Kenosha, WI: "Unexpected Fun, Excitement, and Relaxation"

We have been hearing about Kenosha, Wisconsin for over a year now from raving reviews, fellow travel writers, and friends who had recently visited and enjoyed a great time...so we finally had to experience for ourselves this ideally located & gorgeous town that has numerous modern museums, great dining, lots of shopping choices, and simply a lot of fun things to see and do!

Kenosha, Wisconsin is on the shores of Lake Michigan

"Unexpected fun, excitement, and relaxation" is actually the tagline of their tourism campaign - and no I was not asked to use it (actually I'm stealing it without asking, hehe) - but after visiting myself I'd have to admit it most accurately describes my family's experience in Kenosha.  "Unexpected" is especially a key word, as the beauty of Kenosha (located on the shores of Lake Michigan) and the quality of its museums really surprised me.  After my recent visit I am convinced Kenosha is an undiscovered tourism gem!

Much of the old industry has been cleared for luxury condos, museums, shopping & dining

We began our visit by exploring the lakefront of Kenosha and the adjacent historic downtown area.  Kenosha used to be a heavy industrial town, but in recent years they have cleared the factories for luxury condos, restaurants, shops, and modern museums that are encircled by an electric streetcar and adjacent to an historic downtown.  We shopped at many of those shops (such as the best pie we have had in a long time from Elsie Mae's Cannery & Pies) and ate at some of Kenosha's best known eats during our visit (Kaiser's, Jack's Cafe at Andrea's, Tacos El Rey, and The Brat Shop), and simply enjoyed the views of the lakefront.

Kenosha's electric streetcar

Regular readers will know our son loves trains, so the electric streetcar line that runs in Kenosha was of course a highlight for us as well.  We rode the entire line three times!  The cars are heated, a round-tip ride costs $1, and it stops at several convenient locations in the downtown Kenosha area (its a small one line system, though there are talks of it expanding).  In any case, trains of any kind are a big hit with our family!

Inside the heated electric streetcar

Tenuta's famous Italian deli

After exploring downtown Kenosha and riding a historic streetcar, we headed to the famous Tenuta's, an Italian deli and market that highlights Kenosha's strong Italian roots.  It was actually an impressive market & worth the stop (there's a reason why places like this are known all over the nation) and reminded me of several markets (though these are a bit smaller) we have in St. Louis's Italian neighborhood called "The Hill."

Next we headed to the Kenosha History Center to gain some insight into Kenosha's past & its historic role in American history.  This free museum offered a wealth of learning through several life size exhibits covering Kenosha prominence in the automotive industry as well as showing the evolution of Kenosha from a small settlement centuries ago to a modern city.  I always like to understand the history of a new place before really diving into exploring it, as I feel that helps set the context for what I am about to experience.

View of Kenosha's waterfront & electric streetcar

Downtown Kenosha

In addition to exploring Kenosha's beautiful downtown & lakefront, shopping (too much), eating at  several great dining establishments, and gaining insight into Kenosha's history we also were completely taken aback by Kenosha's variety of public museums - the Kenosha Public Museum, Dinosaur Discovery Museum, and the Civil War Museum.  These museums were of big city quality and really shocked us at their modern & engaging exhibits!

The Kenosha Public Museum & Civil War Museum are side-by-side

The brand new Kenosha Public Museum was incredible!

We stayed at a very nice Radisson Hotel next to the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets, where we once again did too much shopping.  I mention the outlet mall especially because many folks (from Chicago especially) associate Kenosha only with this outlet mall, which is really unfortunate as Kenosha truly has a lot to offer beyond a mall.  We drove all the way from St. Louis (only a 5.5 hour drive actually) to spend a few days in Kenosha, and it was well worth it!  Kenosha is a great tourist destination with a ton to offer - all of which I will write about in coming posts...

Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse - just one of many!

Disclosure: Our family's visit to Kenosha including lodging, all meals, and admission where applicable was provided by the Kenosha Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. As always, all of my thoughts are my own, unbiased, opinions based on my first-hand experiences.