Fun things to do in Winona: 11 fun attractions and activities

We didn't visit with kids but I LOVED that they were aware of guests visiting with kids and had bingo sheets to be interactive. They had 3 different difficulties even. I thought as an adult I would find everything in it and I didn't. There is also a spot to stop and recharge.

Affordable, small, but beautiful and not stuffy art museum. We spent around 1 1/2 hrs here. Mostly kid friendly too, including a little sitting room for kids. We walked through everything and they had some super unique pieces including the panorama which was absolutely huge, never seen anything like it. They also had a giant realistic oil on loan which was pretty cool. I was hoping for more older art as they had 3 modern galleries out of 5, but it was still good. Pretty location with some outside tables next to the water. They just opened a small cafe which we heard good things about.

A wonderful visit and experience with a thematic, yet eclectic blend or artists, history and pieces. Pleasant staff, layout of the space promoted engagement and the pieces were engaging (particularly the exhibition on loan). The museum was a highlight of my first visit to Winona (and Minnesota).

I just had the best time at here this past weekend for Seasonal Summer Saturday with $1 admission, which was a great deal and a perfect excuse to go. I'd heard good things, but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the collection in lil ole Winona. The art is all fantastic, of course, but what really intrigued me was the diversity of what they had. They've got everything from incredibly detailed paintings of ships to beautiful landscapes and even some more modern pieces. It’s not just a bunch of old boats on canvas; they have a really well-rounded collection that all connects to the theme of water in some way. I was especially fond of the impressionist pieces. The setting right on the Mississippi River is just perfect, too. You can feel the connection to the art when you look out the window and see the real thing. The museum itself is a beautiful building, bright and airy, and not so huge that you feel overwhelmed. The staff were all super friendly and helpful as well. It's such a hidden gem and a fantastic way to spend a few hours. I'm so glad I went, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for their other events and exhibits. Even at the regular admission price, it's more than worth it.

Absolutely love this place. Exhibits are switched out pretty often so there is always something new to see. Great excuse to make the trip to Winona.

This museum is a treasure! Absolutely worth the drive down to Winona. It had an expansive collection and very interesting pieces.

Beautiful artwork! Definitely must see for art lovers and sea lovers but they have something for everyone. Educational, thought provoking and humbling

“Lower Garvin Heights park” is, as far as I can tell, not a park. If you take what looks like a nice footpath down the hill and your husband drives the car down to meet you, it lets out near two or three houses, practically in someone’s yard. I’m sorry the picture is blurry. There are at least three benches on the path.

Beautiful vista overlooking the amazing city of Winona.

Beautiful view. Must see, paved short walk from parking lot

Great place to make a quick stop. Not a very large park but u will be treated to some amazing panoramic views of Winona. Worth the 10 minute drive up the hill. Not if you are on a bicycle :-)

For a gorgeous view of the city of Winona, the Mississippi and lakes, do not forget to stop by Garvin Heights!

Been there twice and best view in Winona!

All I have to say is WOW! The view up here is incredible! There was a slope down to get to the overlook but I would rate this place as pretty accessible since there was a ramp on the side! The information boards were really helpful in pointing out all of the important landmarks in Winona (things that I didn't even know about!) - Overall, if you are in Winona and it's a nice day, you HAVE to stop here!

Levee Park and the river trail are a great place for community events and spending some nice time next to the river. There are music events here and on Saturday mornings, there is a farmers market.

It is a nice spot to watch #MississippiRiver in #Winona This may not be the best time to enjoy a river unless you want to see it freezing. #Nature #Minnesota #photography

The river boat tour was great. We learned about Winona and the Mississippi River. We were lucky and got to see eagles.

Nice little park but a lot of concrete since it's is a levee. Only restroom was an old portajohn but at least it was clean. Park across the bridge on Island is probably a better choice for a picnic but this worked.

Beautiful little spot to wall your dog, have a picnic, or take the kids rock climbing. Every now ans then you can see the big boat docked alongside the docks. Couole good little restaurants around incase you get hungry or want ice cream on a hot day.

Always worth a walk through, to see the river, or just for a little quiet. As it is on the main channel, it’s a great opportunity to see the variety of river boats that pass through. Whether as a post meal stroll, or a specific destination, it is quite accessible from the downtown.

Levee park is a great spot to hang out. I can’t wait to see what it looks like once all the construction is completed! Winona is stepping up its game.

The staff are very friendly and help me out whenever I needed help great place to swim. Love this place if you have a disability no problems!

Fun pool for kids. Slides, diving board, shallow areabfor littles & lap lanes. Concessions! Great lifeguards! Regular checks & breaks. Female shower & changing area are clean, but could use an update. Only 1 shower was working when we visited.

Reasonably price day of fun. Nice long twisty water slide, couple of diving boards, lap lanes, large shallow area, and large free swim area. Plenty of room to spread out didn't feel like everyone was stacked on top of each other. Be nice if they could update the changing area though

It's a clean water park but with many rules to follow. For example, adults are not allowed to sit with their feet in the water watching their kids dive into the water on a hot day.

