1. Explore a Cave
One cooling stop on the Miller Brewing tour is the company’s stone-cobbled underground caves, a mysterious (some say haunted) spot once used to store beer. Limited tours offered Thurs-Fri.
2. Enjoy a Flight
Kick back with a cold brew flight at Pilcrow Coffee. You’ll get four 5-ounce pours, each a different, offbeat flavor – such as sweet and salty kettle corn.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Paddle a Liquid Pathway
Rent a kayak and explore the city’s waterways. What you’ll gain is an incredible appreciation of our landmark buildings seen from a totally different perspective. Milwaukee Kayak Co. and Brew City Kayak both offer rentals and guided tours.
4. Thai One On
Eating spicy, hot food makes you sweat, and sweat cools off the body, so get drippy with EE-Sane’s green curry. You can control the heat by choosing your spice level (from a tame 1 to a fire-breathing 10).
5. Duck Into a Cinema
The 96-year-old Oriental Theatre is the perfect (temperature-controlled) spot to see a hot summer release, such as Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (in June) and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (July), starring Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh.
6. Crush a Boozy Ice Cream Drink
Though it’s Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge that claims to have first created the Pink Squirrel – vanilla ice cream blended with almond and chocolate liqueurs – At Random (a sibling of Bryant’s) is the bona fide home of the ice cream cocktail.
7. Float in an Outdoor Pool
With two slides and a water mushroom, the Sheridan Park Pool is a splash, er, blast! The pool is as popular as it is big, which means there’s plenty of room to spread out for an invigorating dip. It’ll be open this season through Aug. 21.
8. Lounge in a Lush Lobby
A sticky afternoon (or evening) is no match for The Pfister Hotel’s stately (and air conditioned!) Lobby Lounge. Sink into a cushy couch, order a Manhattan and relax to a pianist playing Gershwin.
9. Hop to It
Hop water – nonalcoholic seltzer flavored with beer’s aromatic, flavorful little cones – is trending, and Third Space Brewing is the first local producer to can it, with two refreshing, zero-calorie options.
10. Chill with Penguins
While you won’t need to wear a jacket inside the Milwaukee County Zoo’s aviary, the gentoo and 20-inch-tall rockhopper penguins live a bit like they’re in their native Antarctica. Watch these water-loving birds play with sight-stimulating bubbles and mini disco balls and just be overall cute.
