There are two things to do at this State Park. Have a picnic in one of the tables near the small…read moreparking lot. Climb the steps for a spectacular view of the area which is the Mississippi. The park is easy to miss along Hwy 61. There is a short drive into a small parking lot and keep in mind no rest facilities. If you are in shape take the climb which is 450 ft. There are a few rest areas and also some spots with no steps, just muddy rocks. The steps are listed as "difficult" with an estimated time of 1 hour. The actual stepping time was about 20 minutes, 10 minutes or so to look around the top and less than 10 minutes to descend. It's all for the view.

It's a tiny park, really just a lookout but totally worth the stop! A half mile climb up many…read morestairs but totally worth the view of the river valley and lock and dam.

Such a lovely beach a few minutes out of Rochester!! Visited this area before but didn't realize…read morethey had a whole beach (only saw the areas where boats would go in) The water was pretty clear considering there was plenty of people there. Also saw some small fish. The sand does have rocks in it, so just be aware. They have showers, restrooms and a place where you can rent gear. The campground seemed clean (just drove by it), and they had a playground for the kiddos. There are trails nearby too but didn't explore them. So happy to revisit this place and will definitely be visiting again!

Watercraft (canoe, paddle board, kayak) rentals are affordably priced and in good condition. The…read moreriver was beautiful to paddle on and the birdwatching is excellent. I only wish they were open later than 6 during the summer!

They have a cute little ROTARY LIGHTS event going on for Christmas right now. You can either take a…read morestroll at night time in the cold and freeze your balls off like I did OR take your vehicle and drive around to see all the Christmas lights! choose your poison. They had a cute little place for us to make s'mores got me all giddy. They also sell hot drinks and it was pretty crowded when I went. You can really see the effort La Crosse put into this event. There's also an ice rink that they are working on. Might have to come back and try it out.

Lovely park area with shady trees, beautiful flowers - perennials and annuals. Nice walking…read moresidewalk next to the river. Enjoyed watching all the boats on the river.

Quarry Hill Nature Center has a nice assortment of picnic tables, trails, and local animals. It…read moreeven has a small nature center within. Tip: The signage here is sorely lacking, which is why I couldn't find the paved bike trail, and ended up totally on the wrong side of the park :-( Once I discovered that I was almost hopelessly lost, I wandered aimless in the woods for close to 40 minutes before I found a trail sign that set me back on the right path. Despite the major signage problems, this is a nice place - if you can figure out where to go....

A nice condensed forest experience. The nature center is adorable and educational. The forest…read moreitself is a fun place to wander. I even had two deer that ran by me. A bit more signage would have been helpful to figure out how to go up the hill versus around the hill. I just wandered on random treaded paths until I figured it out. I found a point where you could get a skyline view of Rochester downtown.

My furry friend group chose this spot for our big annual camping trip! There were 86 of us total,…read moreand we utilized the Group Site that has several cabins available, plus a main cabin that serves as the place to gather and eat with a full kitchen and walk-in fridge. I really enjoyed the cozy feel to the cabins, which have wonderfully rustic wooden paneling and floors. Our cabin had two wings with four bunk beds each, plus a center room with a large bed (ideal, no doubt, for scouting purposes). The cabins are heated by thermostat and there are a few electrical outlets, but no other amenities that I was aware of. The main cabin had a large center fire pit that made the whole place wonderfully cozy. Also included are several long tables with benches to sit at, as well as additional chairs with backs to gather around the firepit. There are electrical outlets too. Flooring was a mix of wood and tile. There are also restrooms nearby, which include toilets, sinks, and showers. Separated by gender, male and female. The designated parking lot for the Group Site was able to accommodate around 40-45 cars, which served our purposes well. There is also a small roundabout that leads up to the main cabin for ease of unpacking/dropping off gear. All these amenities made the long-weekend very enjoyable! This isn't a huge park by any means, but even in the icy snow, I was able to enjoy a few of the trails while there. The alphabetical trail markings confused me a bit at first, but then I realized it was how the park was indicating "you are here" without customizing each sign. At the trailheads are large informational signs that give you the distance, difficulty, and features you'll see on said trail. The river that cuts through here is really gorgeous. It was partially frozen over during our visit, and we got some flurries while we were camping, which covered everything in a beautiful fresh coat of white powder. Got some great photos and great memories. I was a bit bummed that the Nature Store wasn't open (it's seasonal), because I am a sucker for souvenirs on sightseeing trips to parks and such.

