Looking out over Prairie du Chien, The Wisconsin, The Mississippi & Iowa in the distance from the bluffs of Wyalusing State Park.

Sea kayakers know that Wisconsin has miles and miles of coastline boarding two inland seas, Lake Superior to the north and Lake Michigan to the east. The state’s western border is cut by the famous workhorse, the Mississippi river which flows from Lake Itasca in Minnesota, south to the Gulf of Mexico. The Wisconsin River flows diagonally across the state some 430 miles to join the Mississippi near a small town built in the Mississippi flood plain called Prairie Du Chien. (The Prairie of “Dog” but that’s another story).

This Mississippi River & Riverboat Casino on the Iowa side.

The Wisconsin, although not nearly the size of the Mississippi, is still a large river and popular among paddlers and tourists. The Wisconsin Dells section cuts through some amazing sandstone formations and was the original reason the area become popular long before all inclusive water park resorts had ever been imagined. A few miles south, after one final dam in the town of Prairie du Sac (More prairie, more French.), the Wisconsin opens up and slowly sprawls it’s last hundred miles or so through a wild river valley surrounded by high bluffs. This section, well 93 miles of it, is protected by the state of Wisconsin and designated as the Lower Wisconsin River State Riverway. Encompassing over 79,200 acres of land, water and islands, this section of the river is popular among paddlers who often pack their canoes with a lifetimes worth of supplies for 2 days drifting down to meet the Mississippi.

A train crosses the Wisconsin River

The LWRSR is divided into 3 sections. Most paddlers run day trips between the communities of  Prairie du Sac and  Spring Green. Continuing past Spring Green paddlers can expect more solitude.

The river flows between 1 & 5 mph making quite easy to manage most of the year. Paddlers do need to be mindful of high water & periods of flooding and heavy rains when the river can become wild and dangerous. Camping is allowed on state owned Islands and the ever changing sandbars except for a small section known as Ferry Buff down to Grape Island. Oh, and did I mention the nude beach??

A former Employer – Wollersheim Winery in the hills of Prairie du Sac overlooking the Wisconsin River.

Over the weekend I took a road trip to Wyalusing State Park which is located at the confluence of the Wisconsin & Mississippi River. From the high bluffs within the park you have an amazing view of Prairie du Chien and the rivers below with the state of Iowa stretching out beyond.  It’s possible to choose a route that will encircle the lower Wisconsin waterway affording you some amazing scenery along the whole route.  Next time however, I think I want to do it by kayak.

This Mississippi River flows past Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin..

Related Posts:

1. Back to the Wisconsin
2. filling the ocean
3. Upper Wisconsin Dells
4. Same River, Different Landing
5. Big Bad Baraboo. . .