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A spin around Lake Pepin

An excursion on a favorite route turns up some real treats.

Along the shores of Lake Pepin, villages like to play a game called “Tempt the Tourist.’’

The tourists think they’re going to go for a drive and see some scenery. But the villages give them so many places to indulge themselves, they end up mostly eating and shopping — not that anyone’s complaining.

The highway around Lake Pepin is a gantlet of temptations — bakeries, bistros, wine bars and gift shops. Some people never make it beyond Stockholm or Red Wing. But this is the kind of place where it’s fun to spin your wheels.

Lake Pepin actually is a 26-mile-long wide spot on the Mississippi, created by the delta of the Chippewa River near Wabasha. Early explorers were quick to extol its beauty, and when steamboats began traveling upriver in the 1820s, settlements sprang up to supply travelers with wood and food.

General stores replaced wharves, then gave way to shops, galleries and cafes that cater to tourists. Today, visitors have an array of choices that’s as expansive as the views.

It's a 70-mile drive around Lake Pepin, making it a perfect day trip. We start in Red Wing, and our first stop is Smokey Row Cafe on Old Main Street, near Pottery Place, to pick up baked goods or a picnic lunch. A block away at Ruth's German Haus, we buy Bavarian sugared almonds and, if we've brought a cooler, sausage from Usinger's in Milwaukee.

If it's a fine day, we can take our picnic lunch to Bay Point Park to watch the river traffic or up to Barn Bluff for a view of the entire river valley.

Or we can drive across the bridge to Wisconsin and head along the Great River Road to Maiden Rock, where we hope that Smiling Pelican Bakery won't be out of its Viennese lemon tart. Often it is, so we'll split a piece of three-berry pie in the bountiful perennial garden and check out the adjacent produce stand, where the owner's mother often sells homemade sauerkraut.

The best shopping is down the road in tiny Stockholm, jammed into the shadow of the bluff. In the 1980s, artisans and shopkeepers began renovating the old clapboard and limestone buildings and turning them into galleries; that drew more artists.

We often buy something at Out of the Blue Gallery, which carries many vases, necklaces and paper gifts for $20 or less. Down the street, Stockholm Pottery & Mercantile has been open since 1991 and showcases the work of potter Diane Milner and local artists. So does Abode, a fine-arts gallery across the road.

If it's not too crowded, we like to sit in the shade of a willow tree in the flower-draped courtyard of Bogus Creek Cafe and Bakery and have a bottle of Spring Grove soda. Across the street, the Stockholm Pie Company sells pie and ice cream. If we want to sit in the sun, we have a burger on the deck at Gelly's.

Theyre' all within a few steps of the intersection of Wisconsin 35 and Spring Street. A block down the highway, the Palate sells gourmet treats and cookware and offers cooking classes.

The next town, Pepin, has been a popular day-trip destination for people from the Twin Cities and Rochester since the Harbor View Cafe opened in 1980. It exerts such a pull that its annual reopening in March signals the start of the tourist season on Lake Pepin.

Hopeful diners often have to wait hours for a table, a boon for the shops that have sprung up nearby.

Pepin also is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. There's a Laura Ingalls Wilder Historical Museum in town, a repository of Laura-era artifacts. The author was born seven miles up the bluffs, where her family's cabin is re-created at the Little House Wayside.

Down the highway from Pepin, the Nelson Cheese Factory has been making cheese for more than a century, but it's kept up with the times. First, it offered sandwiches and ice cream to passing tourists, then a large array of imported gourmet goods, and now a patio and a fireplace room where customers can sip wine and listen to jazz.

Across the bridge, Wabasha is the only town not bisected by a highway. For a long time, it retained the feel of the 1950s along its riverside Main Street, where the 1856 Anderson House was Minnesota's longest continuously operating hotel.

In 2009, the Anderson House closed. But tourists still come year-round to see the four resident eagles at the National Eagle Center and to watch eagles swoop out of nearby cottonwoods. Others come to the shop Wind Whisper West, which sells kimonos most buyers display as art.

And there's sophisticated dining at Vinifera, which serves Mediterranean dishes with bottles of wine guests can pick out themselves at the on-site shop,

Just up the road, Lake City also was known as a place that never changed. Then Nosh moved into a spot overlooking its lovely marina, and chef Greg Jaworski began serving Mediterranean versions of trout, pork, chicken and seasonal produce hand-picked from local artisan farms.

Next door, Rabbit's Bakery opened, selling finely crafted pastries and savory sandwiches. Lake City also is an apple capital, and its Pepin Heights is Minnesota's largest orchard; in fall, stop at its store on the highway to pick up a bushel of HoneyCrisps.

