Overview
Portage is a city in Southwest Wisconsin, that bears the slogan "Where the North begins."
1 sights
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Portage
Portage Retail Historic District
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Sep. Summer highs reach about 82°F; winter lows dip to about 12°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: Jun and Jul. (climate data from nearby Madison)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- MSN Dane County Regional Truax Field, Madison — 29 mi away. Directions
- ATW Appleton International Airport, Appleton — 68 mi away. Directions
- MKE General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee — 89 mi away (major hub). Directions
Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Food for you
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Understand
In 1673, French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette were excited to learn of a portage between the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers here on their way to find a route to the Mississippi River, a feat that would portend great promise for the fur trade in due time. Years later, in 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer would do his own crossing over of a different kind in this same locale.
Get in
- Route stopping at Portage:
- Empire Builder operating daily between Seattle/Portland and Chicago including stops at Spokane, Glacier National Park, Fargo, Saint Paul, and Milwaukee. The trains split into separate branches between Seattle and Spokane, and between Portland and Spokane, while operating as trains consisting of train cars from both branches between Spokane and Chicago.
See
See Portage Retail Historic District
- Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, 1824 WI-33. All that is left of Fort Winnebago that was occupied by the US Army to protect the Fox-Wisconsin Rivers portage traffic from the Winnebago Indians during the early 19th century. An interesting tidbit is that one Lieutenant Jefferson Davis of later Confederate notoriety was once stationed here. Nearby is the Indian Agency House which had an indigenous school.
Do
Try a walk along the Wisconsin River pathway in town, just mind the ice in winter because that first step's a doozy.
Sleep
- Best Western Resort Hotel & Conference Center, 2701 County Rd CX. Indoor pool, looks like it could fit into some cityscape in the Baltics. +1 608-742-2200. $81 (Aug 2023)
Nearby
Baraboo
City / town · 16 listings · 15 mi away
Wisconsin Dells
City / town · 46 listings · 16 mi away
Prairie du Sac
City / town · 3 listings · 22 mi away
Columbus
City / town · 15 listings · 27 mi away
Beaver Dam
City / town · 8 listings · 32 mi away
Green Lake
City / town · 7 listings · 32 mi away
Coloma
City / town · 5 listings · 33 mi away
Madison
City / town · 101 listings · 34 mi away
My experience
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