Eau Claire is said to be one of the best places to live in Wisconsin. It has a small town feel with big city amenities. With a focus on arts and a large University in the city it is obvious why this is a great place to lay down roots. With the amount of cheese curds you will be consuming, you will need
What is there to do in Eau Claire, you may find yourself asking? Plenty! Whether it’s the arts or the outdoors there seems to be endless opportunities
Getting to and around Eau Claire
Eau Claire has its own airport but it is small. I flew into Minneapolis and it was about 2 hours there. The flights are cheaper this way and it is easy to find transportation to Eau Claire from Minneapolis. I used Groome transportation. Groome offers inexpensive transfers in clean spacious vans. Once you arrive at the drop off point you can Uber or take a bus to where you are staying. The bus system is cheap and easy to use. I stayed in an Airbnb, slightly out of town, and I took the bus every day. It cost 1.75 a trip which was a great way to save money on Ubers.
Eau Claire Activities
- I started my first day in Eau Claire by exploring the largest outdoor sculpture park. There are over 150 sculptures on this walk. You can download a map here and it takes you all over the city. A great way to explore and it doesn’t cost you a thing!
Have you heard of Kubb? Neither did I before I went to Wisconsin. Eau Claire is considered the “ Kubb Capital of America” (who knew that was a thing) They even host the National Championships. What is Kubb? It is a Swedish Lawn Game. A lot of breweries and bars have areas set up for it and they will teach you how to play.
Kayaking or canoeing in the Chippewa River. The river runs right thru the city and you can spend a few hours paddling around. This is especially nice in the warmer months. They have rentals in a few places like Loopy’s Salon or the University of Wisconsin’s Environmental Adventure Center.
The Chippewa River Trail is an easy way to explore the outdoors within Eau Claire. It is paved in most places and for those of us who like the outdoors but aren’t able to hike too well this is easy and no elevation. I always worry about this when hiking. You can also rent a bike for this trail if that is more your thing.
You can take in a show at the Pablo Center at the Confluence. This place has everything from live music to theater productions. Their event calendar is always stacked. You can also just wander the art exhibits they have inside as well.
Do your own beer or curd crawl. By visiting the Eau Claire website you can sign up for a pass for both or either. Go to as many breweries or restaurants and check them off as you go. After you hit a certain amount you can head over to the office to pick up your prize. You can win a T-shirt! I joined a curd crawl but you can just do your own and explore the food and drink scene.
Music Festivals – believe it or not Eau Claire is home to a ton of music festivals. The number one being Country Jam USA. You might want to check out the Country Jam USA Festival Grounds for when each festival happens and come during one. They have camping facilities on site if that’s your thing.
Just a short ride out of town is Justina Alpaca farm in Osseo. It is a cute way to spend a few hours. A family run establishment. The couple who own it just fell in love with Alpacas and started raising them. You can learn all about Alpacas and then spend some time feeding and playing with them. There is also a little store to buy products made out of Alpaca fur! Visit the website here.
Where to Eat/Drink?
Good food is important to me and so is good beer. If you can combine the two then you really have me. I spent about a week in Eau Claire trying to eat as many curds and drinking as much Wisconsin beer as possible. All in the name of research of course.
If you decide to go to Osseo for Justina Alpaca farm then I recommend getting lunch at Norske Nook. They offer both American and traditional Norwegian food. Hearty breakfasts and fresh sandwiches but what makes them stand out? THE PIE. This place has dozens of different pies. They are all so big and decadent. You cant go wrong. I choose a peanut butter and chocolate pie, of course.
Reboot Social – think Dave & Busters but local. Great place for a night of fun. The drinks are cheap on Happy Hour (and for a New Yorker at all times), the cheese curds are good. They offer standard burgers, wraps and piles of fries! Plus you can play arcade games, go bowling and more.
The Fire House was the first place I went to after doing the sculpture trail. I was shocked by the price of drinks during Happy Hour. SO CHEAP! This was a great find. Located right in the middle of the city for easy walking to, the bartenders were so friendly and it had a great selection of taps. All local to Wisconsin or surrounding areas. They don’t serve food but they do give you popcorn.
Court N’ House – a local pub that serves pretty fantastic cheese curds and known locally for their burgers.
The District – I actually ate here 2 times while in Eau Claire, I almost never repeat restaurants when traveling. They have the biggest cheese curds I have ever seen. They also have different flavors! I tried their spicy curd and fell in love. Had to go back again for more. They also have a huge tap list (over 30).
Lazy Monk Brewing – this was my favorite brewery I went to while in Eau Claire. The inside looks like a traditional Bohemian Beer Garden. This family owned brewery has actual family articats from back in the Czech Republic. The beer is an elevated level of traditional Czech and German beers. Lucky for me they had several stouts and porters, all of the exceeded expectation.
The Livery – has a great vibe. If the weather is nice you can hang out in their back garden and even play Kubb! The dishes are hearty and their cheese curds were the perfect size snack. I had eaten cheese curds at like 5 places that day by this point and still wanted theirs. I feel like that is high praise?
The Brewing Projekt – this place is Disney World for beer drinkers. The inside space is huge and modern. The outside is really where it shines. Rolling lawns with adirondeck chairs, picnic tables that face the river and fire pits for when it cools off. I tried some sours here. I am hard to please without a dark beer but I was really surprised at how easy to drink theirs were.
Last but not least is, The Mousetrap this is a very local dive bar. We went a few nights in a row. It stays open later then most of the bars in town and it is always full. It also saved me from freezing. I didn’t pack a zip up because I went in July and it was unseasonably cold. I’m talking 50 degrees at night, in shorts and summer dresses. They had really inexpensive zip ups and I was much happier for it. It looks like a hole in the wall, and it is, but it is a lively fun bar.
Have you ever been to Eau Claire? Do you have any recommendations that I missed?