Yes! Thank you for this. We went to La Crosse for my husband's birthday weekend in 2011. We mostly went to ride bikes there on the Sparta Trail, but now I think we need to go back to get some hiking in too.
We loved staying at the Charmont. Our room had a great view of the river. We found Sagra a great little restaurant within walking distance: Locally sourced. Seasonally Obsessed. Thoughtful food.
Thanks for reminding me of these beautiful areas surrounding La Crosse. A long time ago I took my car and bicycle a few times up to Onalaska. Parked at a trailhead there and rode up to Trampalou. Who could resist going to a little town with a name like that, to check it out. Spent some nice afternoons in the hotel Trampalou Saloon Patio, a nice grassy area on the river side of the building. You could watch the river and its traffic roll by from there.
Great views from the state park.
If you drove up to Onalaska from Prairie du Chien, you passed through a lot of small river towns. One is called Ferryville. It is a very narrow town limited by the river on one side and a steep hill on the inland side. In town on the highway, there is a cheese factory. They had a retail shop inside the cheese factory. They had a great cheddar. You could go into a sampling room and taste the different cheeses. For cheddar, you could separately taste, one year old, two year old on up to 5 year old. It got better and better. Then after several years, I went thru there to get my cheese fix and the factory was still in operation, but the retail store inside it was permanently closed.
This is great intel! I would have loved to have sat a spell at the Trempealeau saloon patio! It looked so inviting. We had to get back for some dumb reason.
Love those small river towns, and thanks for the ideas. Cheers, Steve!
We love exploring this area and have been there many times. There is a really good butcher shop in LaCrosse that sells their homemade brats. And that is reason enough to visit!
If you're staying in LaCrosse as part of a Laura Ingalls Wilder trip — we had a very good lunch at The Pickle Factory in Pepin, Wisconsin. My parents prefer eating inside, so that's what we did, but it looked like very good patio seating and a lovely view of the lake.
And I second the LAX Friendship Gardens! Just an all-around lovely spot.
if you're into music at all then a stop at Dave's Guitars in La Crosse is a must. Maybe the most famous independent guitar shop that's not located in NY/LA/Nashville which sees many a rockstar through as a customer and the owner Dave himself has a museum sized collection running the entire upstairs of the shop of hundreds of historic items (every color from every year type stuff) of which none is for sale, just for viewing. (https://www.davesguitar.com/collections/the-dave-rogers-collection)
I married a girl from there so have visited annually for 60+ years. Agree it is a best-kept Midwest secret, and Riverside Park and the adjacent Charmant are the Crown Jewels. Octoberfest (Sep 24-27, 2026) is the highlight of the year (but call now for accommodations!).
AND, from there/then you can segue west across I-90 to US 71, then south to Okoboji Writers Retreat (Sep 27-30th) at Iowa Lakeside Labs. What's not to like?
For half a second with that image, I thought Buzzard Billy's had moved to Fourth Street downtown.
It's a great look. When I saw it on the street I stopped in awe. Such a pretty building.
Yes! Thank you for this. We went to La Crosse for my husband's birthday weekend in 2011. We mostly went to ride bikes there on the Sparta Trail, but now I think we need to go back to get some hiking in too.
We loved staying at the Charmont. Our room had a great view of the river. We found Sagra a great little restaurant within walking distance: Locally sourced. Seasonally Obsessed. Thoughtful food.
Terrific leads! Thanks so much. Both sound like winners!
Thanks for reminding me of these beautiful areas surrounding La Crosse. A long time ago I took my car and bicycle a few times up to Onalaska. Parked at a trailhead there and rode up to Trampalou. Who could resist going to a little town with a name like that, to check it out. Spent some nice afternoons in the hotel Trampalou Saloon Patio, a nice grassy area on the river side of the building. You could watch the river and its traffic roll by from there.
Great views from the state park.
If you drove up to Onalaska from Prairie du Chien, you passed through a lot of small river towns. One is called Ferryville. It is a very narrow town limited by the river on one side and a steep hill on the inland side. In town on the highway, there is a cheese factory. They had a retail shop inside the cheese factory. They had a great cheddar. You could go into a sampling room and taste the different cheeses. For cheddar, you could separately taste, one year old, two year old on up to 5 year old. It got better and better. Then after several years, I went thru there to get my cheese fix and the factory was still in operation, but the retail store inside it was permanently closed.
This is great intel! I would have loved to have sat a spell at the Trempealeau saloon patio! It looked so inviting. We had to get back for some dumb reason.
Love those small river towns, and thanks for the ideas. Cheers, Steve!
We love exploring this area and have been there many times. There is a really good butcher shop in LaCrosse that sells their homemade brats. And that is reason enough to visit!
Why does it not surprise me that there's a good butcher shop there that sells homemade brats! That's so Wisconsin. Love it and thanks for the tip.
If you're staying in LaCrosse as part of a Laura Ingalls Wilder trip — we had a very good lunch at The Pickle Factory in Pepin, Wisconsin. My parents prefer eating inside, so that's what we did, but it looked like very good patio seating and a lovely view of the lake.
And I second the LAX Friendship Gardens! Just an all-around lovely spot.
Great tip. And, as I always say, "Listen to Sadye!"? :)
if you're into music at all then a stop at Dave's Guitars in La Crosse is a must. Maybe the most famous independent guitar shop that's not located in NY/LA/Nashville which sees many a rockstar through as a customer and the owner Dave himself has a museum sized collection running the entire upstairs of the shop of hundreds of historic items (every color from every year type stuff) of which none is for sale, just for viewing. (https://www.davesguitar.com/collections/the-dave-rogers-collection)
My husband--who's played a beautiful, blond telecaster since the 1970s--would love this place. Thanks for the lead!
I married a girl from there so have visited annually for 60+ years. Agree it is a best-kept Midwest secret, and Riverside Park and the adjacent Charmant are the Crown Jewels. Octoberfest (Sep 24-27, 2026) is the highlight of the year (but call now for accommodations!).
AND, from there/then you can segue west across I-90 to US 71, then south to Okoboji Writers Retreat (Sep 27-30th) at Iowa Lakeside Labs. What's not to like?
I need to get to that Charmant hotel! And I could spend hours at the Riverside Park. In fact, I did!
Haha-you raise a good point about the Okoboji Writers Retreat! It wouldn't be too inconvenient. Maybe stop in Decorah just for fun!
Thank you. It is a rather mesmerizing spot! I could stare at the river and bluffs all day!