We stay for a few hours which is plenty of time for younger kids. They need to fill the foodie area. It seems they are out of a lot of things that we wanted to order. It's either popcorn or nacho cheese and nachos which is always cold. I like the idea of hourly breaks from the swimming.

Public pool in Winona Minnesota for family recreation, great place to chill during summer vacations. They have got a water slide too. Also, ample showers are available.

Great place for kids, families, and everyone in between. It would be nice to have a hottub, but it is definitely not a deal breaker.

Look no further for a high quality and professional boat tour of the great Mississippi. We saw 6+ eagles in the wild - the boat captain brought us up close for us to see and photograph. The captain was very lively, and knowledgeable about the MR, providing us facts throughout the tour. Highly recommend.

The Mississippi River is beautiful especially on the way back with the sunset. The water is so calm and the scenery when dark is majestic. Captain Aaron tells some great stories and always with a sense of humor.

I loved the boat tour and Captain Aaron was very informative and entertaining. The scenery was beautiful, especially the eagles. I would have appreciated seating that was not so low. Not good for those of us with knee and hip problems. It would have been nice to sit higher and have something to hang on to to be able to get out of the seat easier. I would not recommend for those with mobility issues. We went on the tour boat over to Trempealeau, WI, to eat at Sullivan's. The docking area and pier we had to walk on to get to our bus to Sullivan's was very rickety and dangerous. This sways when you walk on it and there are no rails to hang on to. I would not recommend this to anyone elderly, those with mobility issues or children. It is not a question of if an accident will happen, it is when.

Winona Boat Tour is an amazing and very fun Boat cruise. The Captain is a great, very entertaining and interacts with the guest while sharing fun history about the area, allows guest to get up close and personal with nature and sites along the way. This is an amazing and enjoyable tour, plenty of nature to see. There are drinks and snacks available, comfy seating inside, enjoy the ride and scenery out on front deck, don't be shocked if the boat Captain occasionally steps out to chat or help take photos of you or your group.

We greatly enjoyed the Riverboat tour. Captain and River were engaging, friendly, knowledgeable, and absolutely adorable. The river views were beautiful the houseboats and boat houses were so interesting. We got to see wildlife and a little of the life on the river. Absolutely recommend it!!

It was a fun and very informative tour. We had a beautiful day to do the tour and I would recommend to everyone interested. Saw bald eagles and nests, turtles, and other other wildlife, all with great information from the Captain. Whole family all ages loved it!

We absolutely loved the Winona boat tour! It was the perfect summer/ fall activity the views were great with all the colorful leaves along the river. The captain and crew were fantastic, knowledgeable, funny, and made the whole experience so enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a relaxing and scenic way to enjoy Winona!

Receiving dock is on 3rd street. Can do straight backing to dock. Enough of space at the front.

Really neat little free museum, with a crazy variety of spices in the gift shop.

Good history of the Watkins Company. The spices are popular with the locals

I made a special trip all the way here from a couple hours away to see this spot just to see the store is close today for staffing issues.

Easy delivery. The front and back docks are easy to get into, especially early in the morning.

Watkins production is good but now we with our family and friends changed our opinion. We had very negative experience with HR specialist Welcome Human Resources Tyler Kiel to his glory minute - who is absolutely not a specialist. He is not professional, not doing his job, not talking with applicants, ignoring calls and emails. His merit is, that now Watkins looks otherwise then good. Really sad how easy it is to ruin a company 's image and impression. Very rude behavior deserves sharing with the whole world. For sure it was not the best fit for the company in common, they were missing real specialists, not giving them a chance. Obviously, all this could make company less profitable and definitely deserves manager's attention. One ill weed mars a whole pot of pottage. Additionally to the moral of this story that here - this Tyler Kiel is the Face of the company for applicants, not the best start to do business with company. Very sad for such a company with good products as Watkins.

Turn right off of rt 14 on Moncato ave, turn left on 3rd street,do not go to 2nd street,it's no trucks. Company will be on your left. Park on the street and check in ,there is only 1 dock there,so pull into the parking lot across from your dock and back in,pretty easy,I got unloaded in 20 minutes,receiving guy is a really nice guy.

Really enjoy meeting with this group. The performances are just spectacular. It's so lovely to have GDRF as such a major part of the fabric of the Winona arts and theatre scene.

Thank you for the community engaged theater production, “All the Town’s a Stage” to Winona. You were able to shed light on untold stories that deserve to be heard. Wonderfully done.

Such an incredible festival! The productions are fantastic, and it’s fun for the whole family.

We saw Melissa Maxwell's Imbroglio. Excellent production, stellar cast.

Professional Shakespeare productions with world class actors

My first Shakespeare performance. It was phenomenal, I am hooked!!!

A truly professional company, who knew there was so much talent in Winona!

I rented Wanek Hall for a baby shower and it was perfect! Connie made the reservation process so easy. I was able to view the venue before booking and Connie went through several table set-ups with me so I could see all the options. The room was all set up with the table and chair layout requested so I just had to come in and decorate. Venue is beautiful and very classy! 10/10 - Would book again!

