Vito Bortolotti (left) and Karen Sailer of the Eagle River Historical Society use a trove of archival materials to create the free, GPS-guided Clio tours, turning local history into interactive adventures. —Staff Photo By CHRISTINA BRANDMEIER
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Clio tours bring Vilas County history to life — right on your phone
Free app, website offer new way to explore North Woods’ past
Free app, website offer new way to explore North Woods’ past
By Christina Brandmeier, Lifestyle Editor, Vilas County News Review, 10/21/2025
If you’ve ever stumbled across an old resort, a weathered barn, or a curious local landmark and wondered about its story, there’s a new way to find out.
Clio tours bring Vilas County’s rich history straight to residents’ and visitors’ smartphones for free, turning everyday walks, back-road drives, and even bike rides or paddling trips into fun, educational adventures.
Working “like a local historian in your pocket,” Clio uses GPS to guide users to nearby sites and, through a mix of text, photos, and audio, offers an authentic and convenient way to explore the past.
“We’re telling our story in a way that moves us into the 21st century — providing access, deliverables, and opportunities for people to view our heritage destinations from afar online or up close on their cell phones as they visit a Clio destination,” said Jim Bokern of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society.
Clio, a national website and app highlighting thousands of historical and cultural sites, is available in the North Woods thanks to local enthusiasts like Bokern, a longtime history teacher, and area historical societies.
“We’ve been working for some time to build an archive of tours,” said Karen Sailer, development director at the Eagle River Historical Society (ERHS). “You can search tours by topic or by location. And the great thing is, there’s audio available, so you can put in your earbuds, put your phone in your pocket, and just listen and go.”
“It’s a very unique way for people to actually get out in their own communities, or even someone else’s community, and learn more about it,” added Vito Bortolotti, ERHS executive director. “We’re obviously focused in museums, but it’s taking the museum out of the museum a little bit.”
Heritage Tourism
That aligns with what Bortolotti said about a larger movement happening across Wisconsin, with heritage tourism — the concept of traveling to places of historical or cultural interest — growing in popularity.
“Heritage tourism has really been exploding across the state,” said Bortolotti. “Even just in the North Woods, Manitowish Waters and Three Lakes have boat tours and we have a downtown walking tour. So people want to get out and experience this stuff.”
“I think people are tired of being mindlessly entertained,” said Sailer when asked why she thinks it’s been such a large growth area for tourism. “Real life is often just as fascinating, if not more fascinating, than the stuff that’s made up. The stories we have in our archives and displays, you would think they’re not real, but we have documentation.”
While entertaining, the tours also have the potential to provide a broader economic boost by drawing visitors off the beaten path, as well as by preserving local history through digital storytelling, offering flexibility and cost-effectiveness that traditional methods like physical signage lack.
“It’s an amazing cost savings because when heritage groups, historical societies, museums put up signage, it’s so much money on the front end,” said Bokern. “They always deteriorate and you can’t edit them once you put them up.”
The digital tours also have educational value for schools and libraries. “It’s empowering educators,” Bokern said. “This gives kids easy access to appropriate historic information made by local communities. This isn’t exported from some faraway place. This is all grassroots, good stuff that the communities embrace.”
Spreading the word
Getting more community members to not only embrace the project but simply become aware of it is currently the biggest challenge. “We have a real usage gap or learning gap in digital media for heritage tourism. And that’s what we’re trying to close and link our communities together,” said Bokern.
To help with marketing, Sailer plans to apply for a Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant through Travel Wisconsin. “I feel like history is alive and well up here — we just want to see it deepened and out to more consumers,” said Sailer.
More content is currently underway, with Bokern hoping to develop a 20-stop pontoon Clio tour on the Eagle River chain, and Sailer open to having locals contribute stories or historical research. “We teach people research and writing skills to help create more tours,” she said.
How to access
Clio tours are available in Boulder Junction, Eagle River, Land O’ Lakes, Manitowish Waters, Presque Isle, and Three Lakes. To explore tours, visit nwiheritage.org and look for your area under the Communities tab. Users can also download the Clio app from the App Store on iPhones or Google Play on Android devices. For more information, contact your local historical society.
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