View from Wyalusing State Park

Hiking opportunities in Southwest Wisconsin abound!

Five large parks (three state parks, one national monument, and one public reserve) are located between the Prairie du Chien area and the northern end of the Kickapoo River.As the proverbial crow flies, this is a distance of about 60 miles, but taking the crooked, winding roads of the Driftless Area would require about 80 miles and two hours of driving. The good news is that all of that driving will be along scenic rural roads with little traffic and with pleasant surprises along the entire route.

Just to the southwest of Prairie du Chien, in Iowa, lie Pike’s Peak State Park and Effigy Mounds National Monument. At Pike’s Peak you have easy access to the best overlook along the upper Mississippi River. This overlook stands 400 feet above the Mississippi and looks east at Wisconsin’s Wyalusing State Park and at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. Seven miles north of Pikes Peak is Effigy Mounds National Monument. Along with great bluff trails Effigy Mounds offers a very informative Visitor’s Center that explains the history of Native Americans in the upper Mississippi Valley.

Wyalusing State Park on the Wisconsin side of the river boasts of twenty miles of hiking trails, great Mississippi River overlooks’ and even a gathering place for amateur astronomers to view the dark skies of the rural area.

Horseback Riding at Wildcat Mountain State Park

From Prairie du Chien find your way east to State Highway 131 and drive north through the Kickapoo Valley. You will not need to leave your car to enjoy constant rural beauty as the highway winds its way along the Kickapoo River and through a half dozen small river villages. Toward the north end of the Kickapoo Valley, just north of the Village of La Farge, you will find the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. The Reserve offers more than 8000 acres of public land that stretches along a 15 mile section of the Kickapoo River. The terrain is typical Driftless Area – a constant succession of wooded bluffs and small valleys. The Kickapoo Reserve is bordered to the north by Wisconsin’s Wildcat Mountain State Park. Together these park areas offer more than 50 miles of hiking, bicycling, mountain biking, and horse trails.

It would take the average person weeks to explore all of this area’s hiking trails. During your stay in the area you will find great food, unique shopping opportunities, and comfortable lodging. This is a great destination for a weekend or a week.

This is a special time of the year along the upper Mississippi River, near the tri-state area where Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota meet. Just south of the city of Brownsville, Minnesota in the extensive Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the Corps of Engineers has been rebuilding islands in the backwaters of the Mississippi. These islands were originally present when the river was dammed, but then gradually eroded over the subsequent 60 or 70 years. It turns out that those islands provided the perfect habitat for tuberous plants that offer a perfect diet to migrating  swans.

Migrating Swans on the Mississippi

The islands eroded away and the tuberous plants disappeared. The Corps initiated a project many years ago to rebuild those islands and to make them more resistant to erosion. After many years of reduced numbers of migrating swans, the newly recreated islands are working! Now you can see as many as 25,000 Tundra Swans on any given day from late October until the backwaters freeze over. An estimated 25-40% of the eastern population of Tundra Swans stop near Brownsville on their trip from Canada to the Atlantic coast.

For our guests at Lonesome Hollow or for anyone living in or visiting Wisconsin’s Driftless Area or Kickapoo Valley the short drive to Brownsville will provide fantastic sights and sounds of these migrating birds.

Here are some suggested events:

July 4: experience small town Fourth of July in LaFarge or Ontario - both small towns on the Kickapoo River; just a short distance from the Kickapoo lie Hillsboro and Westby which also have interesting July 4 celebrations.

Mississippi Cruise Tour to Effigy Mounds

July 10-12: enjoy the Eighth Annual Gospel and Bluegrass Festival in Viroqua; check out the Viroqua city website at www.viroqua-wisconsin.com.

July 11-12: The War of 1812 in Wisconsin – an interpretive living history camp at Villa Louis Historic Site in Prairie du Chien. Call 1-608-326-2721.

Stiltwalkers at the Country Fair

July 25 and 26: Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic food cooperatrive, presents the Kickapoo Country Fair at the beautiful Organic Valley headquarters building on the edge of LaFarge. Enjoy great food, music, dancing, and artisan vendors. For info go to www.organicvalley.coop/kickapoo.

July 31-Aug 1: Prairie Dog Blues Festival. Regional, national, and international blues bands perform on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien. Visit www.prairiedogblues.com for info.