Great Spaces (Many FREE!) to Hold Your Next Meeting in Marathon County

WICentralTimeNEWSeditor, , ,

Written by Chad Dally

Whether you’re looking for a new place to host a meeting or gathering for your business, organization, church group, or family and friends — or you just need a quiet place to work or study all by yourself — chances are the staff at the County can help you find just the right spot!

Throughout Marathon County, we have dozens of reservable study and meeting rooms, shelters and chalets, and professional conference spaces available for public or private use — some free, others for a fee.

Let’s start with the Marathon County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department . . .

Marathon_County_Parks_Rec_Forestry_Logo

This department has nearly 20 different sites all around the County that can accommodate from just a few people to up to 800 people. Most of the sites can handle roughly between 50 and 100 people — like the Meeting Hall at Marathon Park, the shelters at the Big Eau Pleine Park, and the chalet at Nine-Mile County Forest.

BigEauPleinePark_EnclosedShelter
Waterfront views can be enjoyed at the spacious, enclosed reservable shelter at Big Eau Pleine Park.

Large groups can even reserve an entire campground between May and September at Big Eau Pleine or Eau Claire Dells County Parks!

Reservations can be made up to a year in advance. So, if you’re planning a wedding, a family reunion, or some other special event, call to reserve your spot.

9-Mile_Chalet
The chalet at Nine-Mile County Forest Recreation Area is available for rent during the year. It has seating for approximately 100 people and a total capacity of 175. Call the Park Office at 715-261-1550 or visit the Nine-Mile web page for details.

A printable PDF brochure listing all of the Parks Department’s reservable sites, fees, capacity limits, and more can be found here.

BROCHURE_ReservableShelters_001

But what if you just need a quiet place to study?

Few places offer a peaceful respite like the Marathon County Public Library (MCPL). Nearly all of our 9 locations have meeting spaces and study rooms available to the public — FREE!MCPL

The Wausau Headquarters, for example, has 2 smaller study rooms (with capacities of 6 and 10 people) that can be reserved for 2 hours at a time on a first-come, first-served basis — though they can be reserved up to a week in advance.

Several MCPL locations — Mosinee, Wausau, and Stratford — have meeting rooms for 20–30 people, which are great if you’re organizing a meeting for a State, County, or even Federal department that needs a central place to meet. (Non-government groups are welcome to reserve these rooms as well.)

Two additional MCPL rooms (one in Wausau and one in Mosinee) can accommodate up to 100 people. Those rooms must be reserved at least 10 days in advance.

And, yes, use of these big conference rooms is completely FREE!

MCPL Community Room
The glassed-in, reservable Community Room at MCPL Wausau Headquarters.

Other library locations have additional space inside their respective municipal halls and offices, but arrangements are not made through the library. Their use may be requested by contacting the appropriate village office:

All library rooms have chairs, tables, and free wifi. Some spots have sinks and refrigerators, too.

Use your own A/V equipment, or make an equipment request (must be at the time of your application) to borrow things like laptops, video projectors, TV/DVD sets, whiteboards, or a podium. Other equipment may be obtained from the library for use upon request. All requests are subject to availability.

Check out the Meeting/Study Rooms page of the library’s website for a full list of area library meeting and study rooms, capacity limits, amenities, and application forms to reserve rooms (after you check online for availability).

library meeting spaces screen capture

Rooms, classrooms, and even auditoriums are available to rent throughout the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point at Wausau campus as well!

View UW-Stevens Point at Wausau facilities available to rent in their downloadable handout, or get more details at their Facility Use page of their website.

uwsp facility use screen capture

Marathon County Government spaces are not the only facilities available to the public for personal or professional use — not by a long shot!

For more meeting location recommendations, call the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce and/or the Wausau and Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Whatever your need, and whatever the size of your group, chances are you can find someplace GREAT to meet in “Central Time” in Marathon County!

Chad Dally - MCPL - Library SpecialistChad Dally
Library Specialist  |  Marathon County Public Library

Chad Dally is a library specialist with the Marathon County Public Library, where he’s worked since 2012. He splits his time at the library between reference and programming, and generally prefers to read nonfiction over fiction. He’s heard chickens are smart, but the small brood he keeps at home provides evidence to the contrary.  Email Chad Dally

 You might also like…

Marathon_County_LogoPlease email our Editorial Board with your comments, suggestions, and article ideas.

And if you spot a typo or an inaccuracy, please contact us so we can fix it. Thanks!