The Lions are opening the season at Green Bay on Sunday, September 7 at 4:25pm ET. For those planning on going to Green Bay, here are some thoughts from my trip there in 2023. It was a Thursday night game and I was just one of many Lions fans that showed up that night to enjoy a dominant victory.
In fact, there were so many fans that the Packers felt compelled to issue a statement about it afterwards.
The following are some tips I picked up from my journey. I’m posting this now as opposed to later because if you want a hotel close to Lambeau Field, there are very limited options that need to be booked immediately upon schedule release.
This article is unbiased and unsponsored. (Well, maybe a little biased against the Packers. You are on Lions Wire after all.)
TRANSPORTATION
∎Rent a car as it’s extremely convenient and easy to drive around the city. There is minimal traffic throughout.
∎I flew in to the Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) which was a quick 10-minute drive away from Lambeau Field.
LODGING
I stayed at the Lodge Kohler hotel which was a great place and highly recommended.
PROS
∎Location, location, location. This hotel is across the street from the stadium so you can walk to and from the game within minutes. No worries about parking for the game if you stay here. Being able to walk home is a huge benefit if you like to consume “adult” beverages at the game or want to avoid drivers who have indulged too much.
∎The interior of the hotel including the rooms are nice and well kept.
CONS
∎Expensive.
∎Must book immediately upon schedule release as most of the games will be booked out within hours or days. No refunds so you are financially committed.
∎You have to go to sleep with Packer legends like Brett Favre looking over you and probably judging you.
Thus be ready to have recurring nightmares like this one…
THINGS TO DO
∎Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Museum
Now this was impressive. In the atrium at Lambeau Field is this museum dedicated to Packers history. Be mentally prepared though, as a bit too much of the history involves devastating Lions losses like the Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary.
The museum is not just interesting for adults as there are many interactive exhibits that are fun for kids. The whole experience is very well-done and I think all NFL teams should try to create something like this.
There are different tiers of tours – I did the basic one called the “classic”. The tour is probably worth doing but don’t expect anything overly interesting. You get to see some suites, walk through the player tunnel, and get up close to the field. While you don’t actually get to step on the field, it’s nice to see the synthetic/natural blended turf up close.
This is an area immediately adjacent to the stadium and right next to Lodge Kohler. It’s a great place to walk around and hang out. There is a turf field, large children’s playground, and some outdoor games like bocce. On gamedays, there will be all sorts of pre-game festivities going on here.
There is also a huge ramp that you can walk up and down. This is the ramp featured every time you watch a Packers game. In the winter, there is snow sledding, but in early September, the ramp will be grass.
This was a really nice place to spend a couple hours especially with kids. It’s like a small zoo with live birds along with interior exhibits. Maybe the most fun was feeding the gregarious gaggle of geese and friendly flock of ducks with sanctuary-approved corn you can buy there.
This is another nice place to take kids as there are lots of interactive science exhibits in a relaxed atmosphere. Featured here is a huge Lego replica of Lambeau Field.
FOOD
This was my favorite dining experience in Green Bay. Lots of homey, comfort-style foods are available in a casual, laid-back, counter-serve setting.
The eponymous booyah was a delicious stew of slow-cooked meat and vegetables.
If you want to really fill up, get the poutine which is a deep-fried goodness of fries and cheese curds smothered with gravy. This is a dish that will heat you up from the inside on a cold Midwest day.
This restaurant located right next to Lambeau Field allows you to peruse some Packers memorabilia while you eat. You can get typical diner-type foods along with the ubiquitous cheese curds of course. It’s conveniently open on gameday but just be aware that on gamedays, the menu is shrunk and the prices are inflated.
∎Superman ice cream
No trip to the Midwest is complete without Superman ice cream – especially on a hot, muggy early September day. If you are coming from Michigan where this delicious flavor is widely available, then you can skip this section. But if you are visiting from outside of the Midwest, it may have been a long while (if ever) since you had the pleasure of indulging in this legendary, regional ice cream flavor.
The flavor is actually a combination of three. The red is cherry – a natural flavor that is colored appropriately. The yellow is plain vanilla that is spiked with a food coloring so bright yellow it appears to have emanated directly from our sun. The blue is a unique and delectable flavor called “blue moon” which is not a flavor that exists anywhere in the natural world (of Earth anyway, maybe Krypton.) The mixing of the artificial blue flavor with the more natural yellow and red flavors hits your every taste bud.
Important note: Read the label to make sure you are getting the blue moon flavor as some versions will use the less-special, more-natural-sounding-but-still-completely-artificial blue raspberry flavor.
You’ll find this ice cream at any large grocery store in Green Bay like Meijer. Be aware that it won’t actually be called “Superman” because that is a trademarked name, so look for some play on words like “Superscoop” or “Scooperman” along with the unmistakable red-yellow-blue, kindergarten color scheme. Feel free to polish off a quart right in the parking lot like my kids and I unabashedly did.
GAMEDAY TIPS
∎If you have a bleacher seat (which is most of the stadium), the metal bench can be cold and hard so consider bringing a foam seat cushion or blanket to sit on. It probably won’t be cold in early September, but it will still be hard. I brought an inexpensive, mouth-inflatable, flat cushion (like this one) which worked fine. You do have the option of renting a seatback at the game, but I can’t speak to the ease or availability of doing that.
LOCAL CITIZENRY & FINAL THOUGHTS
∎All the Packer fans and citizens of Green Bay I met were extremely nice and welcoming. Well, maybe except for the Packer fan who dumped beer on Amon-Ra St. Brown.
∎The city and surrounding areas of Green Bay make for a relaxing, enjoyable place to go for a road game. So go in with a pleasant attitude, have fun, and reserve any animosity you have for the Packers team on gameday.
