Art, dogs and dinner on the farm create fall fun in Eau Claire, Wis.

A metal statue of two ecstatic dogs riding a bicycle, their eyes wide and tongues lolling, begged for photo ops along Barstow Street. So did the statue of a Great Dane high-fiving passersby at Phoenix Park, and a gold-crowned therapy dog created from recycled bicycle parts on Water Street.

On a recent mother-daughter weekend to Eau Claire, Wis. — 90 minutes east of the Twin Cities — my mom, Lyn, and I found ourselves repeatedly drawn to dogs, even without our own in tow. We devoted an afternoon to admiring the nation’s largest rotating sculpture walk before splitting a classic Friday night fish fry with a side of monster cheddar curds. In America’s Dairyland, we had to cap the day with ice cream, too.

We enjoyed cones while watching a copper-furred Vizsla dog snap thirstily at bursts of water shooting from the color-changing fountains outside Pablo Center at the Confluence, the $51 million event venue. Kids shrieked, water splattered, and wild roses bloomed along walkways hugging the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers, which meet at this scenic spot.

The next night, we found a burger farm in rural Mondovi, about 25 miles south of Eau Claire. Together Farms tucks into a valley that filled with festive visitors as the evening light illuminated a meadow where milky-white cattle grazed.

Together Farms opens a few nights a week, serving burgers and hot sandwiches through summer and early fall (until Oct. 6 this year). Diners gathered at a picnic pavilion and open-air tables facing a pond, pasture and woods. Kids and parents played lawn games and explored a playhouse, gathered around a lamb, and listened to the duo Thistledown singing and strumming on mandolin and guitar.

We sipped on a pomegranate craft beer and watched the two farm dogs. A chipper little dachshund beelined for my mom, whom I’ve nicknamed “the fairy dogmother.” Within minutes of our sitting down with an olive burger and a pulled pork sandwich, the dachshund parked between my mom’s feet and gave a little yip.

The dog turned its head as if giving a dismissive “Pffftt!” when offered a French fry. It knew to hold out for protein. As we offered a few handouts, kids excitedly tossed their uneaten food over a gate where happy pigs jostled for leftovers. Nothing went to waste.

We lingered before making our way back to Eau Claire’s art, museums and cafes. When I asked my mom about her favorite meal of the weekend, she said, “The farm.” With an endearing dog at her feet and good food at the table, it felt a lot like home.

Big Falls County Park preserves a serene spot along the Eau Claire River, where waterfalls tumble across a rocky outcrop reminiscent of Minnesota’s North Shore. Sandy beaches make it popular for cooling off or tubing (eauclairecounty.gov).

The Eau Claire Sculpture Tour includes more than 120 pieces scattered throughout the city. A farmwoman holds an apron brimming with produce near the farmers market, and a caged gremlin grins wickedly on Water Street. Minnesotan Dale Lewis ranked as our favorite artist with a shiny metal dragon, a fork-toothed pterodactyl and many more in a “scraposaurs” series (visiteauclaire.com/sculpture-tour).

Chippewa Valley Museum artfully covers a wealth of topics, including Ojibwe inhabitants and fur trading, pioneers and logging, Indian schools and tourism, dairy farms and strikes. There’s an ice cream parlor for a sweet treat at the end (cvmuseum.com). The museum sits in Carson Park, a peninsula in Half Moon Lake, which was once an oxbow in the Chippewa River. Look for trails and kayak rentals at Braun’s Bay.

Children’s Museum of Eau Claire expanded into a new location near Phoenix Park in 2023 with whole trees spanning the two-story lofted exhibit space, plus a kid-sized city, fossil dig, cars to fix and a life-size cow (childrensmuseumec.com).

Ten orchards within a 20-minute drive include Leffel Roots Apple Orchard, which features the nation’s first wheelchair-accessible apple-picking deck and an October night maze (leffelroots.com). The nearby Glass Orchard blends apples and art with U-pick trees, cider, glassblowing demos, classes and gifts, including hand-blown glass pumpkins (glassorchard.com).

Nucleus Cafe’s art exhibits, coffeehouse drinks, brunch crepes and yeti skillets fuel up visitors for exploring Water Street boutiques (nucleuscafe.com).

Shift Cyclery & Coffee Bar draws patrons with liege waffles (sweet and eaten cold like a doughnut), savory and sweet scones and pour-over coffee in a comfortably eclectic space where you can also shop for new bikes, tune up yours and ask about favorite routes (eaushift.com).

The District Pub and Grill has cast-iron smash burgers, a Friday beer-battered fish fry, supersized cubes of cheddar cheese curds, a burger topped with a cheese-curd patty and 30 tap beers (thedistrictpubandgrill.com).

Street art meets skateboard art and cartoons on beer cans from the Brewing Projekt. The brewery and taproom with a patio along the Chippewa River makes Resist milkshake IPAs, Smoofee sours thick with fruit, and Puff Tart sour ales (thebrewingprojekt.com)

Olson’s Ice Cream has churned more than 250 flavors for 80 years. Try cherry garden, banana fudge swirl, cult faves like black licorice, or fall picks such as caramel apple pie and Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest (olsonsicecream.com).

With unfussy modern vibes, the high-rise Lismore Hotel (hilton.com) and the Oxbow (theoxbowhotel.com), co-owned by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, offer rooms within walking distance of the riverfront, restaurants and shopping.

For families, Metropolis Resort (metropolisresort.com) taps the Wisconsin Dells vibe with a water park, indoor and outdoor go-karting, arcades, mini-golf, playground, ziplines, ninja courses and trampoline park.

More information can be found at visiteauclaire.com.

St. Cloud-based freelance writer Lisa Meyers McClintick (Instagram: @minnelisa) is the author of “Day Trips From the Twin Cities.”