Start from 24 curated places around Cedarburg, WI, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
The Stilt House
A gastropub in a genuinely historic building — the original tavern was raised on stilts when the owner needed a first floor below it — now pouring 30 rotating taps and serving a small-plate menu that changes with the season. The tuna tartare and shrimp tacos have devoted regulars, and the outdoor patio fills fast on warm evenings. Beer selection leans heavily toward Wisconsin craft with some well-chosen imports.
Anvil Pub & Grille
Set in the Cedar Creek Settlement's restored 19th-century blacksmith's shop, with exposed stone walls and a creek-side patio that overlooks the Cedar Creek waterfall, this is the closest thing Cedarburg has to a neighborhood anchor. The menu is pub-honest — steak burgers, stone-hearth Forge sandwiches, and a Friday fish fry in a light, crisp batter — and the waterfall seating in good weather is genuinely pleasant. The room itself, all quarried stone and low timber, does a lot of the work.
Trails & outdoors
Ozaukee Interurban Trail
A 30-mile paved rail-trail running the length of Ozaukee County from Grafton to Port Washington along the old interurban rail corridor, passing through Cedarburg's downtown and into open agricultural land. The Cedarburg segment threads between limestone buildings and century-old trees, then opens into the county's rolling farmland. A genuine multi-use trail that works equally for a short town loop or an all-day ride.
Pleasant Valley Nature Park Trails
An 88-acre town park with a network of hiking and mountain bike trails through hardwood forest, a pond with a boardwalk, and an observation tower that looks over the tree canopy. Three loops of increasing difficulty cover the park, with the beginner loop accessible for all fitness levels. The pond area is particularly good in spring when waterfowl are active.
Things to do
Cedar Creek Winery Tastings
Daily tastings in the stone-walled lower level of the old mill let you work through the full range of Cedar Creek's production — dry to sweet, red to white — with knowledgeable pours and no hard sell. The atmosphere in the vaulted tasting room is as much a draw as the wine itself, particularly on rainy days when the stone and candlelight close in warmly.
Cedarburg Cultural Center Events
The arts anchor of Washington Avenue, presenting live music, theatre, and gallery exhibitions throughout the year in a converted limestone building. The intimate main hall seats about 300 and books everything from Blueburg Cafe blues nights and jazz to comedy, open mics, and monthly First Fridays music parties. Programming leans toward jazz, blues, and folk, with occasional theatrical productions in the main hall.
Landmarks & sights
Cedar Creek Settlement
A sprawling 1864 woolen mill complex converted into galleries, boutiques, a winery, and studios without losing the feel of the stone walls and creek that made it. The hand-quarried limestone buildings are among the most intact 19th-century industrial complexes in Wisconsin. Wander through the levels and out onto the creek overlook whenever the shops pull you off track.
Washington Avenue Historic District
A nearly unbroken stretch of 19th-century limestone storefronts, taverns, and hotel blocks that reads as a complete Victorian main street rather than a preserved fragment. More than 200 structures in two separate National Register districts line the avenue and the side streets radiating from it. The scale is walkable and the buildings are genuinely in use, not museumified.