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Strollin' on the River in Wisconsin and Indianapolis
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Wildlife often venture close to paths in
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.
Trempealeau
(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MAY/JUNE 2004)
Exploration is a tradition in the area around southwest Wisconsin's 1,400-acre Perrot State Park. Here, the Mississippi River and its bordering woods have long attracted adventurers, including French fur trader Nicholas Perrot, who visited in the late 1600s.
Today's adventurers come seeking fun instead of fortune. But they're drawn to the same dominant feature that grabbed the explorers' attention: the river island called Trempealeau (TREM-pah-lo) Mountain, a tree-covered dome of rock that rises 388 feet. The towering landmark's Native American name means "the mountain that soaks in water," which French explorers translated as "la montagne qui trempe a l'eau."
Those seeking an easy hike and ground-level view of the river and forest opt for the Riverview Trail along the bank. Hikers willing to work for a panoramic vista of the mountain and the river valley's forest and marshlands make the switchback climb through the forest to the top of Brady's Bluff, where an open-air shelter perches more than 500 feet above the river.
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The two paths well represent diversity of the trail network that leads families to the riverbanks, forests, marshes and old roadways around the unpretentious river town of Trempealeau, Wisconsin (20 miles north of La Crosse).
Many enjoy the area on the Great River State Trail, a forgivingly flat 24-mile converted railbed for hikers and bikers that passes through town. To the south, the crushed limestone path leads to Native American mounds and prairie remnants, and crosses several bridges over quiet Mississippi and Black River backwaters before it hooks up with a string of state trails.
About four miles west of Trempealeau, the trail reaches the forest, marshlands and ancient rolling sand dunes of the 6,200-acre Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge. (Families may prefer to drive to the refuge and start their hikes there.) Nature watchers thrill at spotting waterfowl from an observation platform near the refuge office and following a trail into the wetlands, where paddling ducklings and fishing herons are common companions.
