Eau Claire Tours, LLC

07/02/2024

With mixed emotions, this will be my final post for Eau Claire Tours. I decided a few months ago that selling Eau Claire Tours would be the best move going forward. Sales have not been strong enough to offset the time and energy I put into the making and marketing of the tours.

Fortunately, Nick Meyer had George House do some of the tours, and he loved them. Nick then decided to add the tours to his Chippewa River Trolley Company tour line! They have already incorporated the Eau Claire Sports Tour into their trolley tours. Nick was nice enough to invite me along for it's maiden voyage and could not be more happy in the great job they did. For any sports fan out there it really should be on your bucket list.

They will be also be adding the two downtown walking tours and the How Lumber Made the Chippewa Valley tour over the course of the next year . I am sure they will do an excellent job with those tours as well, so be sure to check them all out when they become available!

It has been quite the ride and I am so glad that Nick decided to keep the tours going. Thank you Nick and to everyone that did one of my tours!

11/22/2023

Had enough time in the house and don't want to fight the crowds. How about a nostalgic driving tour of Eau Claire's early years as a lumber mecca.

When you are done be sure to stop at the Valley Burger Company for 20% of your first round of drinks, or The Eau Claire Ale House for 1/2 priced appetizers!

We are a Self-Guided Audio Tour Company of Eau Claire's fascinating history.

11/14/2023

11/11/2023

Eau Claire was a thriving city in the late 1800s and early 1900s, feeding off the city’s early logging boom. During that time the street cars were just one of many niceties the city had that were normally associated with much larger cities.

Learn all about them on The Making of a City: an Eau Claire Story or
the Downtown Eau Claire Historical Walking Tour.

This is the fifth and final post in my series of interesting topics covered in our tours. I hope you enjoyed them!

11/03/2023

Eau Claire has a very rich sports history. Besides Gus Dorais, most locals know that Hank Aaron started his professional baseball career here in Eau Claire as well! He is just one of several prominent major leaguers to start their careers at Carson Park. We are also home to many Olympians and have hosted several unique national and international sporting events. Learn all about it and much more on The Eau Claire Sports Driving Tour.

This is the fourth of five interesting posts covered in our tours for you to enjoy. With each post I will also be giving away two tours.

If you didn’t win, you can still use the promo code “Fall2023” to save 30% off any tour!

To learn more, go to eauclairetours.com.

10/20/2023

The 1860s would have been an exciting time to live in Eau Claire, with the smell of sawdust in the air and numerous steamboats gliding up and down the Chippewa River. Both downtown walking tours take you to where a steamboat landing used to be so you can easily imagine what it was like to see these beauties over a century ago!

This is the third of five interesting posts covered in our tours for you to enjoy. With each post I will also be giving away two tours.

If you didn’t win, you can still use the promo code “Fall2023” to save 30% off any tour!

To learn more, go to eauclairetours.com.

10/17/2023

Eau Claire Tours would like to thank the local media TV 18, John Murphy with 98.1, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, and Morgan McCarthy with 715NEWROOM.com for covering our recently released tours.

This week’s post is the article that 715NEWSROOM.com posted.

To learn more about the tours go to eauclairetours.com.

10/13/2023

The Grand Avenue bridge was the first bridge in Eau Claire to cross the Chippewa River. The ability to have a bridge that had a span that could turn perpendicular is very impressive! It’s just one of the many fascinating inventions our early settlers came up with that are covered in the tours.

Not only do you hear about these great inventions but there are many historical pictures of them to enjoy, with the Grand Avenue bridge being one of my favorites!

Use promo code “Fall2023” to save 30% off any tour! Just click the link in the bio today to start your tour.

This is the 2nd week of our 5-week tour give away! Follow along for more interesting facts and for a chance to win one of two free tours each week.

10/06/2023

Over the next 5 weeks Eau Claire Tours will be giving away 2 tours a week! Stay tuned for weekly posts with free tours and interesting historical facts about the city.

Didn’t win? No worries, you can still save 30% with promo code “Fall2023”

To learn more and to purchase your tour go to eauclairetours.com by clicking the link in the bio.

09/15/2023

Free Tours!

In celebration of two recently released tours; The Making of a City; An Eau Claire Story, and How Lumber Made the Chippewa Valley, we are giving away free tours. The first 5 people to Like/Share this post and message me which tour you would like to do, get the tour for free!

Be sure to check out the great coverage of the tour by TV 18. https://photos.app.goo.gl/puikEq1LTiN1T6ev6

Eau Claire Tours now has four tours, which have been receiving 5-Star ratings! Each tour has fascinating stories of Eau Claire’s past, awesome historical pictures, and over $20 of vendor discounts along the routes! To learn more, go to eauclairetours.com.

