Inn at Lonesome Hollow

See some of the finest vistas of Crawford County. Travel south from Lonesome Hollow along Hwy 131 into the cute little village of Gays Mills. Peppermint Springs Furniture has a wonderful showroom featuring beautiful locally made tables and chairs. Take Hwy 171 west and stop at Mt Sterling Cheese Factory, for some of the best goat cheese produced in the state.

Continue on Hwy 171 to the Mississippi River, then turn south on Hwy 35. Enjoy beautiful vistas of the big river, see Lynxville Dam and the fishing boats gathered on the downstream side. Look for soaring eagles all along the river. Stop at Cabelas on the north side of Prairie du Chien if you need anything for the outdoors: items for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and canoeing are all featured. In Prairie du Chien visit Villa Louis, a restored Italianate mansion owned by Wisconsin’s first millionaire.

Cross the Hwy 18 bridge and visit the river towns of Marquette, Iowa and McGregor, Iowa. Marquette and McGregor both offer good dining and interesting antiquing. Try your luck at the Isle of Capri casino, or head south to Pikes Peak State Park where you can enjoy a fantastic overview of the Mississippi River and a unique boardwalk that takes you across the river bluffs and past two small waterfalls.

Go just three miles north of Marquette and stop for a hike and visit at Effigy Mounds National Monument. The Visitor’s Center will show you much about the Native Americans that made this area their home about 10,000 years ago.

If you have any energy left, return to Hwy 35 in Wisconsin and travel about five miles south of Prairie du Chien to Wyalusing State Park and again enjoy miles of hiking paths and beautiful overlooks from the bluffs above the Mississippi River. For your return trip to Lonesome Hollow, follow Hwy 27 north from Prairie du Chien and you will see lovely ridge top views and farmscapes.

There is so much to do on this trip that you might want to break it up into two separate days of exploring.

Tags: bald eagles, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Gays Mills, mississippi river, Pikes Peak State Park, Prairie du Chien, Wyalusing State Park

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 at 7:10 am and is filed under Day Trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.