Prairie du Chien lies at the spot where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi, and the French noticed. In June 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, paddling down from the Wisconsin, reached the great river somewhere near here, and the settlement that grew up became a fur-trading center, one of the oldest European outposts in the upper Midwest. The name means prairie of the dog, and it is usually said to come from a Fox chief whose name meant dog.
The island in the river, St. Feriole, is where history is easiest to see. Villa Louis, a Victorian mansion built by the Dousman family, who grew rich in the fur trade, stands on the site of an earlier fort, and the grounds and house, with their carriages, wallpaper and billiard room, are beautifully kept. Nearby, the Fort Crawford Museum remembers the army post that once guarded this crossing, and the story of Dr. William Beaumont and his work on digestion is told in the medical museum. The town itself has a handsome old main street and a long river levee.
For riders, the Great River Road is the point. Wisconsin Highway 35 follows the Mississippi south and north, with bluffs rising on the east and the broad, slow river to the west, and the road has gentle curves, long views and little traffic outside summer weekends. The region is part of the Driftless Area, an unusual patch of land that missed the last glaciation, so its hills, ridges and coulees are sharp and deep, unlike the flattened country around. Eagles perch on the dead trees by the water in winter.
Prairie du Chien has fuel, supermarkets and several restaurants, with motels along the main road. It is the biggest town for a good distance, so top up here. Across the river, the Iowa bluffs hold Effigy Mounds National Monument, an ancient burial ground of animal-shaped earthworks. The best months are late September to mid-October, when the bluffs blaze with color, though May and June are green and fresh. Summer is warm and humid, with thunderstorms and occasional river flooding that can close low-lying roads. Watch for barge traffic on the water and deer on the road at dusk.