Scenic Drives | Scenic Pathways

Duncan’s On the Gulf – Our Review

March 10, 2023November 13, 2019 by Ross Reinhold

Dining Review of Duncan’s on the Gulf Formerly known as Carlin’s Steakhouse & Pub, Duncan’s has attracted good reviews online for the short time they’ve been under the current ownership. We were looking for a different place to eat with a view overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and the Cedar Keys islands. We had previously … Read more

Apalachicola, Florida

December 28, 2021April 7, 2019 by traveler

Apalachicola – Gem along the Forgotten Gulf Coast (While Apalachicola sustained some damage from the October 2018 Hurricane Michael the town recovered quite quickly and is now fully open for business and entertainment) Apalachicola has a rich history, established in 1831, at one time it was the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico. … Read more

Gulf Scenic Drive – Highway 98

June 8, 2022April 5, 2019 by traveler

Road Trip – Gulf Coast Scenic Drive from Rosemary Beach to Apalachicola

Previous Road Trip Article: Scenic Highway 30A Destin to Rosemary Beach

Directory to the Florida Gulf Coast Drive Maps and Articles

Interesting things to see and do from Rosemary Beach to Panama City Beach

After Rosemary Beach Scenic Highway 30A rejoins highway 98 and the average speed of traffic accelerates. On your way toward Panama City Beach, highway 30 splits off and runs along the Gulf shoreline. Before arriving at Panama City, you go through a few suburban beach communities like Hollywood Beach, Sunnyside and Laguna Beach. The beach front along this stretch is largely public with lots of parking along the road. Unlike Destin and the beach communities of South Walton along 30A, very few structures are built on the beach itself. Most of the resorts, townhomes, cottages, and condos are on the other side of the highway.

These communities west of Panama City have the look of more affordable beach vacation destinations and or an affordable retirement community. Not at all sparkly and upscale like Seaside and Rosemary Beach.

Panama City & Panama City Beach

As you get closer and closer to Panama City Beach, things get bigger, denser, and high rise resorts begin to dominate the landscape. Once in the thick of Panama City Beach there is an unbroken chain of huge resorts along the beach. These resort hotels are flanked by various beach resort entertainment venues – usually on the other side of the street from the beach front.

While there were a fair amount of people on the street and the traffic was heavy, compared to the large crowds of people milling around in the three South Walton beach communities we saw relatively few people along the road. Most people staying in these huge resort complexes must be at the beach or inside enjoying whatever amenities are in these luxury facilities.

A personal viewpoint. Panama City Beach seems to be a more urban setting compared to other beach communities along the Panhandle Gulf Drive. Doesn’t look like the kind of place where you could turn your kids loose like you could at the resort communities of Seaside or Rosemary Beach. But with so many mega-resorts per mile there has to be a sizable demographic that finds Panama City Beach appealing. For us, one trip was enough for lifetime. On our return trip we stuck to Highway 98 that ran away from the beach and then through Panama City itself.

Caveat. However if you are lucky enough to get a reservation at St. Andrews State Park you can escape the maddening crowds of commercial Panama City Beach and enjoy a top-rated beach, hiking trails, kayaking, water sports, and more. The park has three camp stores for provisions and vacation needs so there is no need to leave the park during your stay.

(By the way, although parts of Panama City got hit real hard from Hurricane Michael, Panama City Beach itself managed to escape with minimal damage . . . so various tourism and beach destinations are intact and operating normally)

Panama City Links

Panama City to Apalachicola

Mexico Beach

About 10 miles east of Panama City, along highway 98 you arrive at the small community of Mexico Beach where the pace of life slows down quite a bit. There’s an extensive public beach area with lots of free parking. The collection of cottages, vacation homes, and condos are all on the non-beach side of the highway. There is an assortment of restaurants, pubs, charter fishing, a fishing pier and beach related enterprises to give vacationers a variety of things to do. If you like being at the beach, aren’t attracted to the urban beach resorts like Destin and Panama City Beach, or can’t afford a Seaside or Rosemary Beach vacation, Mexico Beach could be the place for you.

Mexico Beach Visitor Center

(unfortunately the 2018 Hurricane Michael did a great amount of damage to the town. Mexico Beach’s lodging providers and tourism have been working hard to restore and reopen. Several lodging places to stay are now available with more coming soon!)

Port St. Joe

The next town Port St. Joe is less a vacation community and seems to have a more industrial or commercial base but it does have a nice downtown waterfront and park area. Port St. Joe looks out across an expansive lagoon to the St. Joseph Peninsula so technically it is not on the Gulf. The lagoon forms the St. Joseph’s Bay Aquatic Preserve. Near the tip of the Peninsula is St. Joseph Peninsula State Park that offers camping, hiking, and an extensive beach fronting on the Gulf. (Port St. Joe was another casualty of Hurricane Michael so camping here in 2019 may be dicey. Likewise camping is at the State Park on the St. Jo Peninsula is suspended because the park is now only accessible by water.)

Indian Pass

On your way south of St. Joe, Highway 98 and Highway 30A part company again. 30A is more scenic and runs along the Gulf past the entrance to St. Joseph Peninsula and past Indian Pass, a smaller peninsula that is primarily a vacation home community, but has a nice secluded RV and Tent Campground-Indian Pass at the tip (The campground survived Hurricane Michael with minimal damage). Another noteworthy spot along this route is St. Joe Bay Golf Course (see our review).

When you turn East on Hwy 30A by the entrance to St. Joe’s Peninsula and head towards Indian Pass, you leave the Emerald Coast and travel along what is known at the “Forgotten Coast.” Along this route there is a string of barrier islands: St. Vincent, Cape St. George, and St. George Island. The first town along the Forgotten Coast is Apalachicola.

