- Exploring the hidden gems of Western Wisconsin—curating unforgettable stays and sharing the places locals love most.
The population sign in Stockholm, Wisconsin says 97. That’s the whole village. And yet on a summer Saturday you’ll find people from all over the Midwest parked along Spring Street, holding paper plates of pie, browsing galleries and staring out at the widest part of the Mississippi. It’s the kind of place you think you’ll stop at for twenty minutes and then look up and it’s 4 o’clock.
It’s about 50 minutes south of Prescott on Highway 35, and it’s one of the first places I tell guests to go. Here’s why it’s worth the drive, and how I’d spend the day.
Stockholm was founded in 1854 by Swedish immigrants from the Värmland region. More than 200 of them made the journey, and about a third didn’t survive it. The village grew to a few hundred people by 1900, then shrank as the river trade faded. Around 1980 artists started moving in, drawn by cheap old buildings and the light off the lake, and that’s the Stockholm you’ll find today. The village still keeps a connection to Sweden: in 2006, a group of 85 people from Bjurtjärn traveled here to perform a play about the original settlers.
If you want the full story, the Stockholm Institute is a small, volunteer-run history museum in the old post office on Spring Street, with family histories and a traditional Swedish pole fence out front. Its hours are seasonal, so check before you go.
Stockholm Pie and General Store was named the best pie shop in America by USA Today readers in both 2024 and 2025, and it lives up to it. They bake more than 40 varieties over the year. Some of my favorites are the Kentucky Bourbon Chocolate Walnut, the Lingonberry Lemon (a nod to the village’s Swedish roots), Butterscotch Cream and Bumbleberry. Can’t decide? Order a pie flight.
Don’t skip the savory side. The chicken pot pie and the apple sausage quiche make a real lunch, and they make sandwiches too. Then browse the general store for old-fashioned candy, Wisconsin cheese, local beer and wine, and gifts.
Insider tip: If you want a whole pie to take back to your room, call ahead and pre-order. And note that the shop is generally closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Stockholm’s shops are small, owner-run and full of things made by hand. A few to look for:
For lunch or an early dinner in town, Hop Dish and Vine is a gastropub on Spring Street with a beer and wine garden. The Mushroom Philly and the hand-cut fries with garlic-scape aioli are the dishes people come back for. Just outside the village, Humble Moon Folkstead and Saloon does scratch cooking with ingredients from Driftless farms, plus craft and non-alcoholic drinks and board games. It runs from St. Patrick’s Day weekend to the winter solstice and closes for most of November.
A few minutes up the hill, Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery sits in an orchard on the bluff. Order a flight of their gluten-free hard ciders. The Honeycrisp and Red Hawk are my favorites.
Walk down to Village Park, right on the shore of Lake Pepin, the widest stretch of the Mississippi. It’s a great place to eat your pie. For the big view, drive about two miles north to Maiden Rock Bluff State Natural Area, where a 1.5-mile loop leads to an overlook about 400 feet above the water. On the way home, use the scenic pull-off just outside Stockholm for a last look.
Once a year, Stockholm’s population jumps by thousands. The Stockholm Art Fair is a one-day juried show in Village Park overlooking the lake, with around 95 artists, live music, food vendors and an art booth for kids. It’s usually held on the third Saturday in July. Get there early, park where they tell you, and bring cash for the food stands just in case.
Leave Prescott after breakfast at The Kitchen Table and take your time on Highway 35, stopping for coffee in Bay City and browsing in Maiden Rock. Spend the middle of the day in Stockholm, then drive ten more minutes to Pepin for dinner on the water at the Harbor View Cafe (March to just before Thanksgiving) or wood-fired pizza at Villa Bellezza (open all year). You’ll be back in Prescott in about an hour.
Make downtown Prescott your home base and book direct with us: The Port of Prescott for boutique king suites steps from the river, Port After Dark for romantic suites made for couples, The Harbor Hotel for themed rooms and extended stays, and The Cove Guest House for downtown condos and group getaways.
