We send guests to La Crosse regularly. It's 26 miles south of camp on Highway 61 — a 30-minute drive along one of the most scenic roads in the upper Midwest, hugging the Mississippi River the entire way. The road alone is worth it. What you find at the end of it is even better.
La Crosse, Wisconsin sits at the confluence of three rivers: the Mississippi, the Black, and the La Crosse. That geography isn't a trivia fact — it shapes everything about the city. The rivers create a landscape of bluffs, islands, and bottomland that defines what the city looks like, how people use it, and what makes it unlike most other Midwestern cities its size.
Grandad Bluff
If you do one thing in La Crosse, do this. Grandad Bluff rises 600 feet above the city, accessible by a short trail from the park at the top of Bliss Road. From the overlook at the summit, you see La Crosse spread out below you, the Mississippi curving through its wide valley, and — on a clear day — Minnesota and Iowa in the distance. Three states from one vantage point.
The view is genuinely one of the best in the upper Midwest. It's the kind of thing you want to show people who don't know this region exists. The trail to the overlook is manageable for most fitness levels, and the drive to the trailhead reduces the elevation gain further for those who want it.
Go at sunset if you can time it. The light over the river valley from that height is memorable.
Riverside Park and the Mississippi
La Crosse's Riverside Park is the city's living room — a long riverfront park on the Mississippi where the community gathers for festivals, farmers markets, morning walks, and evening visits. The park has trails, boat launches, fishing access, and open lawn space that hosts major events throughout the year.
The La Crosse Queen riverboat offers narrated tours of the river during the warm season — a different perspective on the Mississippi from the water level rather than the bluff top. For anyone who hasn't seen this river from the water, the scale of it and the wildlife along the banks come through differently on a boat than from any overlook.
The riverfront path system extends north and south from Riverside Park, connecting to the broader trail network and making the waterfront accessible on foot and by bike for most of its length through the city.
Pearl Street
Pearl Street is La Crosse's main commercial drag — independent restaurants, bars, coffee shops, music venues, and retail that give the city its street-level character. It's the kind of downtown street that defines whether a city has a genuine local culture or just a strip of chains, and La Crosse falls clearly in the former category.
For a day trip from camp, Pearl Street lunch followed by an afternoon at Grandad Bluff is a reliable and satisfying combination. For an evening, the street has live music venues and restaurants that extend the day well past dinner. La Crosse has a significant craft beer culture — with a brewing history stretching back to the 19th century — and the bar scene reflects this without overwhelming everything else.
Outdoor Recreation
The outdoor recreation in La Crosse extends well beyond Grandad Bluff. Hixon Forest is a 700-acre urban forest on the bluffs above the city with miles of hiking and mountain biking trails that get serious elevation without leaving city limits. Myrick Park trails, closer to town, offer lighter terrain with nature center access.
The La Crosse River State Trail extends east from the city — a 21-mile multi-use trail on a former railroad bed that's flat, paved, and suitable for biking, walking, and rollerblading. It connects to the Elroy-Sparta Trail, one of the most famous rail-trails in the Midwest.
Paddling access on the Mississippi and La Crosse River backwaters mirrors what's available near Winona — calm channels, wildlife, and a quieter alternative to the main river for kayakers and canoeists. The bluff terrain in and around the city creates natural opportunities for scramblers and explorers looking to get off the maintained trails.
The Food Scene
La Crosse's food scene benefits from its university-town energy and its size. With two major universities (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University), the city supports a more diverse and active food culture than you'd expect at 52,000 people. Farm-to-table sensibility is present in several spots, and the Saturday Farmers Market at Riverside Park is one of the largest and best in the region.
The craft beer culture is genuine — several local breweries and taprooms with distinct personalities serve a community that takes its beer seriously. The proximity to agricultural Wisconsin means cheese and dairy products show up everywhere with appropriate quality.
Arts and Culture
The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra is one of the legitimately impressive cultural institutions in the region — a professional-quality ensemble that performs a full concert season including summer and fall programming. For a city of its size, this is remarkable, and the performances draw regional audiences.
The Pump House Regional Arts Center in downtown La Crosse is the anchor of the visual arts scene — rotating gallery shows, community programming, and a venue that supports local and regional artists. The La Crosse Public Library's mural program has produced significant outdoor art throughout the city that rewards walking through neighborhoods you wouldn't otherwise explore.
History and Heritage
La Crosse has the layered immigrant history common to upper Midwest river cities — German, Norwegian, Polish, and other European communities each left architectural and cultural marks that persist in neighborhoods, churches, and traditions. The La Crosse County Historical Society handles the civic history, from the fur trade era through the steamboat period to the present, and is worth an hour for anyone who wants the context behind the landscape.
The city's position at the confluence of three rivers made it a significant trading and transportation hub in the 19th century, and the downtown architecture reflects the wealth that generated. The scale of the older buildings is a clue to how seriously this place was once taken as a commercial center.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse brings about 10,000 students to the city and the campus energy that comes with them. Athletic events — basketball, soccer, track — are open to the public and provide a lively way to spend an afternoon. Arts performances and gallery shows at campus venues add to the cultural calendar. The university's presence keeps the city economically and culturally active in ways that comparable cities without institutions often aren't.
The Scale Is Right
La Crosse is bigger than Winona and offers more — more restaurant options, more nightlife, a larger grocery and retail base, more cultural programming. But it's still 52,000 people. You can understand the city in a day. You don't get lost in it. The downtown is walkable, the attractions are concentrated, and the transition from urban street to outdoor recreation is fast.
For a day trip from Camp Everyday, La Crosse is ideal: enough to fill a full day, not so much that you feel like you barely touched it.
Thirty Minutes from Camp
Highway 61 south from camp follows the Mississippi the entire way to La Crosse. It's one of the better drives in the Midwest even without a destination at the end of it. Plan for a half-day minimum, full day if you want to do Grandad Bluff, Pearl Street, and an evening. We're happy to give current recommendations on where to eat when you check in.
Plan Your Stay
Ready to experience the bluffs for yourself? Book your site at Camp Everyday Winona.
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