After arriving in Eau Claire WI, we discovered that the nearby city of Chippewa Falls had a bunch of interesting things to do as well.
As a result, we ended up splitting our time between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls during our five nights there. If you’re planning a visit to either – or both – of those cities, here are 9 fun things to do in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls.
1) Leinenkugel’s Brewery Tour
To be honest, we missed out on visiting Leinenkugel’s during our time in Eau Claire. However, when making our way from Phillips to Madison, we diverted via Eau Claire so I could go on the Leinenkugel’s Brewery Tour.
At only $10, the tour’s great value. You get the tour, a free Leinenkugel’s pint glass, as well as your choice of five small beers or two large beers.
Shae wasn’t too interested in going on another brewery tour (she doesn’t like beer), so she waited on their pet-friendly patio with our dog Truffles.
Also outside on the patio was the giant Leinie Lounger.
Address: Leinenkugel’s, 124 E Elm St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
2) Carson Park
In the center of Eau Claire and surrounded by Halfmoon Lake, you’ll find Carson Park. With grassy areas, the lake, walking trails, a train ride and more, Carson Park is beautiful and a relaxing place to visit.
Address: Carson Park, 100 Carson Park Dr, Eau Claire, WI 54703
3) Hank Aaron Statue
Henry Aaron – more commonly known as Hank Aaron – began his professional baseball career playing for the Eau Claire Bears.
They played at Carson Park Historic Baseball Stadium which is now home to both the Eau Claire Express and Eau Claire Cavaliers baseball teams. We’d hoped to catch a game but there was a thunderstorm the night we planned to attend.
Outside the stadium is this statue of Hank Aaron:
Address: Carson Park Historic Baseball Stadium, 199 Carson Park Dr, Eau Claire, WI 54701
4) Tubing On The Chippewa River
On an extremely hot day, Shae and I made our way to Chippewa Falls to visit Loopy’s Grill & Saloon. That’s because they offer tubing rentals on the Chippewa River; they drive you a few miles upriver, then you float back to Loopy’s.
You can also rent canoes and kayaks from them, but we felt like lazing around and enjoying a couple of drinks on the river so tubed instead.
It was so much fun and definitely one of my favorite experiences so far on our 50 state road trip.
Address: Loopy’s Grill & Saloon, 10691 County Hwy X, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
5) Aerial Yoga
If you’re interested in trying out something different, you could do as Shae did and go for an introduction to aerial yoga class at Sky Yoga.
Even though it was hard work, she had a great time and would love to try it again.
Address: Sky Yoga, 415 1/2 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, WI 54701
6) Paul Bunyan Statue & Babe The Blue Ox Statue
I suggested earlier that you should visit Carson Park both for the park and the Hank Aaron statue. The Hank Aaron statue isn’t the only statue in the park though.
That’s because Carson Park is also home to statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe The Blue Ox. These are found outside of the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum which we unfortunately didn’t have time to visit.
Address: Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum, 1110 E Half Moon Dr, Eau Claire, WI 54703
7) Irvine Park & Zoo
If you’re interested in free things to do that are fun for all the family, Irvine Park & Zoo could be just the place for you.
Spread across more than 300 acres, the park includes a small zoo and petting zoo, both of which are free.
The petting zoo area was an OK size, but a few of the main zoo’s habitats seemed a little small. In particular, it didn’t feel like the tigers and bears had as much space as they do at other zoos; their habitats weren’t tiny though.
Address: Irvine Park & Zoo, 125 Bridgewater Ave, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
8) Happy Tails Dog Park
If you’re visiting Eau Claire or Chippewa Falls with your dog, you should definitely check out Happy Tails Dog Park.
Covering more than 50 acres, our dog Truffles loved roaming the off leash dog park.
There’s a fee to use the park – you can get an annual pass if you live in the area, or you can pay $3 like we did for a daily pass.
Address: Happy Tails Dog Park, 841 Chippewa Crossing Blvd, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
9) Eau Claire Dog Park
Chippewa Falls isn’t the only place with a large off-leash dog park. Closer to our hotel was the Eau Claire Dog Park; this park was also very large, but I don’t think it had quite as much acreage as Happy Tails Dog Park.
Still, Truffles enjoyed walking around and checking out all the new smells.
The Eau Claire Dog Park offers both annual and daily passes. The daily pass was $5, so it’s a little more expensive than Happy Tails. On the positive side, there was more shade at the Eau Claire Dog Park which was much needed the day we visited as it was 90°+.
Address: Eau Claire Dog Park, 4503 House Rd, Eau Claire, WI 54701
Question
So those were 9 things to do in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls that we enjoyed during our time there, but how about you? What other activities would you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
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