Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
The best thing to do is walk along the town's
lakeshore parkway walking trail,
stretching
from Pump House Road in the northeast of town to Thompson's West End Park.
Stagen-
orth
(123 W. Omaha, 715/373-1194,
www.stagenorth.com
)
is a modern performing arts
theater where you might get jazz, you might get a play; even if nothing's on, stop by for a
drink at the bar.
On Bayfield Street in the central part of town you'll find an odd biological speci-
men—the
Lombardy Poplar.
This state champion tree has defied odds by living—and
growing—for 80 years, despite the fact that this species is generally short-lived. This one,
an exotic European import, has hung on to produce a trunk 52 inches in diameter.
Accommodations and Food
The cheapest rooms, a decent deal, are the aging but clean rooms (some with kitchenettes)
at the
North Coast Inn and Chalets
(26 W. WIS 13, 715/373-5512, $70). There are some
more recently refurbished rooms.
There are a couple of great USFS campgrounds north and south of town (no reservable
sites) but most don't know about the
Big Rock County Campground
on the Sioux River;
to get there go three miles northwest of town on Highway C and then right on Big Rock
Road.
A couple of “bistros” exist in Washburn. Simpler but better for this roadhog are the
wood-fired pizzas at
DaLou's
(310 W. Bayfield St., 713/373-1125, lunch and dinner Tues.-
Sat.).
Getting There
Washburn is served by the
Bay Area Rural Transit
(BART, 715/682-9664,
www.bartbus.com
)
buses that run between Ashland and Bayfield. Driving to Washburn
from Ashland (via U.S. 2 and WIS 13) takes 15 minutes.
The grand
Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
(junction of U.S. 2 and WIS 13, 715/
685-2680,
www.northerngreatlakescenter.org
,
9am-5pm daily), west of Ashland, is without
question the best educational experience in northwestern Wisconsin, and it has even better
views of the big lake. Best: It's still free. An impressive piece of architecture and construc-
tion,it'samultilevelededucationalcenterfocusingontheregion'secosystemandhistory.A
multimedia introduction produced by Bayfield's Big Top Chautauqua musically chronicles
