It's been a long winter here in Wisconsin and we are enjoying the first taste of spring that we are experiencing this week.
We have been using these beautiful days to explore some of the charming little towns that are close to Oshkosh.
Winneconne is a very pretty little town of about 2300 that is located on the Wolf River and Lake Winneconne. The town is actually split in half by the river. The downtown is on one side of the big bridge. There is a large fishing pier jutting out into the river near the bridge.
Winneconne is a very walkable town. The downtown has many bars, restaurants and businesses to explore. There are maps located along the Main Street so you can easily navigate the town. There is a large quarry swimming beach called Marble Beach, a historical village with signage to explain the history of the area, and many places to just walk and enjoy the water.
Unfortunately, I did not take any photos on this visit but I will add some the time we visit. If you want to explore a little town that will leave you saying, "Wow!", go to Winneconne.
The next little town we visited was Omro, located just 10 miles from Oshkosh. Omro has a population of 3500 and is located on the Fox River which runs through the downtown area. There is a nice riverwalk located behind the businesses on the main St. with a few walking bridges where you can cross over the other side of the river.
There is a historical self guided tour with each site having a number which corresponds to a map that you are able to pick up either at stop one at the park or at City Hall. We enjoyed learning about the history of the charming little town of Omro. Just like Winneconne, Omro has many bars, restaurants and businesses to enjoy.
Again, we did not take any photos, not sure why because there is so much to photograph in both these towns. but we will take some the next rime we visit.
The third delightful little town we visited was New London, located about 30 minutes from Oshkosh with the Wolf River running through the downtown. The population is about 7500. Our first visit to New London was on the weekend of St. Patrick's Day to see Pat McCurdy perform. New London is known as New Dublin on St. Patrick's Day week and the entire town plus many visitors come to enjoy the festivities. It was wild and crazy that night but we definitely felt the charm of this town and knew we had to visit again at a quieter time.
We returned on a beautiful spring day and we were not disappointed in this town. We did learn from a local that the Wolf River was very high and as we walked around we noticed how the riverwalk was completely covered in areas. The river was almost up to the backdoors of the businesses located along the river. Here are some photos of the overflowing Wolf River.
New London could also be called the city of murals. There were beautiful murals on almost every building that had a plain wall. Here are just a few of them.
I think we could also call New London, the city of parks. It seemed like they made every little green space into a small park with a wooden sign bearing its name. We found a big park on our walk. It had a disc golf course, a few playground areas and a mile plus of marked nature trails winding through the beautiful wooded area. We definitly plan to play some disc golf there and visit this park again in the fall to see the colors.
New London is a very walkable town. There seemed to be something new to discover around every corner. There were beautiful big houses with such a variety of architecture. On our way out of the city we drove around a bit nore to take in a few more sites. We found ourselves on this street that ended in the Wolf River. Luckily we stopped in time!
Well, there you have our critiques of three Wisconsin towns that are well worth a visit!
There is so much to discover right up the road.
