A choice town

Full of natural beauty, La Crosse is an up-and-coming destination

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In 1883, Mark Twain published Life on the Mississippi, a travelogue and memoir about his days as a steamboat pilot before the Civil War and his return to the river 20 years later. In the book, he writes fondly about La Crosse, then a booming lumber and trading center considered a gateway to the American west.

“Here is a town...with electric lighted streets, and blocks of buildings, which are stately enough and also architecturally fine enough to command respect in any city,” Twain wrote. “It is a choice town.”

Situated between rugged limestone bluffs in the east and the mighty Mississippi in the west, La Crosse feels like a place frozen in time. Many of the buildings Twain so admired still stand in the historic downtown district; old-timey paddlewheel steamboats still dock in the city. Growing up in the area, I was more or less desensitized to its charms — as a teenager, I couldn’t wait to move away — but as I’ve grown older and seen more of the world, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for my hometown. And to my parents’ delight, I increasingly find myself making excuses to go back home for a visit.

It’s a place that looks unlike anywhere else in Wisconsin. Untouched by the retreating glaciers of the Paleozoic Era that flattened much of the Midwest into rolling farmland, the region is nicknamed the Driftless Area for its lack of glacial drift and is characterized by steep ridgetops and dramatic valleys, remnants of an ancient seabed. There are very few lakes, but rivers and streams flow in abundance, with some disappearing underground into networks of caves and sinkholes and re-emerging as cold springs. More than a geological curiosity, the region’s unusual topography makes it a natural playground of sorts, offering some of the best recreational opportunities in the entire state.

Hixon at the top of the peak.

Over the years, Hixon’s gift has been both preserved and transformed — about a decade ago, a group of forward-thinking outdoor recreation enthusiasts began to create a network of multi-use trails to allow better access to the bluffs. Since then, La Crosse has become known as a haven for silent sports — a category of human-powered activities like hiking, biking, paddling, fly fishing and birdwatching.

If road biking is more your thing, La Crosse has plenty to offer in that realm, including access to hundreds of miles of bike trails made from converting unused railway corridors. It’s thrilling to speed along through marshes and wildlife refuges, and the series of unique rock tunnels offer a cool, refreshing break from the summer heat. Dedicated trails are wonderful, but the roads are friendly as well, and especially rewarding once you get out into the countryside. Where other rural areas have gravel, this is a paved paradise thanks to a previous generation of milk producers who needed smooth asphalt to keep glass bottles from breaking. Bring your own bike, or rent one from one of the many local bike stores.

La Crosse sits at the meeting point of three rivers — the Mississippi, the Black and the La Crosse. According to Native American legend, this type of convergence gives protection from “big winds,” (more or less true, except for a monster tornado in 2011) but it also provides a lovely place to explore. The impressive main channel can best be observed from Riverside Park, which was designed by the famous landscape architect John Nolen. It’s fun to go out on a speedboat or a pontoon, but the best way to enjoy the natural beauty is in a canoe or a kayak. There are dozens of launches up and down the river, including seven miles of canoe trails at Goose Island Park and 96 miles of marked water trails in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge. Both places are excellent for birdwatching as well — the river is a major flyway for migratory birds and a nesting area for nearly 300 species. Depending on the time of year, visitors can see tundra swans, great egrets, warblers and a truly jaw-dropping number of bald eagles.

La Crosse is also a beer town. Home to the G. Heileman Brewing Company from 1858 to 1996, the city is famous for producing Old Style beer and bears the dubious honor of apparently having the most bars per capita of any city in the nation. These days, the craft brewing boom has taken root — the Pearl Street Brewery revived a shuttered boot factory and Turtle Stack Brewery recently opened downtown. A new grain-to-glass distillery is in the works downtown as well, the latest in a wave of hipster-ish endeavours breathing new life into the area.

For years, my biggest gripe about La Crosse was the lack of restaurants and nightlife (yes, there are a lot of bars, but quantity does not equal quality). Working in the service industry as a teen and later as a young 20-something, I noticed a dining public that prioritized value and predictability over culinary excitement. But in recent years, there’s been a mini restaurant boom, adding fine dining options and finally capitalizing on the farm-to-table trend. The city got its first real food truck, Apothik, a few years back. I’ve enjoyed meals at The Waterfront (upscale steak, seafood and new-American cuisine), The Mint (locally sourced small plates and craft cocktails) and The Charmant (rustic French), the restaurant inside a new boutique hotel of the same name.

On my next visit, I’m excited to dine at Lovechild, whose chef Jay Sparks was a 2018 James Beard Award finalist in the category of Best Chef in the Midwest. A James Beard finalist? In La Crosse? A place that for several years I jokingly referred to as a food desert? I’m not sure if Mark Twain would be impressed, but I sure am.