Over the next 6 weeks I will be posting interesting tidbits of what you can learn on the tours with more chances to win free tours. So be sure to follow Eau Claire Tours and hopefully win a free tour!

08/30/2023

I just did an interview with TV 18 for Eau Claire Tours talking about the two new tours I just released, The Making of a City: Eau Claire Story and the How Lumber Made the Chippewa Valley. It will be on at 6:00 today.

Also, be sure to continue to follow Eau Claire Tours on Facebook as in the next week or two I will be starting a 5 week Social Media Campaign highlighting the two new tours. I will be also giving away 5 free tours a week during the campaign as well as covering some of the great vendors along that route that give Eau Claire Tour customers some nice discounts!

12/12/2022

Looking for an inexpensive stocking stuffer for the person that has everything?

Eau Claire Tours is having a Christmas sale, save $2.00 on each $7.00 tour! Use promo code: “Christmas”.

They’ll enjoy hearing of Eau Claire's fascinating lumber history, when we were one of the nation’s lumber capitals, and over 150 years of area sports, through our 5-star self-guided walking and driving tours.

Bonus:
• The tours never expire, so use it now, or go for a walk/drive, during our nice summer weather
• Save money as well, with great vendor discounts at restaurants, pubs, and stores along the routes
• See awesome historical photos of Eau Claire throughout both tours

Give them something unique this year that they are sure to enjoy!

11/22/2022

Looking for something the whole family can do while home for Thanksgiving? Why not show them where Hank Aaron started his career in our 5-Star Eau Claire Sports Driving Tour.

It is a self-guided, 1 hour and 15-minut tour that not only covers Hank Aaron but several other famous baseball players who started their careers here. The Eau Claire area has a rich sports history including numerous Winter Olympians, a Silver Medalist in last year's Summer Olympics, a local football player who was instrumental in football's forward pass, and several ties to unique sports just to name a few things.

Since it is a driving tour, you can do it comfortably in the cold, rain, and even snow! Use the $2.00 "Thanksgiving" promo code by 11/30/22 and your whole family can do the tour for $5.00.

Not only do you get a great tour but you also get discounts from vendors along the route including a ½ priced appetizers at the Eau Claire Ale House, 10% off any drink at Valley Burger Company, and $1.00 off any Legend (Blizzard) at the Roadside Ice Cream and Diner to name a few.

To learn more about our tours and to purchase one, go to eauclairetours.com.

Eau Claire Ale House Roadside Ice Cream & Diner

11/14/2022

Sometimes you need a break from work and doing the tours so I and my wife took a golf vacation to Branson with some friends. It was a great vacation. The golf game was adequate, the courses spectacular, and the scenery was awesome! Branson was way cooler than I thought it was going to be!

09/23/2022

I would like to thank the traveling blogging couple, Wild Codays, for recently posting on their page a trip to Eau Claire that they took. One of the things they enjoyed was the Downtown Eau Claire Historical Walking Tour, which they stretched to 2 hours from 1 1/2 by taking advantage the vendor discounts.

To celebrate their post, I will be offering a $2.00 discount for the next two weeks if you use the promo code "blogger". With the weather being perfect for a nice stroll along the river what better time for you to enjoy the tour as well.

Wild Codays

We are a Self-Guided Audio Tour Company of Eau Claire's fascinating history.

08/11/2022

Love Camping? Looking to upgrade from your tent or pop up?

No, Eau Claire Tours is not getting into the camping business. My wife and I recently bought our “retirement” camper and are selling our 2015 Starcraft Launch Hybrid.

It is a really nice, light weight (2,600 lbs.) camper with a lot of great features. We are selling it for $12,5000, which is on the low end of the NADA Blue Book retail price. Please go to our ad on Marketplace for more information. If you, or someone you know might be interested in purchasing it, please share this post.

Since we are talking campers, why not have an Eau Claire Tours “Camper Special” as well? Anyone that buys a tour(s) by the end of August can use the promo code “Camper” to receive $2.00 off one, or both, of our 5 Star (15 on Trip Advisor) self-guided audio tours of Eau Claire’s fascinating history.

Once you purchase your tour, you can do it anytime you want. Go to eauclairetours.com to learn more, such as, our vendor discounts along the routes.

07/15/2022

The Reviews are in, and The Eau Claire Sports Driving Tour is a 5-Star hit! 11 for 11to be exact.

To celebrate, I am offering a $2.00 discount off the $7.00 tours. Just enter the promo code “Reviews” when purchasing the tour at eauclairetours.com.

Thank you for the great reviews and I am glad you enjoyed the tour!

We are a Self-Guided Audio Tour Company of Eau Claire's fascinating history.

06/30/2022

Eau Claire Tours would like to congratulate the following winners of a free tour as part of the New Zealand give away.

