Shell Lake, Wisconsin: A Visitor's Guide from People Who Live There
The beach, the lake, the two weekends that define summer, and where we actually eat.
Shell Lake is a town of about 1,300 built on the shore of a 2,500-acre lake clear enough that you can watch the bottom slide by in 13 feet of water. We have a cabin here and spend much of the year on the lake, so this is the page we'd hand a friend who was coming up for the first time.
Start at the beach. It sits right downtown, a sand beach with a playground, fishing pier and bandshell, and the whole town is a short walk from it. Then plan around two dates: the Fireworks & Street Dance on July 3rd, which we think is the best show in the area, and Town & Country Days on Labor Day weekend, three days of parades, tractor pulls and a sailing regatta that close out the season. In between, order a pizza from Klopp's, drive ten minutes to Perlick Distillery for a cocktail on the patio, and spend the rest of your time on the water.
When to Go
July is the obvious answer, but the Fourth of July stretch and Labor Day weekend are when Shell Lake is at its best, and the shoulder seasons are quieter than most lake towns because there's no big resort scene.
Late May through June
The beach opens, the water is still cool, bandshell music starts, and the Laughing Goat food truck opens at Klopp's on Memorial Day. Quiet weeks with the best cabin availability.
July 3rd: Fireworks & Street Dance
The best fireworks show around, launched over the lake, with a street dance downtown. Book the cabin early.
First Saturday of July: Shell Lake Art Festival
Pairs with the fireworks for a three-day weekend.
July and August
Peak swimming, Music at the Shed on Friday nights, Perlick's patio and sunflower maze. The warmest water of the year.
Labor Day Weekend: Town & Country Days
Kiddie and grand parades, tractor and truck pulls, a car and bike show, craft fair, 5K, sailing regatta, bingo, food booths and a fly-in pancake breakfast at the airport. Three full days of things to do and the season's send-off.
September and October
Fall color, an empty lake, and Perlick still open Thursday through Sunday. A great time on the water, but fall is windy, so calm days are harder to find.
Friday before Thanksgiving: Wine Walk
One of the few off-season town events.
December through March
Ice fishing, and the ATV and snowmobile trails run right through town. Trail access is the winter draw.
Where We Eat and Drink
Our two picks first. These are the places we actually go.
Klopp's 5th Ave
Family-owned since 1965 and open 365 days a year. Our go-to for pizza: call ahead and pick it up on the way back to the cabin. The Laughing Goat food truck parks here Memorial Day through mid-September (closed Wednesdays and Sundays) and won Best of WashCo in 2023.
Klopp's on Travel Wisconsin →Perlick Distillery (Sarona, 10 minutes)
A cocktail room on a working family farm, with barn doors that open onto a big patio, a long list of infused-vodka cocktails, a small-batch American single malt when it's in stock, rotating food trucks and a sunflower maze in late summer. Open Thursday through Sunday. Ten minutes from town, but it's part of the Shell Lake community.
Perlick on Travel Wisconsin →More Places in Town
Lakeview Bar & Grill
Family-friendly bar and grill, opens daily at 11. Best of WashCo 2024.
Shell Lake Lunchbox
Hometown breakfast and lunch spot with a Friday night all-you-can-eat fish fry.
Rae's Bar & Grill
Family-owned, homemade food, and boxed picnic meals for the beach or the boat.
Caribbean Coffee Shop
Espresso, breakfast paninis and lunch sandwiches. The morning stop.
The Potter's Shed
Coffee and light food inside the pottery studio and gallery, with live music on Friday nights in summer.
Wake Setters and Matt's
Two ice cream stands across from the beach. The post-swim ritual.
Clover Meadow Winery
Certified-organic winery on a farm just west of town. Check seasonal tasting hours.
Things to Do
Shell Lake Beach. The reason to come. A downtown sand beach on a clear lake, with a playground, fishing pier, pavilion and a bandshell that hosts live music many summer evenings. The municipal campground is next door and the restaurants and shops are a few minutes' walk. Washburn County calls it one of the best beaches in Northern Wisconsin; we'd go further than that.
On the water. Swimming, paddling and fishing on a lake with visibility to 13 feet or more. Public landings and the fish list are in the lake section below.
The arts. For a town this size Shell Lake has an unusual arts scene: The Potter's Shed (paint your own pottery, mosaic classes, gallery, garden, Friday-night music), Brickyard Pottery, Play Dirty Clay Studio, and a self-guided mosaic tour of the murals and mosaics around town. The Shell Lake Art Festival is the first Saturday in July.
Shops. Indigo for clothing, jewelry and home goods, The Corner of Fifth, and Hemp & Home.
Washburn County Historical Museum. The local-history stop, downtown.
Trails. ATV/UTV and snowmobile trails run right through town, with designated parking and trail-side lodging. In winter this is the main draw.
Nearby. Spooner (10 minutes) for groceries; Perlick Distillery and Clover Meadow Winery (10 minutes); Birchwood and Red Cedar Lake (25 minutes); Hayward and the Chippewa Flowage (45 minutes).
The Lake
Shell Lake is 2,500 acres and sits entirely inside the city limits, which is rare. The DNR's volunteer monitoring station has 295 clarity readings going back to 1976 and puts the summer average at 13 feet; on a calm morning you can see the bottom at the end of our dock. It's a big, open lake, so wind matters: check the forecast before you take a canoe out past the bay.
Shell Lake by the Numbers
Live from our lake database: size, depth, public landings and fish.
Shell Lake
Washburn County
Fish Species
McKenzie Lake
Washburn, Burnett County
Fish Species
Cabins near Shell Lake
The Little Minnow Lake House is on Shell Lake itself, so the beach, Klopp's and the fireworks are minutes away and the lake is out the door. Big McKenzie is on Big McKenzie Lake to the north, with Shell Lake's restaurants and events still a short drive away.
Getting There
Shell Lake sits on US-63 just south of Spooner, with a small municipal airport where the Town & Country Days fly-in breakfast happens. Drive times are approximate.
From Minneapolis–St. Paul: about 2 hours
I-35 north to US-8 east, or WI-35 and US-63 north.
From Eau Claire: about 1 hour 15 minutes
US-53 north to Spooner, then US-63 south.
From Duluth / Superior: about 1 hour 30 minutes
US-53 south.
From Madison: about 4 hours
I-94 west to Eau Claire, then US-53 north.