Portage is a city in Southwest Wisconsin, that bears the slogan "Where the North begins."

Understand

In 1673, French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette were excited to learn of a crossing over point or portage between the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers here on their way to find a route to the Mississippi River, a feat that would portend great promise for the fur trade in due time. Years later, in 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer would do his own crossing over of a different kind in this same locale.

Get in

See also: Rail travel in the United States

Union Depot

• 1 Portage station, 400 W Oneida St.  
  • Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) Route stopping at Portage:
    • Empire Builder operating daily between Seattle/Portland and Chicago including stops at Spokane, Glacier National Park, Fargo, Saint Paul, and Milwaukee. The trains split into separate branches between Seattle and Spokane, and between Portland and Spokane, while operating as trains consisting of train cars from both branches between Spokane and Chicago.

See

• 1 Portage Retail Historic District.  (updated Jan 2026)
• Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, 1824 WI-33. All that is left of Fort Winnebago that was occupied by the US Army to protect the Fox-Wisconsin Rivers portage traffic from the Winnebago Indians during the early 19th century. An interesting tidbit is that one Lieutenant Jefferson Davis of later Confederate notoriety was once stationed here. Nearby is the Indian Agency House which had an indigenous school.

Do

Try a walk along the Wisconsin River pathway in town, just mind the ice in winter because that first step's a doozy.

Sleep

• Best Western Resort Hotel & Conference Center, 2701 County Rd CX. Indoor pool, looks like it could fit into some cityscape in the Baltics. +1 608-742-2200. $81 (Aug 2023)

Go next

Routes through Portage

St. Paul ← Wisconsin Dells ←	W  E	→ Columbus → Milwaukee
Wausau ← Coloma ←	N  S	→ Madison → Rockford
Rochester/St. Paul ← Wisconsin Dells ←	W  E	→ Madison → Rockford/Milwaukee