I’ve camped next to enough rivers to discover a few of their secrets. The Kickapoo, Wisconsin, and Mississippi Rivers that course their way through Driftless Wisconsin have all served as my camping companions; close enough to your tent you can feel their presence during the night.
One of my favorite campgrounds is Blackhawk Park, near DeSoto in Vernon County. The Mississippi River runs toward the Gulf within a stones throw of the back flap of your tent, and camping next to “Old Man River” feels like sitting next to a storyteller.
I’ve camped on sandbars along this stretch of river and watched tugboats glide by in the darkness of night like starships heading for deep space. Their giant searchlights peer into the night looking for river markers, lighting up your campsite like day; while the ripples from their wake lap at your feet. Rivers create stories you will never forget.
Blackhawk Park has first-rate amenities – clean shower facilities, electricity, riverside camping, and a boat ramp. Excellent bass and pan fishing await you in the backwaters. You can fry fish over the campfire that night or cook up a story about the one that got away.
Blackhawk Park lies on the Great River Road winding along the Mississippi River bluffs. Find some back roads that rise to the top of the bluffs – try the overlook near Genoa – for some spectacular views, or stay in the valley and feel humbled by the steep hillsides and limestone outcroppings that keep watch over the river and your campsite.
If you tire of your cooking, try the Great River Roadhouse near DeSoto. They have wonderful pizza and feature a delicious perch dinner along with their regular Friday night fish fry. Grab a table next to the window or on the deck overlooking the river.
Blackhawk Park commemorates the location where Chief Black Hawk and his followers fought with the American Army in the Battle of Bad Axe in 1832. The area is layered in human and geologic history, having escaped the last ice age some 10,000 years ago, which preserved the geologic formations cut by the river over time.
So come to Vernon County in Driftless Wisconsin, to a campfire on the banks of the Mississippi River. Sit by the river and add your story to the narrative that began so many centuries ago.
Where are your favorite campsites in Driftless Wisconsin?
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