New place to roll at Wadena Lanes

By Heather Rule

Wadena Lanes always ensures its facility is up-to-date, usually making needed improvements over the summer. Most recently, the alley’s biggest project was upgrading the actual bowling lanes.

Wadena Lanes has been family-owned and operated for about 42 years. The 12-lane bowling alley is a USBC-certified facility with automatic scoring, bumpers and ball retrieval.

In September 2023, Wadena Lanes replaced its bowling lanes with synthetic lanes. Though the previous wood lanes were still in good shape, maintaining them wasn’t as feasible when it came to cost of materials and difficulty finding personnel to resurface wood lanes.

“So, it just made sense to go to synthetic lanes, they call them now,” said Wadena Lanes owner Mike Almer. “There’s less maintenance and more consistency.

“Consistency is always better on synthetic, usually because the whole panel’s the same. Where wood is natural, so you get different friction. They react different. A synthetic lane is a harder surface, so a ball will skid more where a wood lane is softer.”

Overall, bowlers like the new lanes and have scored well, Almer said. Wadena Lanes also has a newer lane machine which puts out consistent oil patterns, something that also makes a difference for bowlers.

The lanes have league nights Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with men’s, women’s and mixed leagues, plus a junior league for youth on Fridays and Saturdays. Open bowling is usually available every day they’re open as well. The lanes are closed every Wednesday. Saturday nights also include jackpot bowling complete with cosmic lights from the new LED system the alley added a couple of years ago.

Along with bowling, Wadena Lanes also has a pro shop and can custom-drill bowling balls. There’s a full arcade for additional entertainment. When bowlers work up an appetite, the facility’s kitchen offers yummy selections like burgers, fries and homemade pizzas, plus they have a full liquor license.

“It’s friendly, family atmosphere,” Almer said. “We do a lot of birthday parties. They can bowl, or if they’re not a bowler they can relax and eat or drink. It’s a place to socialize. There’s not a ton of places to do that where the whole family can. Kids to adults that can have a creation and then also can eat and drink.”

Wadena Lanes is open during the fall, winter and spring months, typically shutting down for the summer in June, July and August.