"The end is near and we can't let these kegs go to waste so party on with $4 and $5 taps 'til they run dry!" That's how Ecker's Apple Farm describes its Drain the Taps weekend, October 24 and 25. Both days run noon to 6 p.m. Freelance Valet plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with Monkey Business Grilled Cheese and Philippines Cuisine serving food. Remix takes the 2 p.m. slot on Sunday, and Monkey Business Grilled Cheese is back.
That weekend closes the beer garden's event calendar. Ecker's Farm Market has posted hours that continue through Thanksgiving Eve, which falls on Wednesday, November 25 this year. That leaves about a month in which Trempealeau's fall has no live music on any calendar but still has an orchard, a wildlife refuge in its waterfowl season, and a state park that stays open every day of the year.
October 25 is the last date on both music calendars
The end of Ecker's event season matters more because of the second calendar it lines up with. The Trempealeau Hotel's October 2026 lineup ends the same Sunday Ecker's drains its taps.
Here's everything scheduled between now and then at the two venues:
- Wednesday, October 14: Jeffrey Foucault and Friends at the Trempealeau Hotel, 7 to 9 p.m., $25. The listing names John Convertino on drums and Erik Koskinen on electric guitar, and notes that the performance space holds 45.
- Saturday, October 17: Allison Sky at the Hotel. At Ecker's, Fresh Press Fest runs noon to 6 p.m., with Nick Elstad at 2 p.m. and Smoke 'N Chrome BBQ and Chef's Table serving food.
- Sunday, October 18: Fresh Press Fest continues at Ecker's, noon to 6 p.m., with Noah James Hittner at 1 p.m. and Smoke 'N Chrome BBQ.
- Friday, October 23: Dylan Doyle & Band at the Hotel, 7 to 9:30 p.m., with a $7 minimum cover.
- Saturday, October 24: Loosey Stone at the Hotel, and the first Drain the Taps day at Ecker's.
- Sunday, October 25: Clay Fulton at the Hotel, and the second Drain the Taps day at Ecker's.
Fresh Press Fest is the last chance this year to watch cider being pressed. Ecker's describes fresh juice straight from the press as "a real treat to taste" and warns visitors who stand too close that they might get put to work.
The Hotel hasn't posted a November lineup yet. Its hours page says hours depend on the weather and suggests checking the Hotel's Facebook page or calling (608) 534-6898 for current information. A Hotel dinner plan after October 25 needs a phone call first, not a glance at the website.
The farm market cuts its hours on November 1 and shifts them for Thanksgiving week
After Drain the Taps, Ecker's switches from events to plain store hours. On November 1, the market goes from six-hour days to four-hour days. For Thanksgiving week, it moves to weekdays and opens and closes an hour earlier. The page notes that beer garden hours may differ from market hours.
| Period | Days open | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-August through October 31 | Wednesday through Sunday | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| November, through the weekend before Thanksgiving | Friday, Saturday, Sunday | Noon to 4 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving week, through Thanksgiving Eve | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
On the 2026 calendar, the market's full afternoon hours run Wednesday through Saturday after Drain the Taps, October 28 to 31. Starting November 1, it opens three days a week for four hours a day. In the final stretch, Thanksgiving week's Monday through Wednesday, it opens earlier and closes at 3 p.m. Ecker's lists Thanksgiving Eve as the last day of the season. On the 2026 calendar, that comes to 13 November market days counting the three days of Thanksgiving week, with the last one on Wednesday, November 25.
Ecker's also has a strict no-pet policy, which it attributes to U.S. Department of Agriculture rules. The refuge is the nearby option for a dog walk, since FWS says leashed dogs are welcome on refuge grounds and trails. Only service dogs are allowed inside the visitor contact station.
The refuge's season starts as the orchard's slows down
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge works on a different schedule. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists fall birding at the refuge as mid-October through November, naming mallards, pintails, coots and wigeons among the waterfowl. That window starts roughly when Fresh Press Fest does and runs into the month Ecker's closes for the year. Birding season covers the same weeks as the orchard's wind-down.
The easiest way in is the Prairie's Edge, a 4.5-mile self-guided loop you can drive, bike or walk. The refuge grounds are open dawn to dusk. The contact station and office on Refuge Road are open Wednesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and FWS warns that the office may close temporarily when staff are out in the field.
Two October dates change what's available on the refuge:
- Friday, October 16: The free Refuge Relay Challenge runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visit three of the 15 locations to earn a 250th-anniversary patch. Veterans qualify just by visiting. The Wisconsin Great River Road has the details on its event listing.
- Saturday, October 17 through Friday, October 23: The River Bottoms tract is closed to other public use during the refuge's waterfowl hunt for hunters with disabilities. The hunt is limited to 14 participants, who receive a code to enter the property, and a warming shelter is set up for them. The closure applies only to River Bottoms. FWS hasn't announced a closure of the whole refuge or the Prairie's Edge loop.
That second closure falls on the same week as Fresh Press Fest and the Hotel's busiest stretch of shows. River Bottoms reopens Saturday, October 24, the first Drain the Taps day.
Perrot stays open while its Interpretive Center closes
Perrot State Park is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. all year, so the park itself doesn't close at the end of the season. The Interpretive Center is a different story. The Wisconsin DNR's Interpretive Center page says it's open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend and closed in the off-season, when visitors can call 608-534-6409 to schedule a visit.
The DNR's Perrot events page shows summer programs through September and nothing for October or November. Like the music calendars, the park's schedule of programs is over for the year while the trails stay open.
One project could still change the park this fall. Friends of Perrot State Park say installation of the Lois Loop, an accessible trail through prairie and past mounds named for former park manager Lois Larson, will start this fall. The group hasn't posted a start date or a completion date.
Thanksgiving week is also gun deer week
The last week of the season gets more crowded. Wisconsin's statewide 2026 gun deer season runs November 21 through 29, according to the Wisconsin DNR season dates.
The refuge runs its own gun deer hunt on the same dates. The 2026 Gun Deer Hunting fact sheet sets the South Hunting Zone hunt for November 21 through 29, with up to 45 permits awarded by a drawing held September 18. The fact sheet says non-hunters may be on the refuge during the hunt and lists Black Oak Island as closed to hunting. Unlike the River Bottoms closure in October, it doesn't name any trails closed to other public use.
On the calendar, the hunt's first weekend, November 21 and 22, is also Ecker's last regular Saturday and Sunday. Ecker's three Thanksgiving-week days, November 23 through 25, fall in the middle of the hunt. All of this happens inside the November part of FWS's fall birding window.
That makes the final stretch of fall a more practical one. Refuge walks and drives in the second half of November happen with hunters on part of the property. The last bags of apples come home on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon before 3 p.m. Black Oak Island is the one place the fact sheet names as closed to hunting.
If you're working out how the rhythm of the seasons in Trempealeau fits a home search or a move, Jillian Hugo & Associates can talk through the details with you. Contact Jillian for a complimentary home consultation.
