GREAT RIVER ROAD - Wisconsin - page 602

RECREATION
Today,mostofWisconsin'ssegmentoftheMississippiisprotectedaspartoftheUp-
per Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, stretching 261 miles south of
the mouth of Wisconsin's Chippewa River, is the longest refuge in the United States.
Somesaythishappenedjustintime,asWisconsinhadlost32percentofitswetlands
by its establishment. This refuge is a crucial link in a migratory flyway, including
points south to the Gulf of Mexico or to the Atlantic seaboard.
And while recreation brings in more than $1 billion a year to regional coffers,
some claim the darting personal watercraft and wake-inducing pleasure craft are ab-
rading the shoreline and causing untold damage to the aquatic ecosystem.
For anglers, walleye and sauger are most common, but still, the waters are rife
with catfish, and a catfish fish fry is a Great River Road classic. The area of Genoa
has one of the best walleye runs on the Mississippi. Oddball creatures include the
paddlefish and the infrequent snapping turtle.
MM CASSVILLE
Eagles. The majestic birds and their migratory journeys up and down the Mississippi River
draw most folks here—one of the top spots in the region to witness them.
With a solitary general store after its founding in 1831, locals nonetheless championed
thevillageforcapitalstatus.TheCaliforniagoldrushandsiltingontheGrantRiverdoomed
once-booming Potosi; Cassville took over the crucial river traffic control and soon eclipsed
its neighbor.
Rivertransportation beganwithaferryasfarbackas1836,andtodaythe Cassville Car
Ferry (608/725-5855, 9am-9pm daily Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day, Fri.-Sun. May
and Sept.-Oct., $13 per car) still plows across the Mississippi into Iowa. This is one of the
few remaining river ferries in the United States (another is in Merrimac, Wisconsin); the
paddle wheel and horse-and-treadmill versions have finally been retired, but it's still a tri-
states area tradition. Keep in mind, though, that river levels determine whether the ferry
runs. At different times, water levels can be too low or too high for the ferry to run.
The big draws for Cassville are Stonefield (12195 Hwy. VV, 608/725-5210, ht-
tp://stonefield.wisconsinhistory.org , 10am-4pm daily late May-early Oct., shorter hours
July and Aug., $9 adults), the agricultural heritage and village life museum, and, across the