds, traffic, or anything that feels like a tourist trap. What you will find: three towns that don’t advertise themselves, a river system that still looks the way it did when loggers drove timber down it, and the highest point in Wisconsin, all within a 25-mile corridor that most people drive through without stopping.

That’s the point. Stop next time.

Updated June 30, 2026. Price County Fun is a local independent publication covering Price County, Wisconsin. We’ve been writing about this area since 2025, and we drive these roads regularly.