Our favorite restaurant is back in Red Wing, where Greg and Sarah Norton have returned The Nortons to a roomy space across from the St. James Hotel and beside their own Lucky Cat World Wine Market.

Like Nosh and Vinifera, they specialize in small plates, tempting diners to try first Vietnamese meatballs, perhaps, then Alsatian choucroute or Mexican roast pork.

On Lake Pepin, you can take your tastebuds around the world and back in a single day.

Trip Tips: Driving around Lake Pepin

Getting there: Red Wing is an hour southeast of the Twin Cities. On the south end, Wabasha is an hour and a half northwest of La Crosse.

When to go: The spring season starts unofficially when the Harbor View opens on the second weekend of March, and most shops are open Friday through Sunday. 

Weekends are busy in summer; Thursdays and Fridays are a good time to visit because there's less motorcycle traffic. A few shops close for a day early in the week, but most stay open daily through October, then weekends through Christmas. Many close for winter and reopen for weekends in late March.

Non-motorcyclists may want to avoid the April and September benefit Flood Runs, when thousands of bikers circle Lake Pepin. They're the third Saturdays in April and September.

2010 events: April 30-May 2, 100-Mile Garage Sale. May 14-16, Fresh Art Spring Tour on the Wisconsin side. June 5, Tour de Pepin bicycle tour.

June 25-27, Water Ski Days in Lake City, with parade at 2 p.m. Sunday. July 17, Stockholm Art Fair. July 30-31, Riverboat Days in Wabasha. Aug. 6-8, River City Days in Red Wing.

September, Laura Ingalls Wilder Days in Pepin. September, Studio Ramble in and around Red Wing. Oct. 2-3, Johnny Appleseed Days in Lake City. Oct. 9-10, Fall Festival of Arts in Red Wing.

Snacking and picnics: In Red Wing, stop at Smokey Row Cafe on Old West Main Street for baked goods or a box lunch to take up to Barn Bluff. In Maiden Rock, stop for quiche and baked goods at Smiling Pelican Bakery.

In Stockholm, stop for pie and ice cream at the Stockholm Pie Company and check for savory samples at The Palate. In Pepin, stop for espresso drinks and pastries at Great River Cafe on the highway.

In Nelson, pick up gourmet treats from the Nelson Cheese Factory or have lunch on the patio, which allows pets. Up in the bluffs on County Road KK, the Stone Barn serves wood-fired pizzas, wine and beer on weekend evenings.

In Wabasha, have coffee and chocolates at Big Jo Espresso, which shares a river-facing deck with Flour Mill Pizzeria. In Lake City, Rabbit's Bakery serves sandwiches and soups as well as baked goods.

Dining: In Red Wing, The Nortons Restaurant serves superb food across from the St. James Hotel, 651-388-2711. The Staghead on Bush Street also is good, 651-388-6581.

The Harbor Restaurant & Bar, off the river road between Red Wing and Hagar City, Wis., is known for its burgers and river views. For more, see .

In Stockholm, the courtyard of the Bogus Creek Cafe and Bakery is a lovely place to have breakfast or lunch. Gelly's Pub and Eatery has a menu of burgers and pizza, augmented by such specials as fajitas.

In Pepin, the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin is very popular, but evening diners should get there by 4:45 p.m. to avoid a long wait; the restaurant does not take reservations or credit cards, 715-442-3893. For dining al fresco, the Pickle Factory has a deck with a view of Lake Pepin.

In Wabasha, Vinifera serves small plates of Mediterranean comfort food, 651-565-4171.

In Lake City, Nosh has a view of the marina and serves fine cuisine made with local, seasonal ingredients, 651-345-2425.

Shopping: Some of the shops in Stockholm, including Abode, offer discounts; print coupons from the town's web site.

Paddlewheeler rides: In Lake City, the Pearl of the Lake offers 1½-hour public excursions at 1 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, $15, $8 children 6-13. 651-345-5188.

Hiking: Frontenac State Park has 13 miles of trails, including a one-mile handicapped-accessible trail. Many have lovely views, and in May, there's an array of wildflowers and warblers.

On the 400-foot bluff above Stockholm, Maiden Rock Bluff state natural area has beautiful views and includes rare wildflowers and possible sightings of peregrine falcons and other raptors.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthplace: A re-created log house, representing Laura's 1867 birthplace, stands seven miles up County Road CC from Pepin. The Little House Wayside, which is not furnished, can be visited any time; in Pepin, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historical Museum is open May 15 through Oct. 15.

Accommodations: For more about the towns around Lake Pepin, see Destination: Stockholm,  All eyes on Wabasha and  Antiquing in Red Wing.

Last updated on March 12, 2010