The Great Lakes are dotted with resort villages and port towns, a speckled mixture of quaint getaways and heavy industry. Between work and play, there's also that middle ground where tourism and toil meet in the middle: cities and towns that celebrate their natural beauty but are still active and vibrant beyond the brochure destinations.
Sheboygan, Wis., sandwiched between Green Bay and Milwaukee with 50,000 residents, isn't just a weekend getaway, nor is it a Rust Belt industrial park. It's a busy lakefront community with all the arts, restaurants and industry to stay independent and important. The area has ample shoreline and calming blue scenery, but it also has international companies and middle-class jobs from the likes of Johnsonville, Kohler, Acuity and more. There is upscale dining and there are fish fries. There's an even mix of attractions for families and children; outdoors activities like golf, sailing, surfing and fishing; and pampered adult spa getaways.
This dichotomy between industry and tourism can be seen along the Sheboygan River. On one side is the rustic Riverfront Drive, with charter fishing businesses and hidden dine-in gems in historic, weathered harbor buildings. Across the river is South Pier Drive, with modern architecture that commands the beach in the form of resorts, ice cream shops and restaurants. Idiosyncratic charm or contemporary sensory overload — Sheboygan is choose-your-own-adventure.
Water sports
Lake Michigan is Sheboygan's lifeblood. Downtown, the North Side Municipal Beach and the Breakwater Lighthouse are all nestled against the windy shoreline. This city is a hot spot for lake surfers, and the horizon is typically dotted with kiteboarders and sailboats along with fishing boats and gulls. Sheboygan is the only freshwater training site for U.S. Olympic sailing, and the city hosts the annual Dairyland Surf Classic for seemingly coldblooded inland surfers. The pier is lined with charter fishing boats, and local experts can help you reel in fresh lake trout and salmon.
Arts
Downtown's John Michael Kohler Arts Center showcases modern arts from sculpture to paintings and textiles, with rotating exhibits that can be expansive. It also boasts one of "America's best bathrooms," with full porcelain murals commissioned by artists (1-920-458-6144; jmkac.org).
Family activities
Bookworm Gardens brings fairy tales to life in a free garden/playhouse exhibit that re-imagines children's literature with topiaries, sculptures and flower beds serving as dioramas. There's a life-size Hansel and Gretel house and many creative displays from tales like "Three Little Pigs," "Winnie-the-Pooh," "Horton Hatches the Egg" and "The Magic Treehouse." In case of rain, the Cosmic Bounce indoor fun park recently opened near Blue Harbor Resort (1-920-254-1519; cosmic-bounce.com).
Where to stay
South Pier Drive leads to the behemoth Blue Harbor Resort & Spa, a 243-room hotel and convention center that overlooks the lake on one side and downtown on the other. Inside there are two restaurants, three bars, an indoor waterpark with three-story slides and a mini golf course (1-920-452-2900; blueharborresort.com).
Where to eat
Chef Stefano Viglietti (trattoriastefano.com/about) makes his mark at Field to Fork Café (locally sourced breakfast), Duke of Devon (English pub), Stefano's (Italian) and Il Ritrovo (Neapolitan pizza). Elsewhere, the city boasts the colorful Weather Center Café on Riverfront Drive, serving enormous quiche and muffins in the morning, plus Greek-influenced sandwiches and seasoned-salt Skippers Chips that are perfect for a snack along the marina (1-920-459-9283; restaurantssheboyganwi.net). Downtown, Black Pig (1-920-457-6565; eatblackpig.com) serves modern comfort food, and El Camino (1-920-208-6851; elcaminosheboygan.com) delivers hearty Tex-Mex.
Where to drink beer
The city has two breweries. 8th Street Ale Haus is a brewpub, with 30 craft taps and four of its own pours including the aromatic FFMPH Imperial IPA, which has a fruity grapefruit impression. 8th Street's delicate cheese curds are worth the stop alone (1-920-208-7540; 8thstreetalehaus.com).
Across town, 3 Sheeps Brewing has opened a taproom in a former Coca-Cola bottling plant. The taproom boasts 16 options, including high-alcohol experimental varieties such as Hoedown, a black imperial wheat ale brewed with cherries and hot peppers. It's hearty and bold on first impression, but with a fiery and fruity kick. Vanilla Rye Stout is a mid-body stout with a sweet vanilla addition. Hello, My Name Is Joe is a popular coffee infusion, and its Uber Joe spinoff adds cocoa nibs and vanilla in a dangerous combination of high alcohol and deliciously sweet complexity. In all, 3 Sheeps embraces big beers, with more than half topping 7 percent ABV (1-920-395-3583; 3sheepsbrewing.com).
Meanwhile, in Kohler
Four miles to the west is the village of Kohler, with turn-of-the-century charm blended with modern escapism. Golf courses and spas define the experience, along with chef-driven dining. The Kohler Co., best known for its fancy kitchen and bath fixtures, has a manufacturing plant here; the company's five-star American Club resort is built in former immigrant laborer housing, upgraded with high-tech plumbing (of course) and high-end restaurants such as the farm-to-table Wisconsin Room and the log cabin-esque River Wildlife (americanclubresort.com). Kohler also offers tours of its historic facilities, showcases of space-age toilets, and a boutique district with everything from gourmet chocolate to lingerie, houseplants and antiques.
The three-day Kohler Festival of Beer brings Wisconsin and Illinois breweries to town every spring to pour samples, offer food pairings and celebrate beer. Summer brings the Chef's Table Dinner Series (through Aug. 30) and live outdoor music on Sundays, followed by fall's Kohler Food & Wine Experience (Oct. 20-23) and winter's In Celebration of Chocolate festival (Feb. 17-19, 2017). All in all, Kohler is a convenient and pampered getaway with a company-town vibe.
Loren Green is a Minneapolis freelance writer. His work has also appeared in Explore Minnesota, the Growler, City Pages and Paste Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @lorenmgreen.
