On campus
The recreation center and pool, intramural and club-sport games, the climbing wall, open makerspace and studio hours, arts events and the galleries, late-night programming in the union (movies, trivia, music, free food), and whatever the 300-plus student organizations are running. The campus events calendar and the union info desk have the week's list.
Downtown
Founders Drive connects to a walkable downtown on the free Porter Loop and the Riverfront Trail — coffee shops, a used bookstore, the co-op grocery, a couple of music venues, the public library, a Saturday market in season, and small restaurants that take Porter Card at a few spots. It is a college town; a lot of it is priced for students.
Outdoors
The outdoor rental center rents everything cheaply — kayaks and canoes for the river, snowshoes and cross-country skis in winter, camping and climbing gear, bikes. Porter Falls itself (the actual waterfall the town is named for) and the surrounding state and county land are close, and Outdoor Adventures runs low-cost weekend trips you can sign up for solo.
Getting further afield
The city bus reaches the regional shopping and the intercity bus and rail connections; airport shuttles run at break times; car-share covers a day trip; and the rideshare and carpool boards connect you with students driving to the nearest larger city on weekends. A weekend elsewhere is doable without owning a car.
Cheap and free
Most campus events are free. The rec center, the galleries, the library, intramurals, and outdoor gear are covered by fees you already pay. Student rush tickets for the arts season, free museum days, and the discount programs local businesses run for students stretch a small budget a long way.
If weekends feel empty
The first few weekends can be quiet while everyone finds their footing — this is normal and it changes. Say yes to the floor thing, join one recurring weekend activity (an intramural team, an outdoor trip series, a club's Saturday project), and it fills in. Students who wait for the perfect plan stay in their rooms.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.