Historic Apalachicola

Apalachicola, is one of our favorite places along the Panhandle Gulf Coast. Unfortunately because it is protected by those barrier islands, Apalachicola doesn’t have those glamorous white sand beaches. You’ll have to drive out to St. George’s Island to get your “Gulf Beach Fix.” But for many other kinds of vacation entertainment we like Apalachicola a lot. It has several quaint restaurants and bars – see our reviews, even a brew pub, lots of neat little shops and galleries, some interesting parks, museums, a large number of historic register homes and structures, and some attractively restored B&Bs.

Jo and I enjoyed some Oyster City Brewing nut brown ale out on the Brewery patio.

st. george island lighthouse — Along the Forgotten Coast – St. George Island Lighthouse and Public Beach

See our Road Trip article on travel attractions along the Gulf drive from Apalachicola to Cedar Key.

(Below. Gulf Scenic Drive, Destin to Apalachicola Road Map. if viewing on mobile use two fingers to move map around)

Travel and Visitor Links:

The portion of the Gulf Coast from the St. Joe’s Peninsula and east to Apalachicola and beyond calls itself the Forgotten Coast. So far what we’ve seen of it, we like it. The Gulf Coast Drive continues east and north past the communities of Carrabelle, SopChoppy, Panacea, Shell Point and St. Marks.

Previous Article: Scenic Highway 30A Destin to Rosemary Beach

Ross Reinhold

More Best Apalachicola Restaurants

August 13, 2019January 28, 2019 by Ross Reinhold

We previously reviewed Best Restaurants in Apalachicola listing places we’ve tried and ones we plan to try in the future based on restaurant review sites. The two restaurants we profile here were also on the list of Top 10 Apalachicola dining in Zomato and Trip Advisor. Unfortunately our visit to these two didn’t support that … Read more

Best Restaurants Apalachicola Florida

April 20, 2021January 28, 2019 by Ross Reinhold

Apalachicola Dining & Restaurant Reviews

We’ve had occasion on our two previous visits to sample a number of Apalachicola restaurants and pubs. Our favorite so far is Up the Creek Raw Bar (see our review lower down the page) which dining reviews on Zomato (and other restaurant review sites) rate as #1 in Apalachicola.

Restaurant Review sites led us to try two other top rated Apalachicola places to eat: Boss Oyster and Hole in the Wall Seafood & Raw Bar. Unfortunately our experience didn’t verify their high overall average high ratings (read our restaurant reviews of these two here).

Up the Creek Raw Bar and Restaurant — Great views of the river and bay from the second story deck of “Up the Creek Raw Bar”

Review: Up the Creek Raw Bar

We loved Up the Creek Raw Bar with its friendly and fast service and great views of the Apalachicola River from its second story enclosed deck. You place your order at the bar, take a number and find a comfortable table. When your order is ready a staff member finds you and delivers your meal and beverage. They have a decent selection of wine and tap beers and of course a decent seafood menu. While almost every restaurant in town features locally harvested oysters, known for their unique mild and briny flavor, we stuck with a more familiar dish – grilled mahi-mahi, served with cole slaw and hush puppies. We were not disappointed in our meal served hot and tasty.

Review Summary. Solid 4 and half stars for food and ambiance; 5 stars for super-friendly, fast and efficient service from a team of staffers who love what they are doing.

Apparently others agree with our experience as Up the Creek is ranked by Zomato as the #1 dining spot in Apalachicola.

Up the Creek Raw Bar website

Links to more Best Apalachicola Dining

Here’s some other dining places vying with Up the Creek for best places to eat in Apalachicola:

The Owl Cafe & Tap Room is located across the street from Oyster City Brewery and is highly rated on Zomato and other restaurant review sites. We had planned to catch breakfast there one morning but upon arriving discovered they only do lunch and dinner, so we’ll have to catch them on our next visit.
Tamara’s Cafe is another popular Apalachicola dining establishment that we planned to visit on Monday only to find that was the only day they were closed. Unlike the Owl Cafe, this Cafe does serve breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner. Also on our restaurant review list for our next visit.
Two other good breakfast spots in Apalachicola are the Apalachicola Chocolate and Coffee Company and Cafe Con Leche (unfortunately neither has a website).
The “Up the Stairs” Restaurant, gets top marks on some review sites and is unique in two respects: it caters only to diners “over 21” and is located on the second story over some shops. Their forte is “quiet dining where patrons can get away from the bustling crowds” with “. . . small plate dining in the lounge and a full menu in the dining room.” Their menu is somewhat retro offering steaks, salmon, duck, scampi, but each with a unique spin.
Another place that offers a change of pace from oysters being the specialty is “Antonio’s on the Bay” offering authentic traditional Italian dining and super friendly service.
No food except popcorn, but we always enjoy a brew and snacks, watching the world go by at Oyster City Brewing’s patio deck.

Gulf Drive & Forgotten Coast Travel Links:

Scenic Highway 30A Travel

December 28, 2020January 5, 2019 by Ross Reinhold

Scenic Gulf Drive – Destin to South Walton to Rosemary Beach

Directory of Articles & Maps: Traveling the Gulf Coast Scenic Drive
Previous Article: Gulf Drive Pensacola Beach to Destin

Going East of Destin on Gulf Highway 98 you connect with Scenic Highway 30A just past Topsail Hill State Park. This will give you an opportunity to return to driving along with a view of the gulf and through the South Walton beach communities along the Emerald Coast. While there still are condos and town homes along this stretch, they aren’t as tightly packed on top of one another like in Destin and along the route you begin to see some actual single family homes with larger yards.

You’ll also pass several ponds that are called coastal dune lakes, freshwater lakes that drain into the Gulf, providing a unique ecosystem due to the exchange of salt and fresh water. Some of these coastal lakes have preserved, natural shoreline – no homes or condos and therefore indeed offer some natural scenery to justify calling this a scenic drive. About a mile before you get to the community of Grayton Beach you are actually driving through Point Washington State Forest.

