Discover Eau Claire

Eau Claire combines a distinctive connection to its rivers with arts and cultural offerings that appeal to a range of interests. These include a trail at the confluence of two rivers, guest performances, museums, art galleries, and an outdoor sculpture tour. As you plan your trip and look for a hotel in Eau Claire, these differences can help you decide what to focus on: Would you like to explore the rivers, include a performance, or discover art and regional events?

A connection to the rivers at the trailhead

The Chippewa River State Trail begins in Phoenix Park in downtown Eau Claire, at the confluence of the Eau Claire River and the Chippewa River. The starting point links a named place with a specific connection to the rivers. If you want to explore Eau Claire through its rivers, the trail offers a clear thematic starting point. This sets it apart from offerings centered on an exhibition or performance. When planning your trip, you can consider this focus alongside your interests in art and museums.

Guest performances and student use at the Pablo Center

The Pablo Center at the Confluence is located downtown and serves two distinct purposes. It is a venue for guest performances and also provides a newly created rehearsal, teaching, and performance space for students in the music and theater programs at UW-Eau Claire. Guest performances and the work of university programs thus come together in the same center; student use is tied to these music and theater programs. The space adds student rehearsals, teaching, and performances to the cultural offerings. If you are traveling for a particular guest performance, check its date in advance.

Museums with different focuses

The Children's Museum of Eau Claire offers children interactive exhibits that support their social and academic development. This gives it a different focus from the galleries at the Chippewa Valley Museum, which tell the story of significant events in the Chippewa Valley. This comparison can help you choose based on your interests. At the Children's Museum, exhibits for children and their developmental goals take center stage; at the Chippewa Valley Museum, the focus is on events in the region. If you organize your itinerary by theme, you can take these different perspectives into account.

Art in galleries and outdoors

The Pablo Center also has two art galleries featuring changing collections of regional and national art. The Eau Claire Sculpture Tour offers a different format: it is a free outdoor attraction featuring more than 120 sculptures spread throughout Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The tour can be explored as an outdoor gallery year-round. While an art visit to the Pablo Center focuses on two galleries with changing collections, the Sculpture Tour brings art outdoors across Eau Claire. If you are interested in a particular art collection at the Pablo Center, keep in mind when planning that the collections change. For the Sculpture Tour, its year-round accessibility is a useful distinction when planning your timing.

These offerings give your search for a stay in Eau Claire several different themes to consider: rivers at the trailhead, performances and student work at the Pablo Center, exhibits for children, events in the Chippewa Valley, or outdoor art. If your stay depends on a particular guest performance, its date is a concrete planning factor. By contrast, the Sculpture Tour can be explored year-round. This lets you choose between a trip planned around a specific event and an art offering that is not limited to a particular season.

For the broader travel overview: Eau Claire.