Holmen
Center for Commerce and Tourism
1101 Main Street
Onalaska, WI Telephone: (800) 873-1901
Fax:(608) 781-9572
Website
Holmen is a community set between high bluffs to the east and open prairies to the west. You’ll find several diners and locally-owned restaurants, as well as opportunities for recreation. Just north of Holmen, you’ll find the Van Loon Wildlife Area. The Van Loon Wildlife Area is a nearly 4,000-acre bottomland forest broken up by the channels of the Black River. Though the wildlife viewing opportunities here are fantastic, the most popular attraction in the Van Loon Wildlife Area is manmade—the McGilvray Bridges.
In the 1800s, Alexander McGilvray built a ferry to transport people across this frequently flooded area and into Trempealeau County. In the early 1900s, seven steel bridges were built using a unique design. Today, these bridges are on the National Registry of Historic Places and can be viewed by walking a series of trails throughout the property.
