Tell me your "Best of Eau Claire" (toss in Duluth too)

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tell me your "Best of Eau Claire" (toss in Duluth too)

Posted: 8/28/2017 1:19:46 PM EDT

Long story short, if you wanted to make someone love either area, what would you show them? I'm somewhat familiar with EC but I hardly know Duluth. Both markets are a good compromise in terms of locations. I'm open to all of it, but with three twenty something daughters, Eau Claire wins with being close to a major airport in Minneapolis. That's why we are focused on west only. We already have a small farm here in Price County.

We will probably stay at the Double Tree hotel (Lismore) in EC. I like it, and we always have an ass loads of Hilton points to burn.

Im thinking a run down to the Mississippi is good too as Mayo is an option for my wife work wise and that's part of what this little jaunt is about.

I don't care what it is, if you like it just toss it out. Parks, places, dive bars, good food, good views, whatever you know.

Posted: 8/28/2017 6:44:05 PM EDT

[#1]

I would visit the campus and then the Leinie Lodge in Chippawa Falls.

Posted: 8/28/2017 7:49:27 PM EDT

[#2]

Twenty somethings? Water Street.

Posted: 8/28/2017 8:16:09 PM EDT

[#3]

No we are 50 something's with no kids in tow! But mom will want to fly out to visit them often so that's why current location is a bit far.

Now if anybody marries one of our daughters and gets them to relo up here, there will be gun related gifts for all holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. Extra ammo at Easter and a bonus for grandkids.

Posted: 8/29/2017 9:46:29 AM EDT

[#4]

Ok, water street is definitely not for you. Lol.

Indoor pistol range in Lake Hallie. USPSA matches in Augusta.

Lots of live music options with local bands.

Live in one of the towns outside EC or Chippewa, taxes are much lower.

Milwaukee Burger company, Monks Grill.

Posted: 8/29/2017 5:03:41 PM EDT

[#5]

EC pretty much has any big name restaurant you can think of. Some new family places opening up around that are pretty good. Hangar 54 grill has been my recent favorite for burgers and wings.

Downtown EC has a lot of nice places to grab a drink. The Firehouse and Monks Brewing are the go to for my wife and I.

Posted: 8/29/2017 6:17:58 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Twenty somethings? Water Street.

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Tornado Watch

Quite a few of my friends went to UW Eau Claire so I spent a few weekends there back in the day...

To convince someone to like one area better than another really depends upon their interests...

Duluth has a sizeable enough airport imo...

I would live around Superior though as I like WI way better than MN except to visit and recreate in...

I have always loved Lake Superior and the fresh water lakes in that area and rivers are pretty cool...if you like trout and salmon...

Lots of wild woods around Duluth & Superior so for my likes thats the place...or I prefer that area to Eau Claire...

I worked the old Soo Line in that area so I got to see lots of interesting back country out of the way places in that area...the geography and geology
are also more interesting in the Duluth area...

Posted: 8/30/2017 8:45:02 AM EDT

[#7]

I work at Mayo in EC.

Not a city boy but always liked EC. Just enough stuff to do. The downtown revitalization is coming along well. Lots of concerts in the park.

Music festivals galore, JazzFest, Country Fest, Country Jam, all in the area.

EC has a very small town feel to it.

Duluth is in MN so it sucks. Live in Superior and stay on the right side of the border.

That being said, Hawk Ridge is an awesome place to greet a sunrise, the views are stunning. I like to drive the North Shore (MN Lake Superior shoreline), but prefer to play on the WI side, miles of white sandy beaches with few restrictions, can even swim in some places.

Both Duluth and EC have a regional airport, but they have few direct flights, unless you are flying directly to Minneapolis or Chicago. They have a shuttle that runs to the Mpls airport multiple times a day.

Posted: 8/30/2017 9:17:54 AM EDT

[#8]

I like Mona Lisa's, Firehouse, and brewing project. Dan Marcon runs the indoor range at Lake Hallie. A Fleet Farm is being built by the Red Robin I believe. I know realtor up there that has taken good care of my parents.