While the drive doesn’t offer an abundance of notable scenery, it is a more pleasant and slower paced drive than traveling on busy highway 98. But about halfway along the 24 mile route there is a genuine scenic and unique destination: the historic beach town of Grayton Beach (see article) and it’s popular neighbor Grayton Beach State Park – see our article here.

Grayton Beach, Florida

The tiny village of Grayton Beach traces its founding back 125 years when vacationers used to travel by horse and buggy to enjoy its white sand beaches and small town character. As you walk through the town you can see many examples of old cottages lovingly restored and some with a humorous and artistic twist.

Grayton Beach Cottages — One of the many artfully landscaped cottages in Grayton Beach

The town is largely surrounded by Grayton Beach State Park (see our review) which has served to limit the expansion of the village and probably played a role in preserving its unique character. The State Park’s gulf beach extends on both side of the village providing more than a mile of relatively uncrowded pristine beach terrain. The park also encompasses a 100 acre coastal dune lake providing opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, paddle-boarding and fishing. There’s a 59 unit campground and 30 cabins in the park and biking and hiking trails. Make your reservations early as this is a popular park.

Grayton Beach and the State Park are located along the paved Walton County hike/bike path that runs adjacent to Scenic Highway 30A. Biking is one of the best ways to get around town as well as the three nearby towns east of Grayton Beach . . . as there isn’t a lot of public parking space.

Seaside Florida — Hundreds of bikes in the town of Seaside, every where you look bikes.

Seaside to Rosemary Beach

Going east of Grayton Beach on 30A you quickly arrive at the very upscale community of Seaside with an extensive collection of modern condo units and a popular town square that hosts entertainment, beach-related enterprises, festivals and outdoor food carts. We drove through this town in late March during spring break time and were in awe of seeing what seemed like a thousand kids on bikes running back and forth along the bike path adjacent to the road and droves of teens crowding around the food and entertainment in the town square plus walking to and fro. I wonder how crowded the beaches were because there were sure lots of people walking and biking around town. Seaside is a popular place.

The Food Court at the Seaside Town Square is a favorite gathering place.

Further east of Seaside is the community of Seagrove (more beach condos) and then at the end of Scenic Highway 30A the community of Rosemary Beach essentially a replication of Seaside with condos, beach resort venues, a very busy town square and people walking and biking everywhere. These three villages east of Grayton Beach seem to be very popular, especially with families. If you rent a house, cottage or book lodging at a condo many types of entertaiment, in addition to the beach, are within walking distance (and biking and bike rental places abound!). These villages must have a reputation as safe places because there were young kids streaming all over the place, many without any adult supervision.

Travel and Visitor Links:

Our article and Photos of The Village of Grayton Beach
Article and Photos of Grayton Beach State Park
See Part 1 of Gulf Coast Scenic Drive – Pensacola to Destin, Florida
Directory of Articles & Maps: Traveling the Gulf Coast Scenic Drive
Seaside Florida website
Seagrove Florida website
Rosemary Beach website

Continuing on the Scenic Gulf Coast Drive: Gulf Drive Rosemary Beach to Apalachicola – – –

Davis Bayou Campground | Ocean Springs

May 10, 2022November 25, 2018 by traveler

RV Campground Review: Davis Bayous Gulf Islands National Seashore Park

Davis Bayou is one of two full service RV campgrounds that are part of the Gulf Islands National Park. The other campground is Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola Beach, Florida. The Fort Pickens Beach that stretches from the old fort east to the village of Pensacola Beach is regularly voted as Florida’s favorite beach so getting a reservation at the Fort Pickens campground can be more difficult than at Davis Bayou – which is one thing we like about Davis Bayou, we can actually get a camp site there! Another thing we like about Davis Bayou is the camp roads and the individual site parking pads are paved. The sites are also nicely spaced from one another and the mature live oaks and pine trees offer most sites at least some shade during parts of the day. All 52 sites offer water and electricity.

The Campendium camping and rv community rated Davis Bayou as one of the Top 10 Mississippi campgrounds.

davis bayous campground map — 52 nicely spaced campsites, all with water and electricity.

The Park Visitor Center has some exhibits explaining the natural features in the park and suggestions on things to see and do. There is also a fishing pier adjacent to the center for anyone who possess a Mississippi State Saltwater Fishing License. The park also has a boat launch and pier for fishing and boating in the bayous or out in the Gulf itself.

Popular activities of campers are biking, bird watching, boating, fishing, hiking nature trails, and alligator watching. The popular tourist mecca of Biloxi is about 10 miles away with its sand beaches, casinos, restaurants, museums, golfing, and other entertainments.

Nature Hiking Trails – Slide Show

The entrance to Davis Bayou is off of Gulf Highway 90 that runs along the Gulf from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula. Unfortunately there is no direct connection to the Florida Gulf Coast Scenic Drive highway without going away from the Gulf through Mobile to connect with Gulf Highway 98 that runs to Pensacola. An attractive alternative that greatly reduces the highway miles is to stay along the Gulf shore and drive out to Dauphin Island where you can take a ferry to Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores and then to Pensacola. Along this route is one of our other favorite campgrounds, Big Lagoon State Park, which borders Perdido Key.

Summary of Pros & Cons of Davis Bayou RV Campground

Pro: Top Notch Campsites, Easy Access from Highway, Decent Affordable Price, Good Roads for Biking, Close to Grocery Shopping, Less Competition for Reservations.

Cons: 10+ miles to decent beach and other visitor attractions, fewer & shorter hiking trails.

Gulf Islands Visitor & Travel Attraction Links:

MIssissippi-Alabama Campgrounds & Travel Attractions

Travel Attractions: Mississippi Alabama Gulf Coast Drive

Campground Directory – Mississippi Gulf Coast Drive

Campground Directory – Alabama Gulf Coast Drive

More Best Restaurants in Pensacola

November 4, 2022October 30, 2018 by traveler

Carmen's Lunch Box Cafe Sidewalk Dining Pensacola Florida

In this post oF Best Places to eat in Pensacola, we review: Triggers Seafood, The Ruby Slipper cafe, and Another Broken Egg Cafe. Following those reviews are links to four more Top Places to Eat in Pensacola.