Anne Finseth
Cathy Anderson
Kathleen Gehrke
Randi Stanley
Jennifer Staidl

If you were not one of the lucky winners, you still get a great 2nd place prize of $2.00 off any tour through the 4th of July. Just use the promo code "New Zealand".

Thank you for playing!

06/25/2022

I just realized that I can not have NZ as a promo code as the code needs to be 3 characters. The new code is New Zealand.

06/25/2022

Limited Time – Free Eau Claire Tours, my New Zealand Special

I'm feeling pretty generous! I just returned from visiting my daughter in New Zealand and it was a great trip! So I am giving away 5 free tours to the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th persons to email me at [email protected].

Just tell me if you want to do the self-guided audio Downtown Eau Claire Historical Walking Tour or the Eau Claire Sports Driving Tour. Not only are they great tours, but you get vendor discounts along the routes as well. To learn more about the tours go to eauclairetours.com

To those that did not win, I'm giving $2.00 off any tour if you purchase them by the 4th of July. You can then do the tour any time this summer, fall, or even winter. Just use the promo code “NZ”.

Good Luck!

06/18/2022

Eau Claire Sports Tour is Making Headlines!

Eau Claire Tours would like to thank Volume One and the Leader-Telegram for their great Eau Claire Sports Tour articles!

To purchase a tour go to eauclairetous.com and use the promo code "Headlines" for $2.00 off the $8.00 carload price. The tour also includes great vendor discounts along the route!

https://volumeone.org/articles/2022/06/07/297868-what-a-good-sport-ec-tours-releases-sports

https://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front-page/company-launches-self-guided-tour-of-eau-claire-sports-history/article_bc216cc7-b695-57a4-887a-1fb0adfda8e1.html

Last year, EC Tours released a 2.6-mile walking tour focused on the history of Downtown Eau Claire, but this year business took a sporty turn. EC Tour’s Sports History driving tour starts at the Eau Claire Soccer Park ...

06/06/2022

Perfect Father’s Day gift for the Sports Lover!

Eau Claire Tours recently released it’s second self-guided audio tour of Eau Claire; The Eau Claire Sports Tour. Eau Claire is more than just the place that Hank Aaron and several other famous Major Leaguers started their careers. We are also home to a great ski jumping tradition that has produced several Olympians. NHL and NFL players, NASCAR Drivers, National Champions, and Hall of Fame players and coaches. The tour also includes interesting stories involving Sports Illustrated, The Simpson’s TV Show, and even the beginning of football’s forward pass. If your Dad likes sports, he will love this tour!

Not only will your dad get an awesome tour, but we have partnered with vendors on the route that give everyone in the vehicle discounts on food, drinks, and even ice cream! To purchase a gift certificate to the tour, which only costs $6:00 per carload if you use our “Father’s Day” promo code, go to eauclairetorus.com.

Once you purchase the code for the tour, copy the gift certificate, print it, and write the code on it. Then enjoy spending some quality time with dad as you all hear about Eau Clarie’s fascinating sports history!

We are a Self-Guided Audio Tour Company of Eau Claire's fascinating history.

06/04/2022

Eau Claire Tours would like to congratulate Jo Ann Erickson Franz for winning our $40 gift card raffle celebrating the launch of our Eau Claire Sports Tour!

I would also like to congratulate Bob Harlson for winning our $20 second place gift card raffle.

You may get the gift card to any of our vendors: The Roadside Ice Cream and Diner, the Eau Claire Ale House, Chippewa Valley Burger Co. or Adventure Rentals. Please message Eau Claire Tours to get your gift card and free tour!

05/26/2022

We are back and it’s time to celebrate with some gift cards from our new vendors!

Eau Claire Tours just released its second tour - The Eau Claire Sports Driving Tour! To celebrate we will be raffling off a $40 and a $20 gift card to any of our vendors on the tour. To enter, just like this post and share it with your friends by June 1st.

Whether you have lived in Eau Claire for a year or your entire life, you will be surprised by how many interesting sports stories there are about the city that you didn’t know. I could tell you all about the tour but the Leader-Telegram did such a terrific job on their article this Tuesday that I will let them have the honors. (click the link at the bottom)

The tour also includes great discounts from our vendors along the route; the Eau Claire Ale House, Roadside Ice Cream and Diner, Valley Burger Co, and Adventure Rentals. And, if you buy the tour by June 8th (you can do it any time) and use the promo code “Facebook”, you get $2.00 off the $8.00 price! To learn more and to purchase your tour go to eauclairetours.com.

https://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front-page/company-launches-self-guided-tour-of-eau-claire-sports-history/article_bc216cc7-b695-57a4-887a-1fb0adfda8e1.html

We are a Self-Guided Audio Tour Company of Eau Claire's fascinating history.

05/01/2022

And it is done!

