Why Winona Belongs on Your Mississippi River Trip

Winona sits on a strip of land between the Mississippi River and a line of 500-foot bluffs, with two lakes in the middle of town. Here's what brings people back. 

The view from the top. Drive or climb to Garvin Heights and you'll see the whole town laid out below you: the river, the bridge to Wisconsin, the lakes and the bluffs running north and south. Sugar Loaf, the rock column on the bluff above Lake Winona, is the town's landmark. 

A real downtown. Winona's historic downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a walkable grid of brick storefronts, bakeries, coffee shops and restaurants a few blocks from the river. 

Stained glass everywhere. Winona is often called the stained glass capital of America. You'll find Tiffany Studios windows in a bank lobby, a 1912 Prairie School bank with large stained-glass windows, and a free app tour with 16 stained-glass stops. 

Art and history. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum sits right on the river. Add the Winona County History Center, the Polish museum and the Watkins museum, and you have a full day without leaving town. 

The river itself. Take a narrated cruise on the Winona tour boat, paddle the backwater channels, fish from Levee Park or just watch the barges go by. Bald eagles live along this stretch of the river year-round. 

Two lakes and a loop. Lake Winona has a paved loop of about five miles for walking, running and biking, with Sugar Loaf on the bluff above. 

Summer festivals. Steamboat Days, the Great River Shakespeare Festival, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival and the Winona Jazz Festival fill the summer calendar. 

Doughnuts. Bloedow Bakery is a longtime East Broadway favorite. Get there early. 

Winona KOA Holiday is six miles south of downtown in the wooded bluffs, so you can spend the day in town and be back at your campfire by evening. 

Photo courtesy of Visit Winona.