East Troy blends outdoor living with small-town charm
Roughly 36 miles southwest of Milwaukee, East Troy is a growing residential area surrounded by farmland, lakes and wetlands. The center of town, dubbed “The Square” by locals, provides access to shopping and dining and is accompanied by suburban-style neighborhoods. However, East Troy gets more rural and secluded as it expands outward. “There’s still quite a bit of family farming in the area,” says JoAnn McCormack, a real estate agent with Spotlight Real Estate who has about 20 years of experience and lives in East Troy. “Something that says a lot about our community is that many of our young people will move back here to start their families.” Outdoor recreation and community events keep the town busy.
Diverse housing in East Troy’s rural and residential spaces
East Troy has a wide variety of housing options, based on age and location. “There are a couple of new subdivisions in town that are several years in the making,” McCormack says. “There are also some remnant parcels of land that were farmland, that they’re building homes on now.” New Traditional multi-story homes and contemporary single-story ones from the 2000s and 2010s are common in these neighborhoods. Prices range from $400,000 to $645,000. There are also older ranch-style homes and split levels throughout the area that cost around $340,000 to $540,000. Colonial Revivals and traditional farmhouses in East Troy’s more rural parts go for similar prices.
Multi-story lakefront properties can be found along the shorelines of lakes Potter, Beulah and Booth. These houses were built between the 1950s and 1990s and are priced between $980,000 and $1.3 million.
The CAP Index Crime Score for East Troy is 2 out of 10, low compared to the national average of 4.
Exploring the area’s parks, gathering spots and natural spaces
Playmore Park is one of many green spaces scattered throughout the area. It has a playground with a climbing structure and a large open field. The Tom Rossmiller Sports Complex has an athletic field for baseball and softball, plus a skate park. There’s also the East Troy Dog Park and the East Troy Archery Range. Booth Lake Memorial Park has a swimming beach on the shoreline with a boat ramp.
The Square on Main Street includes Village Square Park, a pocket green space with benches that acts as a gathering place for community events. In the summer, the town will hold First Fridays in the park, with food trucks and live music. There’s also an interactive light show that gets set up in December. “You can sit in your car, and once every hour music will play and the lights will flash to it,” McCormack says.
In addition to the parks, East Troy’s surrounding landscape is covered in designated State Natural Areas. Beulah Bog borders Lake Beulah, where a boat ramp on Hateleys Bay allows non-motorized boating. Visitors can hike, hunt and fish in the area. Lulu Lake State Natural Area also has a no-wake lake that’s surrounded by wetlands and patches of prairie. Both areas are connected to the Mukwonago River.
Shops and restaurants in the village square and beyond
Main Street’s commercial corridor around The Square is the town’s central location for shopping and dining. Square Roots is a gourmet grocery store selling locally grown and made food products. There are also a handful of local restaurants, including Sauced, a pizzeria, and East Troy House, an American restaurant and bar. Princess Cafe is a local diner serving breakfast meals, located further east on Main. Fast-food eateries in the area include McDonald’s and Culver’s. Further west on Main, there are auto repair and hardware stores. Hansen’s IGA Market is the area’s regional grocery store. “For a little community, we offer a lot in town,” McCormack says.
For more options, Mukwonago is about 7 miles north with national retailers like Walmart Supercenter, Home Depot and Aldi. There are also dozens of fast-food restaurants scattered throughout.
East Troy’s high performing public schools
East Troy Community School District is a District of Choice and serves over 1,500 students across eight municipalities. Little Prairie Primary School, for kindergarten through second grade, earns a B grade from Niche, while the A-minus-rated Prairie View Elementary School teaches grades third through fifth. From there, students can attend East Troy Middle School, which scores a B-minus. East Troy High School receives a B-plus and offers 13 Advanced Placement courses and a Youth Apprenticeship program that gives students hands-on work experience with local businesses.
Navigating in and around East Troy
While some of the neighborhoods in East Troy are lined with sidewalks for recreational strolls, the area’s expansive landscape requires a vehicle to get around. Interstate 43 is the main highway system, traveling northeast and southwest. Commuters can take I-43 to get to Milwaukee. Wisconsin state Highway 20, known as North Street, is another main road, traveling east and west. The East Troy Municipal Airport is about 2 miles from the village square and provides general aviation services. For commercial flights, the Milwaukee International Airport is roughly 32 miles away.
The community’s historic train attraction
One of the town’s most known attractions is the East Troy Railroad Museum, which provides 14-mile scenic train rides through the area on restored trolleys. There are both lunch trains and dinner trains, and the non-profit will also host school field trips and special events.
