Great River Road - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 573

1. Cassville
Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor, lobbied to make Cassville the state capital, but
it lost to Madison and instead became a major steamboat center during the mid-1800s.
At Nelson Dewey State Park, which contains five original buildings from the governor's
homestead, visitors can enjoy picnicking, camping, hiking, and lovely views of the Missis-
sippi. Adjacent to the park is Stonefield Historic Site, where life of an earlier era is evoked
in a reconstructed town from the 1890s.Inmidwinter Cassville is a goodplace to spot bald
eagles, which roost there.
2. Wyalusing State Park
Perched atop bluffs 600 feet high, this riverside park affords sensational views of the Mis-
sissippi River valley.Sprawling over some 2,700acres, the park has 20plus miles oftrails,
including some that wind among curious rock formations, canyons, and prehistoric Indian
mounds.Afewmilessouthofthepark'sentrance,thevillageofWyalusingadjoinsariver-
front beach.
3. Prairie du Chien
One of the oldest European settlements in Wisconsin, this town was a fur-trading post dur-
ing the late 1700s and early 1800s. Among those who profited from the local trade was
Hercules Dousman, whose 1870s mansion, Villa Louis, sits atop a 1,000-year-old Indian
burial mound.
This little river town is also home to the Mississippi Explorer Cruises, a great way to
take in the breathtaking scenery of the river. Unlike many of the tours, this one takes you
off the main channel and traverses visitors through the river's backwaters to learn about
the history of the area. Among the things you'll see is Effigy Mounds National Monument,
Pike's Peak, a wildlife refuge, and the mouth of the Wisconsin River.
Leading north from Prairie du Chien to La Crosse is an especially scenic route—a
60-mileribbonofroadwayshadowedbytoweringbluffs.StopattheOldSettlers Overlook
(two miles north of Genoa) for a panoramic view of Old Man River.
4. La Crosse
Unlike the northern and eastern parts of Wisconsin, where plateaus and rolling hills were
planeddownbyglaciersthatscrapedacrosstheterrain,thestate'ssouthwesterncornerwas