Posted: 8/30/2017 12:32:14 PM EDT

[#9]

Great info guys.

I'm one of those people who is from no where but northern MN/Itasca area is kind of my emotional home area. In Wisconsin I found everything I like in MN plus more. That's one reason Mayo in Rochester doesn't work, too long a commute for her in winter. That's where the condo idea comes into play, because we will be Wisconsin residents. I'm not crossing over, and the farther we are from minneapolis the better.

She is a blend of German medical science and New Hampshite herbalist. I'm a former corporate guy who is starting up an organic farm, but you can bet while the hippies go sing kumbaya in the bog with the wild flowers, I will be out back shooting organic lead and copper on steel plates. She can have an herbal retreat, and walk trails, then I can host a private clays shoot on those same trails.

We are both an odd mix, but well suited to each other and Norhern Wisconsin is a great setting for us.

In July I cut up through the Superior area and the Brule and Iron river areas were amazing. Then on that same trip an old Railriad retiree was in a cabin next to ours. He gave me all kinds of info on back areas around Duluth.

Posted: 8/30/2017 12:47:46 PM EDT

[#10]

I am thinking about doing a one day loop from Park Falls up to Superior, then down to EC.

I have never driven south from Superior and I have never been to Hayward. Is Hayward worth seeing just for fun? If I skip Superior then I am just going to jog over and follow the Chippewa river to show her all of that river.

Posted: 9/2/2017 12:00:05 AM EDT

[#11]

Eau Claire and its elitist, liberal college culture. My daughter went there two years. She transferred to stout, so happy she did. Whoever runs UWEC is making poor use of their funds. Tore down a perfectly good student center to build a new one. Stout, with fewer available resouces, is much more impressive.

Posted: 9/2/2017 11:00:11 PM EDT

[#12]

I live in the middle of NW WI and I love it here. I commute to Duluth for work/school. Duluth/Superior have all the big name chains for restaurants and a huge mall/department stores etc.

The scenery and outdoor activities are definitely what set that area above Eau Claire. I'm not a huge fan of the layout of Eau Claire in comparison to Duluth. That being said, Duluth is more condensed, and the hills can be brutal in winter.

I love it because the hospital is in a great location right off lake Superior, Whole Foods is a half mile from my parking ramp on the way home, and school is a hop, skip and jump from there with everything I could ever need in between. Duluth is a beautiful area.

The airport in Duluth is continually improving as well, if that's something that's important to you. My sister and her husband usually always fly into Duluth when making their trips home from AZ. I've used their airport a few times myself. Never any issues, and it's small, so everything is quick and easy. They also have rental car service which was handy for us.

Posted: 9/2/2017 11:07:40 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
I am thinking about doing a one day loop from Park Falls up to Superior, then down to EC.

I have never driven south from Superior and I have never been to Hayward. Is Hayward worth seeing just for fun? If I skip Superior then I am just going to jog over and follow the Chippewa river to show her all of that river.

View Quote

I'm from Hayward. It's definitely built on tourism, but only during summer months.

Unless of course you like to ski, then the Birkebiner may be your thing in winter. If you're not much into sports there's always the lower key bar stool races. They have a lot of pristine resorts, restaurants, and over priced gift shops. Definitely don't go there for the night life though. There are almost as many bars as there are people, and the police force is insane.

The best gun shop/range has been closed for years there.

Minong is where you want to go for shooting if you're in the area.

Posted: 9/5/2017 12:15:47 PM EDT

[#14]

If I was choosing between Superior/Duluth and EC, I'd live in Superior. Mostly because it's closer to the BWCA. I went to Stout and worked in EC, I've never liked it there. Living right between Eau Claire and La Crosse if I need to "go to the city" I always choose La Crosse. I don't really have a good reason other than EC always struck me as being more liberal.

