You see it from US 10 before you know what it is: a flagpole and a cluster of figures on a ridge west of town, lit up at night. That is the Highground Neillsville shares with the rest of Wisconsin, a veterans memorial park with close to a thousand Google reviews and an average of 4.9 stars.
The Highground is a 155-acre park about 3.5 miles west of downtown Neillsville, on Ridge Road just off the highway. It is free, it never closes, and it holds more than a dozen tributes to American veterans from World War I onward, a museum, a gift shop and four miles of trails. Here is how to see it properly.
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What the Highground is
From the point of the plaza the land drops away and you can see roughly half a million acres of woodland and farmland rolling out toward the horizon. On a clear day the view is half the reason to come.
How it started
The story begins in Vietnam in 1965, when a soldier named Tom Miller held a mortally wounded friend and promised that his death would not be forgotten. In 1984 Miller and other veterans who had made similar promises set up the Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project and went looking for a site. They considered ten places around the state and chose this ridge outside Neillsville. It sits close to the middle of Wisconsin, near enough for a veteran from anywhere in the state to visit and get home in a day.
The first fundraising bike tour rode in 1985. A 70-foot flagpole went up in 1986. The park and its first tribute were dedicated in 1988, and the name later changed to the Highground as memorials to veterans of other wars were added. The building that now holds the gift shop and visitor center opened in 1996, and the Learning Center, with a library and gallery, followed in 2010.
The tributes, in the order you will meet them
There is no fixed route, but most people start at the visitor center, pick up the free audio tour from the gift shop, and walk out across the plaza. These are the tributes worth knowing about before you go.
Fragments, the Vietnam tribute
Fragments was the first tribute, dedicated in 1988, and it is still the heart of the plaza. Chimes hang with it, and their sound carries across the plaza. Nearby is the National Native American Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated in 1995 as the first national memorial placed at the Highground.
The Earthen Dove effigy mound
Dedicated in 1989, the Effigy Mound Peace Dove is a modern earthwork shaped like a bird in flight, built in the tradition of the effigy mounds left by earlier peoples across Wisconsin. It is lit in the evening, along with the other tributes.
Gold Star, the Nurse and the Doughboy
The Gold Star Tribute (1990) honors the families of those killed in service. In 1992 the Nurse tribute and the Doughboy, a World War I infantryman, were added. The Highground was one of the first veterans memorials anywhere to include a tribute to women who served.
World War II, Korea and the Gulf War
The World War II Veterans Tribute was dedicated in 1993, alongside a pow wow arena used for traditional gatherings. The Korean War Tribute followed in 2007, with tribute stones laid out on a stretch of ground shaped like a rice paddy. In 2012 work began on the Gulf War boot print memorial for those who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Operation Desert Storm.
WASP, the Liberty Bell and the Meditation Garden
A tribute to the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the first women trained to fly American military aircraft, was dedicated in 2006. So were the Meditation Garden, the Ascension of Doves and the Fountain of Tears. You can ring the replica of the Liberty Bell in its own shelter, dedicated on July 4, 2002. Engraved legacy stones and blocks line the grounds, sold to families to raise money for the park.
The museum and the Learning Center
The museum in the visitor center rotates several exhibits through the year, so a second visit rarely looks the same as the first. The Learning Center, dedicated in 2010, adds a library, a media center and a gallery.
If you are bringing children, this is the part that makes the plaza make sense to them. The park's stated mission includes educating visitors about the human cost of war, and the museum is where that happens.
Legacy stones: adding a name
The engraved stones around the grounds are not decoration. Since 1995 the park has sold legacy stones and tribute stones so families can put a veteran's name on the Highground, and the money pays for upkeep. Korean War tribute stones sit on the rice paddy, and meditation stones line the garden. The park has a stone coordinator, so ask at the gift shop if you want to order one.
Getting there
From downtown Neillsville, follow US 10 west, the stretch named the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Highway, for about three and a half miles and turn onto Ridge Road at the Highground signs. The park entrance and parking are a short way up the hill. It is about 3.5 miles from downtown in a straight line, and the Moraine Motel is on the same road.
There is no public transport out here, so plan on a car. Coming from Eau Claire, you leave I-94 at Osseo and pass the Highground on US 10 on the way into town.
The trails and the treehouse
Beyond the plaza, about four miles of walking trails loop through the park's woods and across footbridges. They make a quiet extension to the plaza, and dogs are welcome on a leash.
The treehouse, finished in 2005, is built to be wheelchair accessible, so a visitor who cannot manage the trails still gets up into the canopy. The main plaza, parking and visitor center are accessible too.
Visiting: hours, cost and how long to stay
Admission is free. Donations, the gift shop and the sale of engraved stones keep the park running, so if you want to give something back, buy something in the shop.
Give it at least an hour for the plaza and the museum, two if you walk the trails or use the full audio tour. The museum and gift shop hours are the limit; the grounds stay open all night. Weekday mornings are quiet. Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans Day are the park's biggest events of the year.
The plaza sits on an open ridge, so dress for the weather, and bring a layer in spring and fall.
Coming back after dark
The plaza, the Effigy Mound Peace Dove, the Gold Star tribute and the other memorials are lit every evening, and the Vietnam tribute and the Native American memorial can be seen from a long way off. The park stays open, so a second visit at dusk is easy if you are staying nearby. It is a very different place with nobody else on the plaza and the lights coming up over the woods.
Events through the year
The Highground runs a full calendar beyond the three big national holidays. There are retreats for veterans and their families, including programs for women veterans, couples and winter retreats, all offered at no cost to veterans. Reunion days, a military vehicle expo, motorcycle rides and an annual bicycle tour in the spirit of that first 1985 fundraiser fill out the summer.
Dates change each year and are posted by the park; the town's Events tab carries them as they are announced.
Staying and eating nearby
For food, US 10 west has two good stops. Broasted chicken at the Speakeasy, about 1.5 miles further west, is the order there, and the outdoor bar opens from Thursday to Sunday.
Next door, the Silver Dome Ballroom books live music on its own schedule. Further out on County B, the Wildcat is a supper club open Thursday to Saturday evenings.
Back in town, eating out in Neillsville runs from breakfast at 6 to the Friday fish fry.
The Highground pairs naturally with an afternoon among the other things to do in Neillsville, from Chatty Belle to the arboretum on the Black River.
Frequently asked questions
Published September 21, 2026
