La Crosse Center – Things To Do With Your Team

The La Crosse Center is one of the northern United States’ premier facilities.  Originally constructed in 1980, it received renovations in the early 2000s that doubled its size and helped usher it into the 21st century. There’s roughly 100,000 square feet of space between the exhibit halls, arena, and meeting rooms.

When you finish up at the La Crosse Center, explore the surrounding area. You’ll be delighted to find out that there are a lot of things to do within a 10-minute walk from the La Crosse Center. You won’t need to spend a lot of time traveling to the attractions and can spend the majority of your time enjoying the exciting activities.

 

Things to Do

Children’s Museum of La Crosse

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse is the perfect place to bring a younger team for an afternoon full of joy just minutes from the La Crosse Center. The museum provides three floors of interactive exhibits and activities.

Your team will get sucked into all of the fun things to do during their visit. Dress like a firefighter and hop aboard a firetruck. Work the lights and put out a fake fire with the hose. Burn some energy on the multi-level climbing structure.

Attempt to navigate your way through the dino maze. Besides discovering a lot of dead ends, you will learn about dinosaurs through hands-on activities and text displayed on the wall of the maze.

Strap on a construction helmet and vest and hop in a functional crane. Pick up materials and build your very own bridge. Direct a ball through a series of tubes and customize the path it takes however you want.

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse has plenty more amusing activities besides the ones listed that your team will love. 207 5th Ave S, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Riverside Park

Take some time out of your trip to appreciate the La Crosse skyline and Mississippi River at Riverside Park.

For those who wish to relax can do so on one of the benches or grassy fields. Smell the flowers and gaze at the fountain and sculptures all around the park. Anyone who can’t sit still for long can walk on the trails or run around in the grass.

If you happen to stop by the park during lunch or dinner time, you can take advantage of one of the park’s fields for a picnic.

Obviously you probably aren’t planning on being outside much during the winter time since Wisconsin winters are notoriously brutal, but if you are in La Crosse at a warmer part of the year, don’t forget to check out Riverside Park. 100 State St, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Riverside Museum

At the far end of Riverside Park, sitting beside the Mississippi River is Riverside Museum. This is the place to go if you are interested in finding out about the history of La Crosse.

The museum starts off explaining how the site that La Crosse sits on was formed from glaciers carving out huge chunks of land. Geology is only the tip of the iceberg of topics that the Riverside Museum covers however. There are many artifacts from the Native Americans that were donated by the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center that offer insight into the lives of these indigenous people.

Continuing forward in time, you can expect to come across objects and presentations on the logging industry, steamboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi River through La Crosse, and the experiences of European settlers that built up the territory.

Self-guided tours of the museum are allowed during the open season. Guided tours are offered year round. Contact the museum to set up a tour. 410 E Veterans Memorial Dr, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Great River Popcorn & Ice Cream

If you were to make a list of kid favorite snacks, ice cream and popcorn would be somewhere high up on that list.

Indulge their love, and quite possibly yours, for these tasty treats by going to Great River Popcorn & Ice Cream. They have over 40 popcorn flavors available for you try and purchase! Some popular ones are buffalo ranch, bacon cheddar, frosted cinnamon apple, and peanut butter crunch.

In addition to the popcorn, this store makes over 20 kinds of ice cream. They have standards like chocolate and cookie dough, but there are some lesser seen options too. Cotton candy, pecan pie, and caramel are just a few of them.

You can also pick up other local made goodies at Great River Popcorn & Ice Cream. From barbecue sauces, to candy, to pickles, this place sales tons of Wisconsin-made culinary delights. 510 Main St, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Dahl Auto Museum

You won’t find a better car collection in Wisconsin than the one at Dahl Auto Museum. The condition the Dahl family’s cars are is nothing short of impeccable.

There are about 20 Ford cars on the show floor that range from 1911 to 2006. You will encounter a couple of the first car models ever made, the Model T.

Some other highlights of the collection are a 1932 Chrysler CP-8, 1955 Thunderbird, 1969 Mustang, and a 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition.

The Dahl Auto Museum is a great attraction to spend an hour or so outside of the La Crosse Center. Admission is under five dollars, which is always a nice bonus. 711 3rd St S, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

The Great Escape of La Crosse

There is a host of puzzling activities you can take part in at The Great Escape of La Crosse. First of all, you have six escape rooms to decide from, each with their own unique story and clues that you are required to solve.

If escape rooms aren’t your thing, you can try your hand at one of the scavenger hunts. After you download an app on your phone, you are sent off to take pictures and videos of things around the city. The team that has the most items crossed off their list wins. The Great Escape is also in the process of incorporating virtual reality games into their repertoire. 203 4th St S, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

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Places to Eat

Buzzard Billy’s

When you walk into Buzzard Billy’s, you’ll think you’ve been transported to the heart of New Orleans. The kitchen pumps out tons of Cajun and southern classics.

The menu consists of a lot of fried dishes, jambalaya, creole recipes, and even a few meals with alligator. You can also order steaks, hamburgers, pasta, sandwiches, and wings. 222 Pearl St, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Polito’s Pizza

Polito’s Pizza is famous for having some of the biggest pizza slices you’ll ever see. Seriously, they’re bigger than your head. You won’t need more than a slice, or two if you are a big eater, to fill you up.

They cook about 20 specialty pizzas along with the plain and standard topping varieties. Besides pizza, you can get wings or sandwiches. 116 3rd St S, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

The Breakfast Club & Pub

Going to your tournament without a hearty breakfast might not be the best idea. Fortunately, there’s a really good breakfast spot near the La Crosse Center.

The Breakfast Club & Pub is open from morning through the afternoon, so you can get your breakfast fix at any point between then. This restaurant covers all the bases in terms of breakfast foods. They serve pancakes, waffles, and French toast. They also have eggs, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, loaded tater tots, and even burgers. 214 Main St, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

Sushi Pirate

One of the best places to get sushi or Japanese food in La Crosse is a place by the name of Sushi Pirate.

Their menu contains all sorts of Japanese cuisine. They have both hibachi and teriyaki dishes, as well as tempura, noodles and fried rice. Of course, anyone who is a fan of sushi is going to want to get some of their raved-about  rolls or sashimi. 200 Main St, La Crosse, WI 54601

 

La Crosse is densely packed with attractions and restaurants within a few blocks of the La Crosse Center. You won’t need to venture very far away to find some awesome things to do.

Remember to pack some warm clothes, because the majority of the year, the weather can be a tad chilly. However, regardless of when you visit, you and your team will be able to enjoy La Crosse to the fullest extent.