Dining Review: Triggers Seafood Restaurant. (now Wolf Bay

When we are in Pensacola in our motor home, we generally spend some time staying at Big Lagoon State Park near Perdido Key. A few blocks west from the entrance to the park is Triggers Restaurant.

Triggers Seafood Restaurant, Pensacola Florida

Viewed from the outside, Triggers isn’t going win any architectural awards. You wouldn’t guess it is one of the best restaurants in Pensacola. A plain-looking box that years ago was a convenience store and bait shop. But in 1987 Glenn and Carol Ard bought the building to house their dream of starting a seafood restaurant. Glenn and Carol, their daughter and son-in-law plus an array of other relatives have created a successful authentic seafood restaurant, with friendly staff and a comfortable dining atmosphere. The interior has a nautical theme with comfortable tables and chairs, adequately spaced from one another so your dinner conversations aren’t easily shared with neighboring tables.

Our most recent visit was in March of 2017. Jo had their Seafood Platter and I chose the Mahi-Mahi Taco basket. Your entre’ includes a choice of two sides. Our fish was served hot, moist, and was flakey – easily cut with your fork. The veggies were crunchy, not overly cooked. Portion sizes were generous. Overall rating: excellent service, top-notch food, comfortable seating. We are not alone in loving Triggers; they also get some good reviews on Urban Spoon and Google Plus. It would get stronger reviews on other lists of best restaurants if it weren’t so far off the beaten path.

Note March 11, 2020: After more than 30 years in business, the Ard family closed Triggers Restaurant and sold the building. The structure was bought by the owners of Wolf Bay Lodge, a family owned restaurant chain, and significantly remodeled and re-opened as Wolf Bay at Perdido in the same location as Triggers. Like Triggers, the menu features seafood. Recent reviews are generally favorable, but we’ll have to visit them to see if we would rank them among the top 10 places to eat in Pensacola.

Dining Review: The Ruby Slipper Cafe.

Ruby’s is located next to the al Fresco outdoor cafe near the corner of Main Street and Palafox. The Cafe gets good reviews on Trip Advisor and it is convenient to the historic district and public parking areas. So during our visit in 2016 we thought it would be a good spot for a hearty breakfast out. When we are Rving, breakfast is usually something simple like cereal and fruit so we were looking forward to something more substantial like my favorite: eggs-over-easy, a slice of ham, whole wheat toast and hashbrown potatoes.

The Slipper’s breakfast menu featured a number of more exotic, fancy food dishes at prices we usually pay for dinner fare. But after a little searching, we did find some more traditional breakfast choices. Jo went with a build-your-own 3 egg omelete that offered a large number of alternative add-ons. Her choice was tomatoes, onions, and swiss cheese and a side of fruit. It also came with a large biscuit. She was happy with her meal. I should have followed her plan but I had my mouth fixed for eggs-over-easy with toast, ham and hashbrowns. The closest I could come to that was their Southern Fried Breakfast. Not a good choice. Chicken sausage, a heavily breaded deep-fried green tomato, grits, and a gooey biscuit just didn’t cut it with my eggs-over-easy . . . that were done a little too hard. And getting served lukewarm coffee didn’t help matters.

Our postage stamp sized table for two was crammed in very close to other diners and was in a very noisy part of the café, making conversation difficult. The tiny table with no spare space, noise, and being smack against our fellow diners plus average to below average attentiveness of our server lowered our review rating substantially. And compared to the price of our meal, we have to give the Ruby poor marks overall.

Based on our experience, we cannot verify Ruby Slippers best restaurant rating. In fairness, while other reviewers have also complained about the noise level, comfort, and less attentive service, many customers have found the more exotic menu and specialty drinks just what they wanted. However for our upper Midwestern palates, we are still searching for a decent place for breakfast in Pensacola.

Dining Review: Another Broken Egg Cafe

Upon reading the above comment on our search for a decent breakfast spot in Pensacola, a manager at Another Broken Egg Cafe on Gregory Street who urged us to try them next time. We took her advice in March of 2017.

Another Broken Egg Cafe Pensacola Florida — Lots of space and comfortable seating in 3 different dining areas.

We were not disappointed. Broken Egg has a very spacious interior with dining rooms, good spacing between tables, and large comfortable booths for those who prefer this kind of seating. Pleasant background music at the right volume level. Exceptional service from a team of wait staff each with different roles, although they also overlap to better serve the customer. The team included an order taker, a server, coffee and water servers, and two different managers or hosts who stopped by to check how we were doing. Water and coffee was refilled frequently and we had staff stop by five times to ask if we needed anything. We felt like visiting royalty.

We had scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast with our coffee. You could tell the scrambled eggs were made fresh – not manufactured in large quantities and then reheated like you find in most motel breakfast offerings. The prices were reasonable and the menu offered a wide variety of breakfast options from all sorts of traditional to more exotic and heart healthy versions. Price was reasonable and portion sizes decent. (See pix, also do a TripAdvisor review)

Another Broken Egg Café is the #4 rated Best Pensacola Restaurant in Trip Advisor and we agree with their top rating, at least for breakfast but I imagine their top-notch service carries through to lunch and dinner.

More Reviews of Best Restaurants in Pensacola.

Other Pensacola Restaurant Best Places to Eat in Pensacola.

We still have a number of Pensacola pubs and restaurants we need to sample and review. On Palafox Place Street on our to-visit list is Carmen’s Lunch Bar Restaurant (shown at the top of this page) It has attractive sidewalk dining and also dining indoors in the restaurant itself. As the name suggests its focus is on lunch (serving 11 am to 4 pm) but also offers a nighttime Tapas menu (as well as beer and wine) from 4 pm to 8 pm. Gets good reviews on Yelp, Urban Spoon, and other restaurant review websites, so it is another top-rated dining places in Pensacola we have to try.

