Drummond Bar Stool Races

The Drummond Bar Stool Races turn one of northern Wisconsin’s most ordinary pieces of furniture into a downhill racing machine. Held each winter at Drummond Lake Community Park, the long-running Drummond tradition sends competitors hurtling down a man-made snow hill on bar stools mounted to skis, with elaborately decorated bar stool creations, spectacular wipeouts and plenty of bragging rights along the way. The event was started in 1999 by the Drummond Dirt & Sno-Jacks and local business owners as a fundraiser for snowmobile trail grooming and maintenance, and has grown into the club’s biggest annual fundraiser.

The races include regular, Powder Puff and Open Class competition, with cash prizes and trophies for racers and awards for categories such as Best in Show and Best Wipe Out. Around the racing, the event becomes a full-blown Northwoods winter party with burgers, brats, chili, beverages, DJ music, raffles, contests, a heated pavilion and shuttle service to the park. The races have raised roughly $25,000 annually for trail work and equipment while also supporting local organizations, making the Drummond Bar Stool Races equal parts bizarre spectator sport, community fundraiser and quintessentially Wisconsin winter tradition.

The Drummond Bar Stool Races are typically held in February at Drummond Lake Community Park in Drummond, Wisconsin. The event is free to attend, with racers able to compete on their own bar stool or use one provided by the organizers. In 2026, the races also became part of Wisconsin’s recorded cultural history when the Wisconsin Historical Society filmed the event for the new State History Center in Madison.