A Grafton to Cedarburg Day Trip

One of the easiest and most rewarding half-days in Ozaukee County is a Grafton Cedarburg day trip, an easy hop from one town to the other. Historic Cedarburg sits just a few minutes northwest of Grafton, close enough to reach in well under ten minutes, and it offers the thing Grafton does not: a fully preserved 19th-century downtown with a covered bridge, a winery in an old woolen mill, and a calendar packed with festivals. Here is how to combine the two towns into one good day.

Getting there

Cedarburg lies under four kilometres northwest of Grafton, an easy hop by car or, if you would rather, a ride along the paved Ozaukee Interurban Trail that connects the two towns. The trail option turns the trip itself into part of the outing, a flat, scenic ride between the two downtowns. Either way, the towns are close enough that you can base yourself in Grafton and treat Cedarburg as an extension of your day rather than a separate trip.

What Cedarburg has that Grafton does not

Grafton and Cedarburg are neighbours, but they play different roles. Grafton is the everyday river town with the taverns, the breweries and the Paramount Records history; Cedarburg is the postcard-historic one, with a preserved downtown of stone and brick buildings, specialty shops, and a heavy calendar of festivals. The signature sights are genuinely worth the short trip: Wisconsin's last covered bridge just north of town, the Cedar Creek Settlement shops and winery inside a restored 1860s woolen mill, and Cedar Creek itself running through the middle of it all. If Grafton is where you eat and drink, Cedarburg is where you wander and shop, and there is more than enough over there for a full afternoon, all laid out in the rundown of things to do in Cedarburg.

A suggested day

Start with coffee in Grafton, then head over to Cedarburg mid-morning while the shops are fresh and the streets are quiet. Walk the historic downtown, browse the Cedar Creek Settlement, and see the covered bridge to the north; the covered bridge just outside town is the one sight not to skip. Have lunch in Cedarburg, then spend the early afternoon on whatever the season offers, a festival, a winery tasting, or just the shops and the creek. As the afternoon winds down, head back to Grafton for dinner and a pint, closing the day where you started. It is a natural loop that gives you the best of both towns without feeling rushed.

Where to eat over there

Lunch is easy in Cedarburg, with the town's own restaurants and Friday fish-fry spots a short walk from the bridge and the settlement. If you would rather plan it out, Cedarburg's own restaurants and fish-fry spots run from casual to sit-down, and the Cedar Creek Settlement itself has cafes and a winery tasting room built into the old mill buildings.

Back in Grafton for dinner

The easiest way to end a Cedarburg day is back in Grafton, where dinner and a drink are waiting. A brewpub meal at Water Street on the river, a flight at Sahale, or a sit-down dinner at 13 North all make a good close to the day, and they are the pick of the town's the pick of Grafton's restaurants.

There is plenty more on the Grafton side too, a full run of the rest of what Grafton has to offer if you want to build the day out further.

Making it a weekend

If one day is not enough, it easily stretches to two. There is a handful of hotels in Grafton and character inns nearby, close to both towns, so you can spend a full day in each without rushing, one for the shops and sights of Cedarburg, one for the parks, the river and the blues history of Grafton.