Oshkosh, WI ~ 10 Must-Try Activities
You might have heard the name Oshkosh from the company Oshkosh B’gosh… or have heard of it in relation to the EAA festival in the summer… or for music festivals such as Rock USA or Waterfest... also in the summer. Here, I share with you activities you can do any time of the year!
Take a walk in Menominee Park
Participate in a drum circle
Try Glow in the Dark mini golf
Explore the Downtown
Main Street is full of interesting buildings hosting restaurants and cafés, stores and boutiques, the Grand Theater, an old timey cinema, and more! The movie Public Ennemies, from 2009 was partially filmed in Oshkosh, featuring several downtown building!
There is also a green where music concerts happen outdoors on Thursday nights in the summer.
Only a block off of Main Street, east and west, you can find the Public Library and old churches with interesting architecture.
So walk up and down Main Street, and while you do that, consider my next suggestion here: looking for murals!
Look for Murals!
There are several murals around Main Street, so make sure to venture on side streets… and in alleys… to try to see some of them. Some are old, some are new, some are small, some are pretty huge and cover a whole wall… it’s kinda fun to just wander and see which ones you find.
Another big area to explore for its murals is Oregon Street, on the other side of the river from downtown.
The themes vary, but there are a lot of animals, which I love! If you do see some, let me know in the comments which one is your favorite!
Visit the Paine Art Center and Gardens
An old home turned museum is the setting for the Paine Art Center and Gardens, where American Landscape artworks are in the permanent collection, seasonal shows return every year (Nutcraker in the Castle, Rooms of Bloom). Temporary exhibits have included Norman Rockwell art, Rodin sculptures, and light sculptures, among many others.
The entrance ticket will also give you access to the botanical gardens, which are really pretty.
Check their website for upcoming shows.
Bike the Wiouwash
Right from downtown, you can start a bike ride along the river on the Wiouwash Trail, which goes past the UW Campus and goes north all the way to Hortonville, going past Bare Bones Brewery… if you feel like stopping for a beer.
The trail is easy and mostly flat, crosses a few street and has one section on roads in town, but really is mostly trail.
You can also obviously walk or run it… and use snowshoes if there’s a lot of snow in the winter!
To see a video of the first 11 miles going north, click here.
Try Filipino Food!
Manila is probably my favorite restaurant in town. There are a few vegan options at this Filipino restaurant but I always get the same thing because it’s so very delicious and I can’t quite find it like this elsewhere: the Ginataang Kalabasa (squash in coconut milk with green beans), pictured here. If you have room for starters, you can’t go wrong with the Spring Rolls: super fresh with a delicious peanut sauce.
Manila Resto is located right downtown, there’s plenty of street parking nearby, and they have live jazz music playing on Fridays and Saturday featuring John Harmon!
Check out their website for more info:
And for more restaurant recommendations in Oshkosh, click here!
Take a wheel-throwing class
If you live in the area, check out the wheel throwing workshops offered by Fire Escape! The first step is a workshop downtown, where you’re given two lumps of clay and instructions on how to use the wheel. Two weeks later once your creation has been fired, you can go to their Oregon St. location to paint it, and pick it up a week or so later once it’s been fired again!
It is a fun experience, and it’s really interesting to see what happens to the clay, how the paint color changes after exposure to the heat… it feels like a surprise when you go pick up the final product… that YOU made!
Check out their website for more info on these workshops, and many more events hosted in Oshkosh.
See live music at the New Moon
The New Moon is a cafe downtown that also serves food, beer and wine. They often have music live, and I love the intimate setting that this place offers.
It is conveniently located and there’s plenty of parking nearby. They have a variety of artists playing different musical styles, and they do open mics and ukulele jams regularly. The musician pictured here is Elysian Stew, playing some originals and some covers. Check him out here!
Check the New Moon Cafe website for the latest events!
Take a walk in Menominee Park
Located along Lake Winnebago, Menominee Park is a gorgeous place for a walk!
It has facilities if you need to stop for a bathroom break, green areas and sidewalks along the lake, and a statue of Chief Oshkosh with information about the city and the people who originally lived in the area.
There are plenty of spots in the shade to find a pace to sit for a while, and even a small sand beach if you’d like to take a dip in the water!
Participate in a Drum Circle!
Robin at the Oshkosh Rhythm Institute organizes weekly drum circles, where he provides several drums and other percussion musical instruments (you’re more than welcome to bring your own) and leads participants into a session of learning basic drum patterns and improvising.
The Institute is located at 803 Waugoo Ave. but in the summer, when the weather permits it, the event takes place at the sundial, downtown (Main St. and Algoma).
The event is free, but donations are welcome.
Check out the official website for the latest updates.
Try Glow in the Dark Mini Golf
Even if you’re tried mini golf before, doing it in this “glow in the dark” location will feel very different, and mostly: fun!
There are 19 wholes at Glow in the Park, and plenty of walls surfaces to entertain you in between! The balls glows, the score keeping card glows… and you get a glowing bracelet matching the color of your ball!
This is located near the Marcus cinema, check out their official website for more information.