Within the downtown and nearby historic districts, there are lots of other unique and interesting places to eat and entertain. We enjoyed the outdoor patio and craft brews at Pensacola Bay Brewery, however unfortunately they offer no food service.

Pensacola Bay Brewery — Good brews, nice patio, but no food service.

Three other Pensacola dining and entertainment places that get good reviews are also located along Palafox Street: the Global Grill a tapas bar, Jackson’s Steakhouse, and Jaco’s Bayfront Bar & Grill – see our review. You can see profiles of other restaurants at the Pensacola Visitor Center website.

Happy to hear recommendations from other Pensacola visitors. Make your Comments below.

Visiting Pensacola Florida

Pensacola: Things to See and Do
Pensacola Restaurants & Pubs
Pensacola Golf Courses
Smokin’ on the Square
Naval Aviation Museum
Historical Pensacola Forts
Fort Pickens Campground
Pensacola Beach
Gulf Coast Scenic Drive, Part 1
Gulf Coast Scenic Drive, Part 2

See more Pensacola Restaurant Reviews: Hub Staceys, The Fish House, and McGuire’s Irish Pub
Also see our reviews of Best Restaurants in Pensacola Beach: Flounders, Red Fish-Blue Fish, Native Cafe

Roscoe

Grant River Corps of Engineering RV Campground

December 28, 2021October 27, 2018 by traveler

RV Campground Review: Grant River Recreation Area – Potosi, Wisconsin

Grant River is one of our favorite Corps Parks. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, it has nice mature trees offering lots of shade options for the camp sites. Modern full service washrooms with showers kept spotlessly clean. Lots of frontage along the river with benches every 100 feet or so offering a pleasant places to sit and watch the river roll by. There isn’t a lot of activity on the river itself, largely free of the sound of jet skis and power boats charging back and forth disturbing the tranquility. But there is an adjacent boat launch for fisherman and a large parking area for trailers.

grant river campground — Spacious, well-planned camp sites with shade at least part of the day.

The sites are level and concrete and the road throughout park is paved. The heavy, substantial picnic tables are well-maintained and stand on a well-drained gravel pad with a fire-ring and grill. The sites are electric-only with 20, 30, and 50 amp service. No water hydrants at each site, but several hydrants are sprinkled throughout the campground for convenient refilling. There is adequate spacing and green space between the camp sites. A few of the camp sites are dedicated for tent campers and provide very adequate spacing away from other camp sites.

Just north of the campground is a day use area with a picnic pavilion, a boat ramp and dock, and lots of parking space.

Things to See and Do at Grant River Corps Park

Besides hanging out at the campsite, we enjoy hiking around the park, enjoying the scenic views of the river, and biking both around the park and to the Potosi Brewery for a brew or food (see our review). The National Brewery Museum is also located at the Brewery and is a fun and interesting look at the history of brewing with stories and pictures from former breweries in Wisconsin and across the nation.

One of our favorite things to do at Grant River Corps park is dine at the Potosi Brewery

For bikers, the rustic rural road that runs from Potosi’s main street to the park isn’t that busy with traffic and is a scenic bike ride over a mostly level terrain. More enthusiastic bikers can take the return trip along Brewery Hollow Road (a Wisconsin scenic rural road) back to the campground. And even more enthusiastic bikers can take the scenic River Road 20 miles north to Cassville and the Stonefield Village Historic Site.

When we have the grand kids or grand nephews/nieces with us they enjoy fishing from the banks of the river and the park playground that has slides, swings, climbing gym, volleyball court, and horse shoe courts.

Provisions like ice, beverages, and basic groceries are available at the Pine Point Store 4 miles away in downtown Potosi.

One Downside to RV Camping at Grant River

While we consider Grant River an A+ campground, some campers would downgrade that vote due to the fact of frequent trains running by. Seeing the trains is a neat experience for kids and train aficionados, but the noise of them passing can disrupt what are otherwise a very peaceful nighttime atmosphere.

All along the upper Mississippi River there are railroad tracks with active freight trains running day and night, so one downside of any campground near the Big River are the periodic trains that run overnight.

grant river campground site map — Grant River Camp Site Map

See our list of Best Great River Road RV Campgrounds from Dubuque, Iowa to Prescott, Wisconsin

Links to Nearby Travel and Visitor Attractions:

Potosi Brewery – Restaurant-Tap Room, Brewery Museum, Brewery Tours (3 miles)
Birchwood Golf Course, Kieler, WI (14 miles) – no website
Golfing in Dubuque and East Dubuque – 2o miles
Dubuque, Iowa Attractions – River Museum, River Walk, Winery, Restaurants, Scenic Views, etc. (20 miles)
Stonefield Historic Village, Cassville, WI (20 miles)

Great River Road Fall Color

June 29, 2021September 1, 2018 by traveler

Winona to Wabasha Fall Color Drive

One of the favorite fall color drive loops along the Minnesota-Wisconsin Great River Road stretches from Wabasha to Winona on both sides of the river.

In the third week of October 2017 we started our trip on the Minnesota side going north. In general we found the colors on the Minnesota side more vibrant and varied. I think the difference may be in the sun exposure affecting the distribution of the species of trees and the progress of color change. The Minnesota side faces north-east, whereas the Wisconsin side faces south-west.

Bluff View LaCrosse — One of the many scenic overlooks along the Wisconsin-Minnesota Great River Road

Best week for Peak Color along the River Road

Because the predominate deciduous trees along the river bluffs (oaks, maples, basswood, birch, etc.) change color at different times “Peak Color” can be an impossible dream. If you are earlier in the season you’ll catch more maples, ash and walnut changing, with yellows, oranges and lime green. If you are later in the season you’ll catch more oaks with deep red hues and some yellows from birch trees. But usually when the oaks and birch are most outstanding, the leaves have fallen from the ash, maples, and walnuts.