It's a cute little museum with some Winona artifacts. It's small and should take about 10 minutes to walk through.

Awesome place...very clean, spacious and had a wonderful gift shop.

Similar to other medium size towns in MN as far as their local museum, but all indoor and a very nice setup.

Great way to spend an hour or so if you're burning time in Winona or a place to take kids for some local learning (or adults too 😉)

I only had a short time to stop in before heading to another event, but I was there long enough to be impressed by the historic items on display. I was there on a Saturday that had free admission so being able to only stay briefly was ok. I'll be going back when I have more time to read all the information. There are two levels of displays and ongoing work to add more and update other displays.

Learn something new each time visiting... Also watch Fun facts on Facebook Fridays.

What a gem in the small Winona community. The Polish community played a large part in the local industry. Many descendants have roots in the Polish heritage. Tim was our guide and the other couple visiting was actually native Poland citizens. They added much to our visit. Recommend a visit on your passing through this area. Limited hours from 1000-1400 Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Great artifacts and rare historical clothing.

Nice museum—their most notable artifact is the Solidarity banner that hung at the labor union’s headquarters in Poland. It was signed by President Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, Henry Kissinger and other dignitaries in 2001. It was purchased by one of the founders of the company, Fastenal, and relocated to the Winona museum.

This is a treasure trove of beautiful and inspiring stories, things, and pictures. The different areas of the museum, looking at the most beautiful and horrific things that humans have done, are worth days of exploring on their own. The tour Jeff gave added to my appreciation and highlights the role individuals play in history. Thank you for this beautiful and inspiring collection and all you do! I look forward to learning more about Kashubian culture.

Small local museum that provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the many small kingdoms of Poland from which immigration (both voluntary and involuntary) originated. You can learn about the history of Winona's Polish immigrants and how they became part of America. The staff provided excellent historical insight into Poland which helped provide a framework for our genealogy research.

A "Hidden Gem"! We had a very informative, personal tour from our guide TIM. Rare artifacts and historical documents you might find at Smithsonian. Stunning craftsman woodworking, intricate hand sewn fabrics and beautiful artwork are a true reflection of the impact the Polish immigrants had on the city of Winona. This Museum is more than a collection of artifacts, but a real tribute to our ancestral heritage.

This place was so much more than we were expecting - including being greeted by Adam and Paul. They shared a great deal of information with us, and even personal stories of their own Polish families and experiences. The greatest point of interest for us was the amazing collection of Catholic church pieces and information, located on the top floor. I want to say we stayed a good two hours - there was so much to see. Will definitely stop in again next time we are in town. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Winona!

Wonderful presentation of Kashubian/Polish history. Highly recommend!

Tons of games and a lot of fun! My 9 y/o loves the Guitar Hero room and I enjoy all the pinball machines options. 10/10 recommend for a night of family fun in Winona.

We came for a family event and had a great time! The staff were attentive and incredibly helpful with tips and hints of how to correctly throw axes and many other incredible things. The arcade games were well maintained with many to choose from. I would highly recommend!

Awesome atmosphere and great staff. The staff make sure everyone knows what they’re doing before leaving and it makes axe throwing a great experience, especially as a first timer. Arcade has so many great games and everything works. Very clean place. I’ve brought my kids during the day and it’s also great for them. Highly recommend for a night out with a group.

We stumbled upon this place by happenstance while exploring Winona for a few hours. The staff were super friendly and the place looks awesome! We didn't try out the arcade but there's lots to do in there. We did try out the axe throwing and appreciated the thorough teaching from Corey. The pricing was great for the time we were there and will for sure be back again!

New location coming soon! Whether you're looking for a good time with some friends, family, or looking for a place for your next company gathering or team building exercise. Winona Axe an Arcade is an awesome place to go and I highly recommend it! The staff is extremely friendly and willing to teach you about all the things between axe throwing and various tidbits of information regarding all the cool games they have. Check them out once the new location is open, this is a great place!

Axe & Arcade Went Above and Beyond for a Special Birthday We reached out to Axe & Arcade last minute to help a family in need. It was an 8-year-old boy’s birthday, but his mom had been hospitalized just days before after suffering a stroke. Understandably, the family’s focus was on her recovery, and some family friends quickly stepped in to try and create a special day for the young boy. Axe & Arcade was incredibly kind and accommodating, helping us pull together a birthday celebration on very short notice. The manager went out of his way to make sure everyone felt welcomed and had a great time. He personally helped all the kids get set up, offered tips and mini-lessons, and ensured they could enjoy everything the space had to offer. What stood out most was his genuine passion—not just for the games and activities, but for creating a fun, inclusive environment where families and kids could feel connected and celebrated. You could feel that heart in every interaction. Thanks to their team, a tough situation turned into a joyful memory for a little boy and his family. We are incredibly grateful and absolutely plan to return in the future for more events.

This place is amazing, loved the variety of old games I grew up with and the coolest pinball machines ever! Looks small from the outside, but it’s actually a huge place with tons of room to explore all the games. I was also impressed with the amount of tokens we got for $20! Would definitely recommend it!