Traveling the Great River Road: follow the scenic circle through charming towns on the Mississippi shores of Minnesota and Wisconsin - Tour Of The Month

Travel America, July-August, 2002 by Carla Waldemar

Road maps are for me like those "simple directions" that come with an assemble-your-own-computer kit: No way will I reach the goal without near-catastrophic wrong turns. But the ease and beauty of negotiating the Great River Road, which hugs the Mississippi River on the Wisconsin shores of the Hiawatha Valley and then loops back on the Minnesota side, makes me a dedicated voyeur of its vistas every season of the year. It's one time Rand McNally and I see eye to eye.

The loop that venerable map maker has rated as one of the top drives in the country begins at the Mendota Bridge just south of the Twin Cities. Follow Minnesota Highway 55 till it meets U.S. Highway 61 in historic Hastings, first settled by Alexis Bailly 160 years ago.

Next to cornfields on the outskirts of town, embrace the Alexis Bailly Winery, where his red-headed great-granddaughter Nan, Minnesota's foremost winemaker, offers samples and spirited conversation on the picnic deck above cool cellars where weekend visitors are welcome--in fact, often put to work picking grapes, with a glass of last year's vintage as their just reward.

Then double back through Hastings to cross the bridge on U.S. 61 to Prescott, Wisconsin. This boom town of the steamboat era quickly lost its steam as railroads supplanted river traffic. Today, here at the junction of the scenic St. Croix and mighty Mississippi, its historic main street doubles as the debut of Wisconsin Highway 35, the Great River Road, with the main street's color guard of classic brick storefronts from the 1870s and the gracefully arched windows of Prescott's vintage City Hall.

Folks hungry for a glimpse of the river to garnish a juicy steak flock to the Steamboat Inn, a supper club launched in the '50s just above the confluence of the two rivers, once the site of Chippewa camps. Explorers Hennepin and DuLuth were among the early visitors, followed by William Cullen Bryant, who declared, "This area ought to be visited by every poet and painter in the land."

From there on, the woods crowd the road as it dips and twists like a roller coaster, punctuated by wayside rests framing magnificent vistas of the Mississippi. Limestone bluffs commence their skyward climb as the river widens and gains status as a lake. The hills of Minnesota hover in the distance across Lake Pepin, its waters spackled with sailboats and patrolled by swooping hawks and eagles.

The next stop is Maiden Rock, where hillside orchards offer sacks of crisp Haralsons and Prairie Spies and jugs of cider. This Wisconsin hamlet, slim as a strand of spaghetti along the waterfront, alternates cozy shops crammed with antiques and lively pubs where strangers are invited to stomp their feet to the sounds of a small-town band. Clinging to a wooded bluff is Maiden Rock's B&B, the Harrisburg Inn, which rightly bills itself as "a view with a room"--five of them, actually, several with balconies framing Lake Pepin far below.

The historic marker just south of town details the legend of Maiden Rock's namesake. It's here that Chief Red Wing's daughter, Princess Winona--forced to abandon a lover (some claim he was French explorer DuLuth) and marry a brave of her father's choosing--leapt to her death.

Next, if you don't blink, you'll spy tiny (pop. 104) Stockholm, Wisconsin. Pull over and stretch your legs and your imagination. This old Swedish settlement, with an enchanting cemetery to wander through, now houses a vibrant arts colony of expats from the Twin Cities. They show and sell their wares in shops that line the crossroads, mingling with a post office-turned-historical museum, Swedish import shop, Amish crafts store, toy store, book shops, bakery, and the Star Cafe, offering inventive uptown food at backroads prices.

Proceed six leafy miles to Pepin, the River Road's metropolis (pop. 890) and home of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, where worshipers flock to visit her Little House in the Woods. But the biggest reason for the nightly pilgrimage from the Twin Cities 87 miles distant is the homey Harbor View Cafe. Fronting the railroad tracks that slice between Main Street and the river's marina, it's been transformed by three winsome dropouts from the fast lane to a small cafe whose mood remains casual and menu comes scrawled on a blackboard. Because it takes no reservations, the wait on the front porch becomes a community conclave, lightened by loops along the pavement to peer into crafts galleries and collectible shops bursting with bygone treasures. Others poke into Pepin's original train station, now a museum.

The best thing about Nelson, 10 miles down the road and anchoring a corner of Tiffany Bottoms, 30 square miles of virgin forest and wetlands and a sportman's nirvana, is the Nelson Cheese Factory, a landmark for generations. Nothing shabby about the array of close to 50 varieties it manufactures, but the really big draw is its double-dip ice cream cones, and the most convincing reason to step into the line that snakes around the block.