La Crosse

Why the geography is the attraction

The last glaciation stopped short of south-western Wisconsin, leaving a region of narrow valleys and steep ridges that geologists call the Driftless Area. La Crosse sits where the La Crosse and Mississippi rivers meet, with bluffs rising directly from downtown. That combination — a compact historic street grid and 180 metres of vertical relief within the city limits — is what makes it worth a night.

What to do

Grandad Bluff

A city park on the bluff top, a ten-minute drive from downtown, with a stone shelter and a viewing platform 180 metres above the valley. On a clear day you can see into Minnesota and Iowa. Go at sunset; the road up is steep but paved and there is parking at the top.

The historic downtown

Three or four blocks of 19th-century commercial buildings along Pearl Street and Third Street, much of it intact: cast-iron shopfronts, a former theatre, and a farmers market on Saturday mornings in season. It is small enough to walk in an hour and pleasant enough to spend longer.

The Mississippi riverfront

A riverside park with a walking and cycling trail that runs for 160 km along the river. Paddlewheel excursion boats run from the levee in summer, and the municipal marina has a very good view of the bridge at dusk.

Riverside Museum and the pumping station

The regional history museum, housed partly in a 19th-century waterworks building on the river. Cheap, well put together, and a good hour on a wet day.

Oktoberfest

One of the larger Oktoberfests in the Midwest, held in late September and early October, with a parade, a maple-leaf parade for children, and a great deal of beer. Book accommodation months ahead. The city also has a strong German heritage that shows in its bakeries the rest of the year.

The Driftless Area around it

This is the real reason to base here. Within 60 km there are more good ridge roads, trout streams and small towns than you can cover in a week:

• Highway 35 north — the Wisconsin section of the Great River Road, running 160 km along the Mississippi through Alma and Fountain City.
• Viroqua and the Kickapoo Valley — an organic-farming town with a good co-op and access to a quiet river for paddling.
• Wildcat Mountain State Park — bluff-top camping and a canoe trail on the Kickapoo.
• Perrot State Park — 150-metre bluffs where the Trempealeau River meets the Mississippi.
• Prairie du Chien — an hour south, the oldest European settlement in Wisconsin, where the Wisconsin meets the Mississippi.

Where to eat

The downtown has a good spread for a city this size: a couple of serious restaurants, several breweries, a bakery that has been running for decades, and German-influenced butchers. Friday fish fry is standard; the supper clubs are on the edges of town.

Where to stay

• Downtown — walkable to the restaurants, the river and the historic blocks.
• Bluff side — motels and rentals on the ridge with valley views.
• State park camping — Perrot and Wildcat Mountain, both within 45 minutes.

Getting there

• From Madison: 225 km, about 2 hours 20 on I-90/94.
• From Milwaukee: about 3 hours 30.
• From Minneapolis: 2 hours 40.
• By air: La Crosse Regional, 10 minutes from downtown, or Madison as a larger alternative.

When to go

Late September and October: colour, harvest and Oktoberfest. Summer for river trips and bluff hiking. Spring for trillium on the forest floor and trout season. Winter is quiet but the bluffs look their best under snow, and hotel rates are at their lowest.

For the drive along the river, see the Great River Road itinerary. For the region, Places to Go.