Delafield is a charming town located about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. It offers its residents fine dining, local shopping and easy access to state parks, lakes and recreational trails. The city also hosts a variety of unique events throughout the year like art walks and festivals, an antique car show and a summer block party with live music and food. This small city of approximately 7,000 people feels more like a slice of Cape Cod than a suburb of Milwaukee.
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Delafield is home to wide variety of local restaurants and shops. If you live near main street in the historic downtown of Delafield, you can easily walk to at least a dozen different local eateries that range from a higher-end California-inspired, Italian restaurant to a small custard and ice cream parlor. There is a Cajun, seafood-centric restaurant and an independently-owned coffee shop right downtown that serves Anodyne Coffee (a Milwaukee-based coffee roaster), pastries and a full lunch/dinner menu. Delafield residents are often found at this coffee shop sipping coffee, working, meeting friends and family, or just grabbing a snack half way through their bike trip on the 15 mile Lake Country Recreational Trail.
Other local shops include an oilery, several women's clothing boutiques, and a handmade soap store. One of the premier events in Delafield is the seasonal art walk (held twice a year), when local stores open late, bands set up and play sets throughout the town, and the local restaurants have vending stations on the street to serve food and drinks. Residents attend this event to stroll the quaint streets of Delafield, view and purchase art and handmade goods, sip wine and enjoy local dishes all while enjoying live music from several different musicians.
Mid-summer, the municipal parking lot in the center of the town is transformed into an outdoor music venue with a large stage, beverage tents, and food stations. This event, called the Delafield block party, is a two-night affair and usually features well-known Wisconsin-based headliners. During the summer months there is a farmer's market every Saturday morning held in this same municipal parking lot, where residents can purchase fresh vegetables, fruit, local meats and cheeses, as well as some small handmade items, like scarves and jewelry.
In September, Delafield hosts a classic car show. Streets are closed downtown and lined with muscle cars, hot rods and classics. Music from the 50's and 60's plays in the background while you walk through town and check out the cars.
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Adding to the vacation-vibe of this Milwaukee suburb are the trails, parks and lakes that surround, intersect and reside within the city limits. The 15 mile, paved Lake Country Recreational Trail runs right through the heart of Delafield. This paved trail is perfect for biking, walking or jogging. It offers great views of several lakes within the region including Pewaukee, Nagawika and Upper and Lower Nemahbin.
Also accessible from downtown Delafield is the Ice Age Trail - a thousand-mile footpath that stretches throughout the areas of Wisconsin most affected by glaciers. The Delafield segment of the trail begins near HWY 83 and ends near the NW corner of Lapham Peak State Park. The State Park itself has over 17 miles of trail, both for hiking and for cross country skiing and is mere minutes from downtown Delafield, just one mile south of Interstate 94. In winter months there is a 2.5-mile lighted loop for night skiing, and there are free ski lessons offered on Tuesday nights for those residents who want to take up cross country skiing as a hobby. Lapham Peak State Park also houses a nature center, and has a summer performing arts stage in the woods.
A few miles south of the State Park there is access to the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, a 52 mile long trail that runs between Cottage Grove and Waukesha. This trail is both paved and unpaved, so it is appropriate for hiking, walking, jogging, and biking with a road or mountain bike.
Fishing, boating and swimming are frequent activities in Delafield. Both Nagawicka and Upper and Lower Nemahbin lakes are within the city limits and have boat launches for public use. Nagawicka lake has a lovely, sandy beach located on the east shoreline, with a small playground and a large surrounding park called "Naga-waukee" for camping, picnics and parties. Every July Naga-waukee Park is host to the Lake Country Art Festival, which features hundreds of artists from around the Midwest.
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Delafield has a thriving business community and access to top notch public and private schools. The public schools in Delafield are part of the Arrowhead School District. U.S. News & World Report named Arrowhead High School as one of the 2015 Best High Schools in the nation and #4 in Wisconsin. Delafield is also home to the college preparatory, all-boys boarding school - St. Johns Military Academy. This academy has been in operation since 1884 and houses students from all over world.
Delafield has much to offer. The local shops and restaurants, fairs and festivals, parks and trails make it feel like a tourist town, but the great schools and close proximity to Milwaukee make it an idea place to live, work and raise a family. Delafield real estate options are vast and diverse. Perspective buyers have options like condos, single family cottages, lake access and even historic real estate.
