If you want some obviously-Manitowoc photos from your trip, you're in the right spot. These iconic places will help you remember your trip so well that you won't even have to write next to the pictures in your scrapbook. Do people still do that, or is it just me? 

 

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse  

There's a good chance this one came to mind when you saw the title of this blog. Everyone needs a peaceful walk out to the lighthouse with a photoshoot on the pier. Open year-round, this photo op is definitely ol'reliable. Bonus points are awarded if you take the picture at sunrise over Lake Michigan. 

Woman walking out to Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse

 

Shipbuilder the Badger   

This welcoming badger is movable! It can turn to the lake to welcome passengers on the S.S. Badger Lake Michigan Carferry or turn to face the city so you can get a nice picture with the carferry in the background. Even if the carferry isn't in town, don't miss your opportunity to get a picture with Wisconsin's state animal. They are much less scary when they are steel. 

Woman waving like Shipbuilder the Badger sculpture in Manitowoc Wisconsin

 

The Big Cow   

Did you know that she has a name? It's Bernice. And this beautiful cow would love to be in your photos. Located on the front lawn at Cedar Crest Ice Cream, she invites you to grab a scoop or two of factory-fresh ice cream inside the parlor and then come out front to snap a pic. 

Woman standing in front of Bernice the Big Cow in Manitowoc Wisconsin

 

Ruth West Mural   

This large, colorful mural is hard to miss when visiting downtown Manitowoc. Ruth West is the subject of the inspiring mural. She was an inspirational woman who was instrumental in many of the lovely things we have to offer visitors today, including the Rahr-West Art Museum and the West of the Lake Gardens. 

Ruth West Imagination Mural in downtown Manitowoc Wisconsin with pink tree

 

Shipbuilders Company Park  

A popular spot for family and homecoming photos, the arbor and water fountain in Shipbuilders Company Park at the corner of Maritime Drive and N 8th Street make for a scenic backdrop. If you stand under the arbor, you can get both the fountain and the Manitowoc River in the background. While the fountain only runs in the warmer months, pumpkins and red leaves dot the arbor in fall, and large ornaments decorate it in the winter, allowing for a photo op that changes with the seasons.

Woman walking under the arbor at Shipbuilders Company Park in Manitowoc Wisconsin

 

Lion Fountain 

If you or your folks are originally from Manitowoc, you probably remember drinking from the lion fountain at the Manitowoc Lincoln Park Zoo. Go ahead and take another sip, or pretend that the lion has you in its grips. 

Lion water fountain at Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc

 

Sputnik Landing  

Did you really think I forgot? Last but not least, one of Manitowoc's most iconic markings. What looks like a ring in the middle of the road (because that's what it is) is actually a marker of incredible history in space exploration. In 1962, before space junk was much of a thing, a chunk of Russian Sputnik IV crashed into one of Manitowoc's busiest streets, right out front of the Rahr-West Art Museum. There's a plaque on the west sidewalk of N 8th Street next to the museum's front lawn. The best time to get this picture is during Sputnikfest, when 8th Street is closed. Pictured below is the original photo op in 1962 of two uniformed officers!

two officers standing at the sputnik marker