The internet has no shortage of “bars in Phillips, WI” lists. Chamber of Commerce directories, Yahoo Local pages, and Restaurantji roundups that all say the same thing: here are four names, here are their addresses, good luck. We’ve been behind the bar at Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice for years, and Phillips is 20 minutes down Highway 8 from us. We drink in Phillips. We know the owners. We know which bars pour generously and which ones phone it in on a Friday night.
This isn’t a directory. It’s a bar-by-bar breakdown of every place worth a stop in Phillips, Wisconsin, organized by what you’re actually looking for, with prices, hours, and the kind of details you only get from people who’ve been drinking in these bars for years.
What Bars Are in Phillips, Wisconsin?
Phillips (population 1,533) sits on the shore of Elk Lake in Price County, about 20 minutes west of us in Prentice on Highway 8. It’s the biggest town in Price County, which isn’t saying much, but it means Phillips has the most bars per square mile in the county. We count six bars and taverns in the Phillips area, and we’ve drank in all of them.
Here’s the full list: The Rock Garden Tavern, Badgers Den Sports Bar and Grill, Trailside Bar and Grill, Fusaks Tavern, Long John’s Resort and RV Park, and Club 13 (technically in Prentice, but close enough to include in any Phillips-area bar tour). Each one serves a different crowd, and knowing the difference is the difference between a good night and a bad one.
Where to Drink in Phillips When You Want the Full Northwoods Experience
The Rock Garden Tavern . Phillips
The Rock Garden Tavern on Highway 13 just south of Phillips is part bar, part museum, part roadside attraction. The tavern dates back to 1936, when retired lumberjack Fred Smith opened it on Highway 13 south of Phillips. Starting in 1948, Smith began building what would become the Wisconsin Concrete Park — over 200 life-size concrete and mixed-media sculptures that make this place unlike any other bar in the state. It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it’s exactly what a Northwoods bar should be: unmistakably local and impossible to replicate.
Inside, it’s a standard Wisconsin tavern. Bar, stools, beer signs, pool table. Spotted Cow and Leinenkugel on tap. A fish fry on Fridays that brings people from three counties over. The Rock Garden Tavern is now also an event venue with an upstairs vacation rental, but the bar still pours the same cold drinks it has for decades. Tap beer runs $3.50 to $5, and the Friday fish fry is $11.50 a plate. It’s the kind of place you take out-of-state friends to when you want them to understand Wisconsin. For more things to do in the area, check out our guide to swimming holes and local spots in Price County.
Where to Watch the Game in Phillips, WI
Badgers Den Sports Bar and Grill . Phillips
If you’re looking for a bar in Phillips where you can actually watch the Badgers, Packers, or Brewers on a proper TV setup, Badgers Den Sports Bar and Grill is your spot. As the name suggests, this place is built around Wisconsin sports. Multiple TVs, game-day specials, and a crowd that actually cares about the score. Located on Lake Avenue in downtown Phillips, it’s the first place locals head for a Packers Sunday or a Badgers Saturday.
The menu is what you’d expect from a Wisconsin sports bar: wings, burgers, cheese curds, and Friday fish fry. Beer on tap runs $3.50 to $5, and they’ve got bottle specials during Packers games that drop domestic bottles to $2.50. The Badgers Den also has a decent selection of Wisconsin craft beers, including Spotted Cow and New Glarus variants. If you want to watch a game in Phillips and actually hear the commentary, this is where you go — not the place where the jukebox is louder than the TV.
Where to Eat and Drink on the Trails Near Phillips
Trailside Bar and Grill . Phillips
Trailside Bar and Grill sits right on the snowmobile and ATV trail system that runs through Price County. The name isn’t a coincidence — you can ride your sled or wheeler right up to the front door. In a county where the trail system is the main tourist draw, a bar that’s actually on the trail matters. Trailside serves burgers, baskets, and bar food that hits different when you’ve been riding in 20-degree weather for four hours.
The crowd at Trailside is seasonal. In summer, it’s ATV riders and fishermen coming off Elk Lake. In winter, it’s snowmobilers running the Price County trail system. The bar is open Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays, which is standard for small-town Wisconsin. Tap beer is $3 to $4, and they’ve got a Friday fish fry that runs $9 to $12 depending on what you order. If you’re riding the trails near Phillips and need a beer and a burger, Trailside is the first stop.
Where to Go for a Quiet Beer in Phillips
Fusaks Tavern . Phillips
Fusaks Tavern is the old-school Phillips bar. No sports theme, no trail access gimmick, just a tavern where people have been drinking for decades. It’s the kind of place where the bartender knows your name by your second visit and your order by your third. If you want to drink without a crowd, without a TV blaring, and without anyone trying to sell you a t-shirt, Fusaks is where you go.
The bar is on Lake Avenue in Phillips, walking distance from downtown. Beer is cheap — $2.50 to $3.50 for domestic taps, and they still have $2 bottle specials on weeknights. The crowd is older, local, and not in a hurry. If you’re looking for the Phillips version of the bar your grandpa drank in, this is it. For a deeper dive into this style of bar, check out our guide to the best dive bars in the Northwoods.
Where to Stay and Drink Near Phillips
Long John’s Resort and RV Park . Phillips
Long John’s is technically a resort and RV park, but the bar is the social center of the property. Located on Elk Lake, Long John’s has cabins, RV sites, and a bar and grill that serves both guests and walk-ins. If you’re visiting Phillips and want a place to stay where you can also drink without driving, this is the only game in town.
