essential travel
EAU CLAIRE
UNCOVERING WISCONSIN’S HIDDEN GEMS
Photograph provided by Visit Eau Claire
by Anne Sayers
42 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s
One of the greatest things about Wisconsin is that, no matter where you go, there’s something unexpected ready to be discovered. I love helping people make these discoveries. The Eau Claire buzz is sweeping the nation, and you just have to check it out!
the beat of its own drum and encourages visitors to join in the fun. This is where farm kids grow up to be artists and entrepreneurs. Where attitude is more important than age. Where hospitality is legit. Where originality is celebrated. In a word: indie.
Eau Claire could probably lay claim to being the “Indie Capital of the Midwest,” but trademarking that is too corporate for this independent-minded university town. Instead, Eau Claire, located at the confluence of the crystal-clear Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers, marches to
Located in west-central Wisconsin, Eau Claire gets its name from French fur traders who were sailing down the Chippewa River when they came upon a tributary and, so the story goes, exclaimed “Voici l’eau claire!—Here is the clear water!” If you’re ready to discover
