A Van Dweller Review of Ashland, Wisconsin

Things were looking dire, after following the South Shore of Lake Superior from Duluth through Port Wing, Herbster, Cornucopia and Bayfield finding a suitable low cost or free place to park our van for the night was looking grim.

It was a beautiful sunny day, the little towns along our path were quaint, clean and very inviting. The only problem being what few campgrounds there were demanded rather high prices for simply parking our van long enough to catch a nights sleep.

A few weeks back I invested in the latest Walmart version of the Rand McNally Road Atlas. A wise investment if there ever was one. A quick look see led us to a spanking new Super Center in the some what larger town of Ashland Wisconsin. Continuing our drive for another 30 minutes or so we arrived in the lakeside city that immediately strikes you as a clean, spacious community well stocked with all the shopping conveniences one would expect to find in a much larger city.

According to Wikipedia the population as of 2000 was 8,620. The city seems much larger as it spreads out along the lake shore for a number of miles. The core, or "old main" portion of Ashland will immediately transport you back to a Mayberry-ish setting right from the Andy Griffith show with one big difference. COLOR is everywhere. Well decorated civic areas, lots of flowers, and store fronts that are very well maintained. Painted murals can be found that add a tasteful artistic touch to many otherwise drab structures.

This is a city that is loaded with pride in appearance. I was especially taken by the mural of Victorian Store fronts that completely transforms a block long blank brick wall into a delightful scene. Accented with some decorative trees planted along the sidewalk you get the feeling you've been taken back in time to a place where each proprietor make the effort to display their wares in a manner to catch your eye.

After a walk along main street and a drive throughout the rest of the city we settled on The Country Kitchen restaurant for supper. Heads up, their Oriental Orange Chicken was excellent.

It had been a long day of driving and visiting many artsy little towns. After supper we headed to our parking spot for the evening. The Walmart Supercenter already had a modest collection of motor homes looking for a spot for the night. With a cool off the lake breeze we were quite comfortable in our van with the roof vent open and our fan bringing in fresh air. The parking lot quieted down quite early and we slept undisturbed through the night.

For those traveling or living in Vans heading toward Lake Superior through the hot summer will provide welcome relief from excessive heat. With a year around water temperature that will cause hypothermia in a matter of minutes, cooling down can be as easy as a jump in the lake.

Understand this is resort territory. Generally speaking free overnight parking will be limited to commercial parking lots. Truck stops are nonexistent in Northern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. We even found the local Casino posted as No Over Night Parking.

There appeared to be no issue with Walmart though, and to that end from a Van Dwellers point of view I would rate Ashland Wisconsin a good two thumbs up. A clean welcoming city with plenty to see and a comfortable summer temperature. I'm sure we will return in the future.