The Magic of Bluff Country

In the surprising southeast corner of Minnesota, historic river towns dot the Mississippi's banks, and yesteryear villages flourish along the Root River. Discover the pleasures of sunny-day sailing, biking an old railbed, and driving through fruit-laden orchards atop soaring bluffs.

Though ancient glaciers flattened most of central Minnesota, the advancing ice wall somehow missed the state's southeast corner. It left undisturbed a landscape of soaring bluffs and deep, cool valleys, bounded on the east by the mighty Mississippi River, which runs wide and lazy even this far north.

This 200-mile bluff-country tour follows the Mississippi's course south from the historic river town of Red Wing (about 40 miles southeast of the Twin Cities). Then, it threads beside limestone ridges that tower above the river. Inland, to the west of the Mississippi, green forests and farm fields cover the hills and valleys.

The route meanders through other history-rich communities such as Lake City, Wabasha and Winona that once prospered from the river's boat traffic. Today, they thrive on visitors who fill the 19th-century hotels, stores, antiques and specialty shops, and friendly eateries that line their main streets.

At La Crescent, just north of the Iowa state line, orchards you can visit blanket the blufftops, and apple stands dot the roadsides. The rocky soil makes fruit grown here especially flavorful.

You travel inland through the Root River Valley, where an old railbed, transformed into a 35-mile paved trail for biking and hiking, parallels the highway. The trail carries you across creaky trestles and into the middle of quiet villages along the Root River.

The little town of Lanesboro at the valley's heart hasn't changed much in a century. Time also seems to stand still in Harmony, the center of southeast Minnesota's Amish population. Cars share the road with black buggies here.

In fact, thanks to the rugged terrain, much of this region remains in touch with times gone by. That's the true magic of Minnesota's bluff country.

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