Why this ride
Open upland riding with long sight lines and varied gradients. It also links naturally to Driftless Area.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wisconsin Driftless Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 220 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 23
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check seasonal gates, park access and state 511 notices before publication.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Crosse
A rider could spend a week in La Crosse and never be bored by the view. The city lies on a flat strip of land between the Mississippi River and a line of steep, wooded bluffs, at the point where the Black and La Crosse rivers join the big river, and it feels like the middle of the Midwest folded into a valley. Grandad Bluff, a rocky headland rising almost two hundred metres above the town, gives the best look at the whole scene, with the river, the islands and Minnesota on the far side.
Read the complete La Crosse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Crosse sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Viroqua.
2. Viroqua
Viroqua sits on a ridge in the Driftless country of southwestern Wisconsin, and the rolling, many-folded land around it is the point. The glaciers that flattened most of the Midwest flowed around this region, and the result is a maze of steep hills, narrow valleys and winding creeks that feels more like Appalachia than Wisconsin. Farms cling to the ridgetops, and the valleys below hold cool springs and trout streams, so every road seems to climb a crest or dive into a hollow.
Read the complete Viroqua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Viroqua comes up 61 km in. Next is Prairie du Chien.
3. Prairie du Chien
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.
Read the complete Prairie du Chien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
122 km in you reach Prairie du Chien. Next is La Crosse.
4. La Crosse
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Crosse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Crosse, late in the day.