I ran the Eau Claire 1/2 Marathon this morning and accomplished my first two goals. 1. I didn't get hurt 2. I ran the full thing. I ran it in 1:47:07 or an 8:11 mile pace. I took 184th out of 1118 people and finished 8th out of 54 males in my age group. In one month I will be 60 and I would have finished 3rd in that age group.

All in all not too bad. I did have one thing that affected my time. I put my mp3 player in the raincoat I had on and gave it to Jenny at the 3-mile spot, so no music the last 10 miles. With the mp3 player I was running 7:30 miles, so not having it really slowed me down!

The picture you see is about the way I felt at the end of the race. So no more 1/2 Marathons for this guy. Next year it is Marathon Relay or Bust.

Now I can focus on my tours again. I hope to have the next one out this week sometime. I will be putting it on Facebook and will be giving away some gift cards to our new vendors, so be sure to keep following us!

05/01/2022

Things I bought that I justified with doing the Eau Claire 1/2 Marathon.

Under Armour long-sleeve underwear, UA long underwear, UA hat, UA gloves - 3 pairs - don't ask, can you tell I like Under Armour, running shoes, running socks - crew and ankle, Eau Claire Tours T-shirt (2) one for me and one for Jenny, buy the rights from Chippewa Valley Museum to have the Street Car on the back, paid a friends son to do the graphics, registration fee, new sports earbuds, and finally an mp3 player.

I am afraid to add it up but I think I am pushing $1,000. This 1/2 marathon idea all started 3 years ago when we watched the marathon and a person gave me his T-shirt because he was too hot. That was one expensive free T-shirt. Luckily, I have a laid-back wife!

If someone offers you a free T-shirt, run away!

04/23/2022

I will be running the Eau Claire ½ Marathon next Sunday, so if you live in or near Eau Claire and are looking for something exciting to do I could use some support. The race starts at 8:30, on May 1st in downtown EC and I should be done in about 1:40 minutes. There are plenty of places along the 13.1-mile course to cheer me on. If you download the Eau Claire Marathon app and go to Explore at the bottom of it, Get Started, Find Participants, you can search for me (Roger Gostomski) and track my progress.

I was hoping to be running at about an 8:15 pace but I did a 9-mile run three days ago and was at a hard to believe 7:45 pace. The only thing I can think of for the good time is that I wore "running socks" for the first time. 😊 So if you have nothing else going on next Sunday morning, come out in the nice 70-degree weather and cheer me and my magic socks on.

ps I will not be hard to find, as I will be the only one in the Eau Claire Tours T-shirt.

03/03/2022

Eau Claire Turns 150 And My Last Historical Post

A 150 years ago, on March 19th, 1872, the three villages of Eau Claire; East, West, and North combined to form the city of Eau Claire. With bridges already connecting the villages, it made sense to consolidate their school systems, police and fire departments, and other government entities.

When the new city was formed there were 6,000 residents and it had a logging economy that was second to none. A decade later it had grown to over 21,000 people and was the fastest growing city in the state. At the time, it was twice the size of Madison and its’ residents were calling themselves “Wisconsin’s Second City”.

The city had sidewalks throughout downtown and if you wanted to go for a buggy ride you could take the road to Menomonie. Eau Claire’s educational system was in full swing and there was even a school Superintendent to manage the educational system. There was a fire department to put out the city’s frequent fires. The police department consisted of a chief and two patrolmen who kept the rowdy lumbermen in check while they frequented the 50 saloons.

If you wanted to relax, you could take a leisurely paddleboat ride on the Chippewa River or watch a baseball game. A lot of people in the city had gardens and many even had livestock. Despite the livestock, it was a city that prided itself on culture and by 1883 they even had an opera house. Gas lines were being laid to provide fuel for the early residents and there were over 200 names in the telephone directory by 1884.

There is much more to Eau Claire’s history than I can put in a few paragraphs on a Facebook post, that is why I started Eau Clarie Tours. To learn about our fascinating past, go to eauclairetours.com to purchase a self-guided tour, and be sure to check out the great vendor discounts along the routes.

This, unfortunately, will be my last historical post. Facebook does not appear to be a good fit to have stories a couple of paragraphs long. I will, however, be posting new tour updates and promotions, so be sure to continue to follow us.
Thank you.

02/24/2022

New Vendors!

I would like to thank our new vendors on The History of Eau Claire Sports tour which will be released in a few weeks. We have some great vendors and each person in the vehicle gets their awesome discounts. Check this out!

At the Roadside Ice Cream and Diner, you get $1 off any of their famous Legend ice cream mixers. If you are hungry, the Eau Claire Ale House is giving our customers ½ priced appetizers, and Adventure Rentals is offering our customers a $2 discount on any of their bike rentals so you can ride Eau Claire’s scenic bike trails.

Once again, when you take one of our tours, not only do you get an excellent tour but you get some fantastic discounts from our great vendors as well.