So our recommendation is just go when you know there will be some color and nice weather. Enjoy whatever combination mother nature presents at the time.

The Ashes were turning along the Minnesota Great River Road between La Crescent and Winona.

Best Direction of Travel for Good Fall Color

We noticed in traveling both sides of the river from Southern Wisconsin that the view along the Wisconsin side traveling south was more colorful than the views traveling north along the Wisconsin Great River Road. So our recommended loop for the best color is going south on the Wisconsin side from Nelson, Wisconsin through Fountain City, Wisconsin and across the river from Winona, MN. For travelers going north we recommend the Minnesota side from Winona to Wabasha. Bridges cross the river at both Wabasha and Winona facilitating this loop.

Great River Road Fall Color Pictures

From Just south of Winona looking across the river at Wisconsin’s Perrot State Park and the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge

In the background Brady Mountain, Perrot State Park.

Perrot State Park. In the background Trempealeau Mountain

Reick’s Lake Park is north of Alma, Wisconsin at the mouth of the Buffalo River as it enters the Mississippi. It has several nice RV sites along the shoreline and is on the migration route for Tundra Swans and White Pelicans.

Nelson Creamery – Wisconsin Great River Road
A popular stop for fall color tourists for lunch, ice cream, and Wisconsin Cheese in a historic creamery along the River Road

Nelson Creamery Outdoor Dining — On a sunny day the Creamery’s secluded patio offers a most pleasing dining experience.

Links – More Scenic Drives along the Mississippi River

Wisconsin Great River Road – Winona to Red Wing
with links to visitor websites for Winona, Fountain City, and Alma.

Minnesota Great River Road – Red Wing to Wabasha
with photos and article on Wabasha and National Eagle Center.

Great River Road Map & Article Directory

Click on map to go to Great River Road map and directory page

Nelson Creamery Great River Road

August 13, 2019August 24, 2018 by traveler

Restaurant Review – Nelson Creamery, Nelson Wisconsin

People shopping for cheese, lining up at the ice cream counter, and placing their luncheon order.

About 50 cars filled the Nelson Creamery customer parking lot on a Thursday afternoon in little Nelson, Wisconsin on Hwy 35 – the Wisconsin Great River Road Scenic Byway. Same thing happened last year. We were through Nelson last year mid-week about the same time for our annual fall River Road Color tour and the parking lot was full then and in fact there was somewhat of a traffic jam in front of the Creamery as people were looking for street-side parking. Lots of people sitting on benches in front and walking around eating ice cream cones. So we figured the Nelson Creamery must have some terrific ice cream to get so many people to stop here. Last year stopping just wasn’t on our plans, plus it was really crowded. But we made a note of a must stop the next time we were passing through.

So October 19, 2017, on our fall color drive from Winona to Wabasha, we did stop, initially to get an ice cream cone but ended up getting lunch as well. Once inside the Creamery we discovered ice cream isn’t the only reason people stop there. They have a huge selection of Wisconsin cheeses, an extensive wine collection, a wine tasting room, and indoor and outdoor seating for dining. Great sandwiches, soup and pizza bring people here as much as the ice cream. There were two separate ordering lines, both quite full. One for ice cream, one for lunch food service. At the luncheon counter, you order your sandwich or pizza, pay for the food, leave your name and seating location (inside or out) and a server will bring you your order when ready.

It was a pleasant sunny day so we dined in their cozy outdoor patio. The food service was courteous and fast. The wait for our order wasn’t very long considering they were quite busy. Kudos to the management for good staffing levels and competent help. Our hot toasted Pita Veggie Sandwiches were jam-packed with garlic hummus, guacamole, kalamata olives, cucumber, red pepper, tomato, onion, sprouts & feta cheese. Super yummy. The sandwich menu is quite extensive and there are soups and salad too, plus their personal pizza offerings.

Good food, reasonable prices, fast service, nice ambiance inside and out. We can see why Nelson Creamery is a favorite among travelers on the Great River Road.

Links:

Nelson Creamery – Nelson, Wisconsin

Upper Mississippi Great River Road Scenic Drive

A fall scene between Alma and Nelson along Hwy 35, Wisconsin’s Great River Road Scenic Byway.

Great River Road Map & Article Directory

Visiting New Glarus, Wisconsin

November 4, 2021June 8, 2018 by traveler

New Glarus Wisconsin – America’s Little Switzerland

Attending one of the several seasonal festivals in New Glarus, it is not unusual to hear people conversing in Schweizerdeutsch or hear English spoken with a decided German accent!

The Swiss culture traces back to 1845 when a Swiss community of 200 immigrants from the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland purchased 1200 acres of land for their new settlement. In succeeding years, immigrants from other Swiss cantons arrived to fuel the population growth of New Glarus as well as other areas in Green County. Learn more about the history of the settlement here.

New Glarus Polka Fest — Young and old(er) enjoying the annual **Polka Fest** held the second weekend in June.

While the town has become more ethnically diverse, it maintains its strong connection to its roots in its architecture, food and drink, festivals, and cheese. The historic (1853) New Glarus Hotel (pictured at the top of this page) anchors the downtown business and entertainment district. While no longer housing guest rooms, the hotel’s restaurant has a long history of authentic Swiss cuisine and Swiss hospitality. And on the weekends, the hotel treats you to another piece of Swiss culture – polka music and dancing.

In the lower level of the hotel, the Edelweiss Cheese Factory has its factory store offering a selection of their award-winning cheeses and a selection of excellent cheeses from other area producers and from Switzerland. While the shop is more modest in size and offerings it is not to missed by a cheese aficionado. Despite smaller size, in addition to the cheese are a selection of wines, sausages, local beers, crackers, and other gift items, plus a small sidewalk café where you can enjoy your deli purchase with glass of wine or stein of beer.

