Aliens are cool, but it’s especially cool when they buzz along the roof — and treetops — of very specific and tiny American towns. Some places seem to get lots of attention from our little green (or gray) space friends, and we’re not talking about UFO pilgrimage site and ultimate tourist trap, Roswell, New Mexico. We’re talking about three small communities in Wisconsin: Dundee, Belleville, and Elmwood. Each one claims to be the UFO Capital of the World, and each one has the sites and sightings to back it up.
Dundee, Belleville, and Elmwood each have differing claims to UFO fame. Dundee’s go back to the 1980s and ’90s UFO sightings, as well as the town’s first reported crop circle in 1947. Belleville’s had true believers since UFO sightings in the late ’70s. Elmwood also jumped on the UFO train in the ’70s. How these original events and their subsequent folklore led to each town dubbing itself the “UFO Capital of the World” is unknown. But at present, they all have UFO-themed holidays and festivals, parades and alien merch, locals (like Dundee’s Bill Benson) spearheading UFO research centers, and more.
Each town makes for a fun and weird place to visit during festival times and in general, full of homey food options, and each town is located 90 minutes or less from some major nearby city. And because Wisconsin also contains the self-proclaimed Loon Capital of the World (Mercer) and the Troll Capital of the World (Mount Horeb), you might spot some loons and trolls in Wisconsin in addition to cosmic visitors.
Brews, camping, and alien spotting in Dundee
Dundee, Wisconsin. Population: 8,151. Located in eastern Wisconsin about a one-hour drive up I-43 N from the nearest major city, Milwaukee, you wouldn’t know that you passed through Dundee unless Google told you. But aliens know about it, if locals are to be believed — lots and lots of locals with lots of strange stories about lights in the sky.
One such local, Bill Benson, was largely responsible for spreading the word of Dundee’s interplanetary weirdness. Inspired by the appearance of a crop circle near his home as a boy in 1947, Benson started Dundee’s annual UFO Daze festival for fans of extraterrestrial and paranormal happenings. He also spread word that a nearby earthen mound, Dundee Mountain, is an alien base, and opened Benson’s Holiday Hide-a-Way, a bar decked out with alien-themed regalia, including a little alien in a jar. Sadly, Benson died in 2021, and UFO Daze is no more.
Even so, Dundee makes for a fun trip. You can visit each of the aforementioned spots and camp out at Benson’s Century Camping north of the town and along the shore of Long Lake. The town center is basically a right-angled turn along Route 67 and is packed with food and hangout options: grills, a saloon, a burger joint with outdoor seating, a barbecue house, and a bakery all within walking distance of each other. It might just be the perfect place to soak up local tales and scan the night sky with a beer in hand. Also, the foodie town of Delafield is only a quick detour along the Milwaukee-Dundee route.
UFO Day festivities and alien merch in Belleville
See an alien-themed parade and grab some grub in Elmwood
Elmwood, Wisconsin. Population: 699. The last and smallest UFO Capital of the World is located in western Wisconsin about an hour east of Minneapolis along I-94. It is also surrounded by a whole lot of green. Elmwood’s brushes with galactic visitors date back to the 1970s and span the ’80s and ’90s. Residents appeared on “The Geraldo Rivera Show,” and the town also appeared on U.S. national news in a 1988 report by well-known newscaster Dan Rather. Such events definitely helped propel Elmwood’s reputation as a favorite of extraterrestrial visitors.
Elmwood is serious about its status as the UFO Capital of the World and goes all out. Not to be outdone by Belleville, Elmwood has UFO Days (plural) every July. Some young locals wear alien eye-shaped sunglasses and sashes designating them ambassadors of Earth. There’s street food, costumes, makeup, tinfoil hats, and UFO-themed floats rolling through the town center. The 2023 festival added wrestling to the mix — while wearing alien costumes, of course. Local Ginny Delong said of UFO Days to The New York Times, “It’s kind of like a big family get-together. But we’re also welcoming to people who want to come and experience it for the first time.” That sounds like a ringing endorsement to us.
UFO Days centers on Elmwood’s Main Street, where there are a couple of bars, a grill, and a cafe within eyeshot of one another. But the revelries seem to spread through the whole town. Come July, feel free to head out for a day or half-day trip and have a close encounter of the festive kind. This time, you could also visit the Sweden-themed town of Lindström on the way from Minneapolis.