The bar at Long John’s has a lakefront view, which is rare for a bar in Price County. Beer is $3.50 to $5, and they serve basic bar food — burgers, baskets, and a Friday fish fry that runs $10 to $13. The crowd is a mix of resort guests, locals, and fishermen. In summer, the deck is the best place to drink a beer in Phillips. In winter, the inside is warm and the snowmobilers park out front.
The Bar We’d Add to Your Phillips Tour . Prentice
Ripsaw Saloon . Prentice (That’s Us)
We’re 20 minutes east of Phillips on Highway 8, and if you’re doing a Phillips bar tour, you should add us to the list. We opened Ripsaw Saloon to be the kind of bar we wanted to drink in: no pretense, cold drinks, hot food, and a crowd that includes everyone from ATV riders to crypto enthusiasts to the guys who’ve been farming the same land for four generations. At 1117 Railroad Ave, right on Highway 8, we’re the first bar you hit coming into Prentice from the east.
We fry everything in beef tallow because it tastes better. We pour Old Fashioneds the Wisconsin way — brandy, sweet, and unapologetic about it. Our regulars have stories that would make a city bartender blush. The ATV crowd rolls in from the Tuscobia and Flambeau trail system with mud on their boots and cash in their pockets. Tap beer is $3.50 to $5, we’ve got 12 beers on tap, and our Friday fish fry is $12 with hand-battered cod fried in beef tallow. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
How to Plan a Bar Tour Through Phillips, WI
If you’re coming to Phillips specifically to bar-hop, here’s how we’d do it. Start at Long John’s on Elk Lake for a lunchtime beer with a view. Head into downtown Phillips and hit Fusaks Tavern for a quiet one. Walk over to Badgers Den if there’s a game on. Then drive south on Highway 13 to The Rock Garden Tavern for the fish fry and the folk art. End the night at Trailside if you rode in on the trails, or come east to Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice for a nightcap.
That’s six bars in a 25-mile radius, each with its own personality, each serving a different crowd, and none of them trying to be anything they’re not. That’s the Phillips bar scene in a nutshell. It’s not big, but it doesn’t need to be.
What Makes Phillips Bars Different From Other Wisconsin Bar Towns?
Phillips bars serve a mix of three crowds: year-round locals, seasonal tourists (ATV riders in summer, snowmobilers in winter), and lake people who own cabins on Elk Lake and the surrounding waters. That mix keeps the bars honest. You can’t survive on tourist traffic alone in a town of 1,533 people, so every bar in Phillips has to earn the regulars first.
That’s different from bar towns like Wisconsin Dells or Minocqua, where tourist traffic is so heavy that bars can coast on one-time visitors. In Phillips, if the locals stop coming, the bar closes. That pressure keeps prices low, portions big, and the beer cold. It also means the bartenders know the regulars, the regulars know each other, and visitors who show up with the right attitude get welcomed fast.
Why We Keep Coming Back to Phillips Bars
We could drive 90 minutes to Wausau for a night out. We could go to Minocqua and pay $7 for a beer. We don’t. We go to Phillips because the bars are real, the prices are right, and the people are the kind of people we want to drink with. When someone asks us where to find a bar in Price County, Phillips is the first name out of our mouths.
The next time you’re in Phillips, WI, looking for a bar, skip the directory lists. Pick one from this guide based on what you actually want — sports, trails, quiet, lake views, or a museum-quality roadside attraction — and go. You’ll find the kind of bar that makes Wisconsin the best drinking state in the country, and you won’t need Yelp to tell you that.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bars are in Phillips, WI?
Phillips has six bars and taverns in the immediate area: The Rock Garden Tavern, Badgers Den Sports Bar and Grill, Trailside Bar and Grill, Fusaks Tavern, Long John’s Resort and RV Park, and Club 13 in nearby Prentice. That’s more bars per capita than most Wisconsin towns, and each serves a different crowd.
What is the best bar in Phillips, WI?
It depends on what you’re looking for. The Rock Garden Tavern is the most unique bar in Phillips — it’s part bar, part folk art museum. Badgers Den is the best for watching sports. Fusaks Tavern is the best for a quiet beer. Trailside is the best if you’re on the ATV or snowmobile trails. Long John’s is the best if you want a lakefront view with your beer.
Are bars in Phillips, WI open on Mondays?
Most bars in Phillips are closed on Mondays, which is standard for small-town Wisconsin. Trailside Bar and Grill is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Badgers Den and Fusaks Tavern typically open Tuesday through Sunday. The Rock Garden Tavern is open Wednesday through Sunday. Long John’s hours vary by season. We’re open at Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice on Mondays, if you need a Monday bar in the area.
What are bar prices like in Phillips, WI?
Bar prices in Phillips are some of the cheapest you’ll find in Wisconsin. Domestic tap beer runs $2.50 to $5 at most bars. Bottle specials on weeknights drop to $2 at places like Fusaks Tavern. Friday fish fry runs $9 to $13 depending on the bar and what you order. You can drink and eat in Phillips for under $20 per person, which is hard to beat anywhere else in the state.
Can you ride ATVs or snowmobiles to bars in Phillips?
Yes. Phillips sits on the Price County trail system, and several bars are directly accessible from the trails. Trailside Bar and Grill is literally on the trail — the name says it all. The Rock Garden Tavern is accessible from the Highway 13 corridor trail. If you’re riding the Tuscobia Trail, you can cut over to Phillips in about 15 minutes from the main corridor. Our full guide to ATV trails that lead to bars in the area has the full route.