Across the street from the hotel is the Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate Haus that offers a broad array of cheese and other goodies (like Swiss chocolates and ice cream). Next door is the New Glarus Bakery (doing business here since 1910), known for its excellent Swiss and German pastries, breads, cookies, or dessert items. Further down the street is one of our favorite Swiss restaurants – The Glarner Stube. Nearby is another New Glarus favorite – Puempel’s Olde Tavern which dates back to 1893. Several other interesting shops, boutiques, pubs and restaurants are within walking distance of downtown. Like Monroe, the Swiss Heritage has been well preserved in its buildings and structures.

Slide Show: Walking around downtown New Glarus

The Swiss United Church of Christ was built in 1900. The congregation originated in 1850. A replica of the original log church is in the nearby Swiss Historical Village Museum.
Edelweiss Cheese Shop features the award-winning cheeses of the Edelweiss Creamery as well as cheeses from other local producers. Also offers sausages, crackers, wine, and beer which can be enjoyed on their outdoor patio.
The New Glarus Bakery offers Swiss and German pastries, breads and dessert items. We love their New Glarus Stollen, a popular Christmas gift.
Brendas Blumenladen Shop has an extensive collection of unique items for the home and garden, as well as gifts and fashion apparel.
The Glarner Stube is one of our favorite Swiss Restaurants in New Glarus

Another New Glarus fixture worth visiting is the New Glarus Brewery on the top of a hill south of town. It began life as a small craft brewery in 1993 and has grown in size and has attained a national recognition for quality brews. The brewery moved from its original location to an entirely new facility featuring state of the art brewing technology and automation. Both self-guided tours and guided tours are regularly available and its old world style beer garden offers an opportunity to taste several brews.

New Glarus Music Fest — At the annual **Music Fest**, members of the Mannerchoir perform the Swiss National Anthem on Alphorns

Annual New Glarus Festivals

Popular annual events include The Polka Fest, Heidi Festival, the Volksfest, Wilhelm Tell Festival, and OktoberFest, sponsored by the New Glarus Brewery. Two weeks after OktoberFest, the annual Fall Harvest Fest is held at the Swiss Historical Village, a replica of an 1850s Swiss settlement with 14 artifact-filled shops and buildings from that era.

Links to New Glarus Attractions

Visit another Wisconsin Swiss Heritage Community: Monroe, Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Cheese Capital

Cheese Country Travel Map & Article Directory

Cheese Country Scenic Drive Map with notes on cheese factories, golf courses, RV camping, and other attractions. — Article Directory & Map Cheese Country Scenic Drive with notes on cheese factories, golf courses, RV camping, and interesting towns and other attractions.

Potosi Brewery Pub & Restaurant

April 20, 2021May 5, 2018 by traveler

Potosi Brewery Pub Restaurant Dining Review

Potosi Brewery Tap Room — The Potosi Bar and Tap Room is a beautiful combination of old and new.

One of the attractions along the Wisconsin side of the Great River Road north of Dubuque is visiting the historic Potosi Brewery. A worthwhile visit for a brewery tour and the fantastic National Brewery Museum, but they also have a great restaurant.

Potosi Brewing Hospitality Bar — Jo enjoying a stein of Gandy Dancer Porter in the tap room.

Located in the southern end of the historic Potosi Brewery, the pub and restaurant is a blend of old and new with modern furnishings and an artisan-crafted bar walled by the old sandstone block foundation decorated with old Potosi Brewery signs. Up to 8 Potosi brews are on-tap, offering a variety of styles. We were pleased to see their Gandy Dancer Porter was among the featured on-tap brews.

The restaurant menu features sandwiches and wraps plus a few entres. Jo had the grilled chicken breast with walnut sauce and I had their Reuben sandwich. We both elected steamed broccoli as our side dish. The Reuben served on wonderful marbled rye bread with melted Wisconsin Swiss Cheese and sauerkraut on corned beef was served hot and delicious. Good thing the table setting included lots of extra napkins because the Reuben was finger-licken good! The broccoli side dish was perfect – crispy fresh florets served hot but not overcooked. Jo loved her chicken breast covered with walnut seasoning and served on a bed of rice, a combination she will want to try at home. Very large portion sizes, so Jo got to take home half her meal for a snack the next day. Her serving of broccoli was as perfect as mine. Price-wise the menu was reasonable as were the tap beers. Some brew-pub restaurants seem to charge a premium just for the experience of eating and drinking there. Potosi is the exception.

Potosi Brewing Reuben Sandwich — My tasty Reuben sandwich overflowing with mouth-watering goodness!

Had the day not been so hot (91 degrees) we would have enjoyed dining in the outdoor beer garden.

Service-wise, the bar and table service was above par. I think the staff enjoys the Potosi working environment and this shows in their service.

One tip for prospective diners. If you take the Brewery Museum tour prior to dining, you can get a chit for a free 12 ounce tap brew in the restaurant after your tour.

Potosi and Great River Road Links

Our Article on the Potosi Brewery Brewing Museum

Potosi Brewery Website

Potosi Brew Pub Menu

Great River Road Scenic Drive – Savannah to Dubuque

Breitbach Country Tavern – Iowa’s Oldest Pub

Potosi Brewery | River Road Attractions

August 13, 2019May 5, 2018 by traveler

Potosi Brewery and the National Brewery Museum

A mini-museum is part of the Great River Road Interpretive Center.

The Potosi Brewery located in the river town of Potosi began operations in 1852 and became one of Wisconsin’s largest breweries with a nationwide distribution. But due to the consolidation going on in the brewing industry had to close its doors in 1972. The building remained vacant for several years until revived in the 2008 following a $7.5 million restoration. The brewery is also home to the National Brewery Museum, the Great River Road Interpretive Center, a gift shop, and a brewpub, restaurant, and beer garden.

The brewery also offers guided brewery tours that include a guided tour through their state-of-the-art production facility, four 5-oz beer samples in the Brewery Tasting Room while watching an informational video, a Potosi pint glass from the gift shop and one pint of the Potosi tap beer of your choice from the Brewpub.

