Memorial Day Weekend Rentals from Black River Falls

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer in western Wisconsin. Cabins open up, lake homes get aired out, and families pile into vehicles for the first long-weekend trip of the year. At Riverside Auto Rental, the independent, family-owned car rental in Black River Falls since 1983, this is one of our busiest weekends. Here's what to plan for — and what to book.

The four most common Memorial Day rentals

Most of our holiday-weekend customers fall into one of these buckets:

• The cabin trip — A family heading north to a rented cabin, with kayaks, bikes, coolers, and a week's worth of food. Their own car can't hold all of it.
• The lake weekend — Multiple families meeting up at a lake place. One household borrows a larger vehicle so everyone can ride together on day trips.
• The family gathering host — Relatives flying in or driving up. The host needs an extra vehicle for airport runs, restaurant outings, and getting grandma to the cookout.
• The insurance replacement — Someone whose car is in the body shop and the holiday weekend can't wait. We rent these year-round and Memorial Day is no exception.

Vehicle picks by trip type

Trip Type	Best Pick	Why
Cabin trip, family of 4	Full-Size Car or Minivan	Full-size if luggage is the main load; minivan if you're hauling kayaks, bikes, or coolers.
Lake weekend, 5–7 people	7-Passenger Minivan	Three rows, sliding doors, room for floats and the cooler in back.
Big family gathering, 8–15 people	15-Passenger Van	One vehicle for the day trip to a winery, lake, or restaurant. Easier than a 3-car caravan.
Long road trip, 2–4 people	Intermediate or Full-Size, Unlimited	Unlimited mileage so you don't worry about the 100-mile cap on the Local tier.

Mileage matters more than usual on holiday weekends

Memorial Day weekend road trips burn through miles fast. Driving up to Hayward, down to the Dells, over to the Mississippi River bluffs, or out to the Twin Cities will all push you well past 100 miles in a day — which means our Local tier (100 mi/day cap) isn't the right pick for holiday-weekend cars. Two options:

• Unlimited Mileage daily rate — $75/day intermediate or $85/day full-size. No mileage worries.
• Weekly rate — If you're keeping the vehicle Friday through Tuesday (4–5 days), the weekly often pencils out cheaper or even, and includes unlimited mileage automatically.

For vans, the daily rate is per-mile (10¢/mile) and the weekly rate already includes unlimited miles. If you're putting 300+ miles on a van over the weekend, the weekly rate is almost always the better deal.

Pickup and return: plan around our holiday hours

We're open Saturday morning but closed Memorial Day Monday. That changes the math on a typical 3-day rental:

• Friday pickup → Tuesday return is the standard 4-day Memorial Day rental.
• Saturday pickup → Tuesday return (3 days) is also common — pick up before noon Saturday.
• Sunday and Monday are closed except by appointment. Set this up in advance during weekday hours.

Our standard hours during the rest of the week:

• Monday–Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Saturday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (noon)
• Sunday: Closed / by appointment

How early to book

Memorial Day weekend is one of three weekends we sell out for vans every year (the others are July 4 and graduation). Our typical lead times:

• 15-passenger van — book 3–4 weeks ahead. These go first.
• 7-passenger minivan — book 2–3 weeks ahead.
• Cars — book 1–2 weeks ahead. Friday pickups go faster than Saturday.

If you're reading this the week of the holiday, call us anyway — we sometimes get cancellations, and we'll work with you on whatever's available.

A typical 4-day Memorial Day rental

If the trip is closer to 6 or 7 days end-to-end, the weekly rate at $450 with unlimited mileage often comes out ahead.

Insurance replacement over the holiday

If your car is in the body shop and you need a replacement that crosses the holiday weekend, that's a normal part of our business and we work directly with adjusters and shops. The full process is covered in our insurance replacement guide. Short version: call us, tell us the claim adjuster's name and your repair shop, and we'll handle the rest.