An Ice Age-Old Tale. At 435 miles, the mighty Wisconsin River flows from edge to edge in the state. A tributary of the Mississippi, the Wisconsin flows out of the Lac Vieux Desert, a spring-fed lake in the north near the boarder with the UP. The river you see today was formed in several stages due to glaciation during the last ice age; the upper river was formed from glacial meltwater runoffs, which slowly carved out the river as the glaciers retreated northward. Retreating glaciers also left in their wake what was known as Glacial Lake Wisconsin: a prehistoric body of water held in place by a dam made of ice. When this damn broke due to temperature rise, a great flood that emptied the lake in two weeks carved out the Wisconsin Dells and the Lower Wisconsin River. Our stretch of the river – the 92 miles spanning from Sauk City to the Mississippi – runs through the Driftless Area: an expanse of land through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and a small corner of Illinois that was completely free of glacial influence. This makes it the newest formed span of the river. Because of this, our river winds through rolling sandstone hills and exposed cliff overhangs, dense wooded lowlands and wide open prairies.
A Protected River. In 1989 the last 92 miles of the Wisconsin River was protected from development by the State of Wisconsin and is now managed by the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board. Because of this forethought, you’ll see very few houses along the tree lined shore during your trip and views of bluffs in the distance are unspoiled. The Wisconsin River is on the migratory route of many birds that fly between Canada and points south. We are lucky enough to have large populations of Bald Eagles, Sand Hill Cranes, Blue Herons, King Fishers, and many other water oriented birds make the Wisconsin River their summer home. You’ll also see turtles sunning themselves on logs along the rivers edge, raccoons, beaver, and even otters.