Located across the street in the old Potosi Bottling Plant is the the Whispering Bluffs Winery and tasting room, the Bottle House Gifts and Ice Cream Shop, and other artisan shops.

Potosi National Brewery Museum

The National Brewery Museum is located on the second and third floors of the brewery. There are several rooms of collections of brewery signs, photographs, cans and bottles and other memorabilia from breweries and former breweries across the country. Many of these collections are loaned to the museum by private collectors. There are also exhibits of antique brewing and bottling machines and several touch screen audio-visual stations with a variety of brewery and brewing programming.

A person could easily spend hours touring the various exhibits, reading the stories and looking at the photographs of various breweries that are now extinct. Some of these breweries that disappeared were quite large operations.

My wife Jo was surprised to learn that there was a brewery in her former hometown of Highland, Wisconsin. It ceased operations during World War II so it wasn’t around when she came into this world. But from photographs in the exhibit, the building itself was still around in 1960. So we are curious if it still exists today. (See pix).

At one point in the history of Wisconsin brewing it seemed like any town of a few thousand people had a brewery.

Being from Wisconsin, we were most interested in the history of Wisconsin breweries. It is amazing the huge number of them that existed in an earlier era. It seemed any village of even a modest size had a brewery. One reason for the large number of breweries is Wisconsin’s germanic ancestry; immigrants brought with them the taste and technology of their favorite adult beverage. Another reason was the lack of modern refrigeration. This meant a breweries service area was limited to about 15 miles from the brewery. This was especially true prior to advent of the automobile.

Like many industries, brewing went through a period of consolidation. Refrigeration and the automobile, plus improvements in bottling operations greatly expanded the potential geographic market for brews. Larger breweries bought out smaller operations or just put them out of business through the market-place competition. The prohibition era put economic stress on some operations; those that survived switched to brewing soft drinks or non-alcoholic beers. Shortages of materials during World War II and men engaged in war put more stress on marginal operations. Today, some historic brand names still exist, like Pabst and Schlitz, but they are no longer independently brewed. They are just labels on a can or bottle coming from a Miller Brewing facility.

Jo was surprised to learn her former home town of little Highland, Wisconsin had a brewery.

Going through the exhibits brought back memories of brands that were advertised when I was a kid and no longer around. Fox Deluxe is one I remember. Also memories of beers I drank as a young man that are no longer: Meister Brau, Gettleman’s, Old Style, Hamms (from the land of sky blue waters), to name a few. One I tried once and from the taste I recall it made sense this one disappeared: Chief Oshkosh. It came in unique value-priced eight pack cartons and was economy both in price and taste! My favorite beer from my youth was Leinenkugels as it was only available in Northern Wisconsin where we traveled for vacation each summer from Chicago. Leines still exists and is brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It is still run by the Leinenkugel family although Miller Brewing is now its parent company.

We would have stayed longer and especially I’d like to sit and watch more of the audio-visual productions. But we were two hours past our lunchtime and we were getting quite hungry.

While there is a small free museum on the first floor featuring the history of the Potosi Brewery, there is a fee for touring the National Brewery Museum. But it is a very good deal because it includes a chit for a brew from the pub after your tour. And they had a senior rate which made it an exceptional deal! See our Potosi Brewery Pub and Restaurant Review.

Links:

Indian Pass RV Campground

December 28, 2021April 17, 2018 by traveler

RV Campground Review: Indian Pass Campground, Port St. Joe, Florida

Indian Pass is a hook-shaped peninsula, about 3 miles long, jutting out into the Gulf along Scenic Highway 30A between Port St. Joe and Apalachicola.

Indian Pass Campsite — One of the pull-through RV campsites

The Indian Pass Campground is at the very tip of the peninsula adjacent to a portion of the St. Vincent Wildlife Sanctuary and the Boat Ramp and Ferry Dock. There are 34 RV sites with electric, water, and basic cable, plus a handfull of tent sites. There is a bath and shower building, a laundry area, and a modest store in the campground office. Wi-Fi is available at the office and on the porch. The lagoon formed by the peninsula and the adjacent St. Vincent Sound (bordering St. Vincent Island) make the campground popular with kayakers and canoeists. The convenient boat ramp and the protected waters are also ideal for fishermen. While the campground has its own beach, the isolated sand beach bordering the wildlife refuge is a better alternative for sunbathing and swimming.

Indian Pass Beach — The beach across the street at the wildlife refuge.

The Indian Pass community is mostly homes with a few smaller condos with few commercial establishments so there’s not much traffic and being located at the end of the road, the campground is in a very peaceful setting and the extensive beach looking out towards St. Vincent Island is uncrowded and unspoiled.

The campsites in general are well-shaded and mostly level. The sites are arranged in a somewhat crazy-quilt manner oriented around the trees and terrain. I think this adds to the general attractiveness, although it means large units will have trouble accessing some of the sites. But some will easily accommodate larger RV units and some sites are pull-through.

indian pass campground layout — Indian Pass CG Aerial View. Google Maps

Other Nearby Attractions. The nearest bar or restaurant is 3 miles away on Highway 30a at the entrance to Indian Pass. The closest general shopping is in Port St. Joe, 13 miles from the campground. The St. Joseph’s Bay Golf Course (see our review) is 10 miles away and for us a nice bonus as we enjoyed the course very much. Historic Apalachicola, with many notable seafood restaurants, raw bars, galleries and shopping boutiques is 21 miles from the campground.

Gulf Coast Drive Travel Links:

St. Joseph’s Bay Golf Course
Learn more about fun things to see and do while visiting Apalachicola
More Florida Gulf Coast Camping
Florida Gulf Coast Scenic Drive, Part 1. – Pensacola Beach to Grayton Beach
Florida Gulf Coast Scenic Drive, Part 2. – Grayton Beach to Apalachicola
Indian Pass Campground Website