Onalaska is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 17,736 at the 2010 census.Onalaska is built on a slightly elevated ridge above the Black River. Natural areas include both river bottom land and high, heavily wooded, scenic bluffs. A man-made reservoir at the city's western edge is known as Lake Onalaska. Onalaska is known as "The Sunfish Capital of the World.