Posted: 9/6/2017 2:15:20 PM EDT

[#15]

I'm going to look a little harder at Superior. I was having a drink in my local bar in Fifield and I met an interesting character from Ashland, who was in the area to wrangle some deals on antiques. He had a lot of good things to say about the area, including both hospitals.

The weather this weekend is perfect for hitting the road.

Posted: 10/13/2017 9:00:21 PM EDT

[#16]

Im from superior, and now live in Amnicon township out towards Poplar. Its a decent area.

I would definatelu stay on the Wisconsin side of the bay. Duluth is like the San Francico of Minnesota. Touristy and very liberal. And completely insanely crowded on certain weekends throughout the year. Superior for the most part has avoided most of that. Though Im sure some will tell you its a crappy town.

There is still lots of public land if your into that sort of thing. Tons of state and federal forrests as well. I shoot on my acreage and have never had an issue with anyone.

If your looking for specifics I can probably answer questions. Im very familiar with northern Wisconsin from Superior to Ashland and south towards Minong and Siren. Its a nice area.

Posted: 10/17/2017 11:12:27 PM EDT

[#17]

I vote Superior "area", I'd never want to live in the city of Superior( I was born there and lived on Baxter Ave as a kid). Seems like there are a lot of fleabag petty crimes in town, car breakins, shit walking off from your yard, etc. My parents now live between Poplar and Maple, far enough out of town to avoid the bs, but close enough to be convenient.

Duluth is a cool town to visit, but also I wouldn't want to live in the city proper. We usually go up there once a month and blow a weekend hiking or biking. The North Shore of MN is awesome.

Posted: 10/26/2017 1:02:56 PM EDT

[#18]

If you live in Duluth you'll need an old Checker cab with an oak beam for a front bumper and carbide spikes in your tires...

Posted: 11/5/2017 7:43:05 PM EDT

[#19]

Spent a lot of time in Duluth back in the 80's. Great town, obviously brutal winters. Town has really steep hills, driving is challenging.
Houses in town have a slope to the floors, initially disconcerting, but eventually endearing.

Posted: 11/6/2017 4:47:14 PM EDT

[#20]

Live in Chippewa Falls and go to EC when you HAVE to.

Posted: 11/6/2017 9:39:10 PM EDT

[#21]

If wanting to live in slightly city environment, would consider Eau Claire. Like others suggest, ain't no way would live in City of Duluth or Superior. The worst thing about Duluth is it is next to Superior. Then there's that bridge.

Lots of nicer areas outside of Hayward or Superior. A lot may depend on how close you need to be employment or a city, a long winter commute can be trying up here. Currently live about 1.5 hours north of EC, and 1 hour south of Superior. Lots of nice areas in NW Wi.

The Washburn County range in Minong is a joke

compared to IRPC in Washburn County's center of cultural diversity.
http://www.irpcwi.org/

There is also an indoor range in Rice Lake.
http://www.firelinestc.com/locations/RiceLake.php

Ps- The flights out of Duluth are worth the slight extra. Easy traffic, much cheaper parking, short walk to un crowded terminal. Plus ya get that short quick curve down descent when ya come home.

Posted: 11/7/2017 9:02:22 PM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
Live in Chippewa Falls and go to EC when you HAVE to.

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Correction, live just outside the city of Chippewa Falls (lower taxes) and go to EC when you have to..

Posted: 11/11/2017 1:33:29 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:
Live in Chippewa Falls and go to EC when you HAVE to.

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I work in Chippewa, live in EC.

Really like this area.

Posted: 11/20/2017 8:20:51 PM EDT

[#24]

I have been driving up and down the Chippewa every chance I get, I like it a lot.

Posted: 12/21/2017 10:49:51 AM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
Live in Chippewa Falls and go to EC when you HAVE to.

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CF is nice.

Lake Hallie is nice too. They have refused EC's attempts to annex them up until after I left the area. Now that that part of 53 is building up they should have the financial stability & growth to maintain their independence from socialist EC.

Please correct me if in the last 10yrs that has changed.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tell me your "Best of Eau Claire" (toss in Duluth too)

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