Whitewater is a gorgeous park with some varied scenery. There are a lot of neat formations to check…read moreout such as the bluffs, forests, rivers, and more. There are some easy to more challenging hikes available. There are also a lot of nice amenities and a beach area.

Loved this park. Some short, moderate hikes to get a gorgeous view of the river. I do wish that the…read moretrails were a little better marked, however, It is worth visiting when heading down to Southern Minnesota. The driftless region is amazing. However, it was my second favorite park today. We headed into effigy national monument immediately after, and that was even more breathtaking. They are a great one-two punch if you're driving down from the Twin Cities.

This was a nice spot for a hike. There is a series of trails throughout the park. I did the King's…read moreBluff and North and South Overlooks. There is no shortage of beautiful views and there were plenty of spring wildflowers to make the walk even more stunning! Parking is available at the trailheads, there are some nice picnic spots, and the vault toilets were well kept.

This is a must if you are near by. We loved our experience there. The tour guide did a great job…read morewith all the information. The cave is handicap accessible. They do have a more extensive tour if you want otherwise this is a quick hour tour. Very cool cave this has been on my bucket list for awhile glad we finally made it.

If you haven't been to this cave yet, what are you waiting for!? I took my nephew who is 13 and we…read morehad a blast! We have both been to Niagara cave as well in Mn and we both agreed this cave tour was better! There is plenty of parking and inside before the tour, there is a gift shop and some live snakes to look at! There are really no bats to see as they close the cave when the bats are present. Our tour guide was awesome and knowledgeable! I wanted to tip, but they are not allowed to take tips :( Definitely bring a jacket with you! This cave is also wheelchair friendly or scooter friendly unlike Niagara Cave. If you haven't been to Niagara cave, it is also worth going too but this cave was definitely more fun!!

Went during the civil war re-enactment days and it was a lot of fun. The trails are always there…read morebut definitely try to go during one their many special events.

There is a lot of awesome trails to hike here, as well as buildings from our past. Admission of…read more$6/piece is totally worth it. Plus there is even a house you can rent out. Def on my to do list next time I visit the area!

This review is about the park area only not the Mystery Cave which is further down the road…read more Start with the unfortunate news, the walking bridge to the historic town of Forestville was closed. I did read about that in the state's info about the park ahead of time. I picked up a map at the office and was told there is a stone walking bridge at marker 8. More bad news on the trail. The field and location maps show markers on the trail but the numbers didn't correspond with the ground signs as many were missing. I just couldn't find the temporary bridge, or marker 8, but took a decent hike on the other trails. The park isn't as scenic as others but there is a variety of trails from easy to difficult, which is what I like. Some steep hills will test your true endurance. Driving out about another 1/2 mile I see more trails I missed, lo leads to marker 8.

We started on the Hiking Club Trail and took an extra loop up to the lookout trail. Well worth the…read moreextra 2m or so round trip to see a view of the valley. Trail was well marked, wide and well groomed. It took us over the creek with stepping stones to keep our feet dry. There were some bigger hills so be prepared for a climb. Much of the hiking trail is shared with horses so be prepared to watch where you step. It was also covered with soft gravel which was hard to walk in at times. This is a huge area and we saw lot of people and activity. A bridge was out so we didn't get to see the old Forestville town as we would have to detour an extra 20 minutes. Very happy we stopped here. We enjoyed the hike very much.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this place before starting to research a spring break trip…read more Effigy national monument is super close to Minnesota and should be a must see, must visit for anyone living in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or Illinois within three hours. There's no entrance fee, but there's still several friendly and helpful rangers at the station as well as the museum explaining the significance. It is a very culturally important site to come up with mound stating back more than 1000 years. The scenery is outstanding. Is it the confluence of two rivers, you can see far and either direction if you hike to several of the scenic landing spots. We put in a good 5 mile hike and didn't even reach all of the places. It's great for history, cultural, and hiking. Highly recommend.

This place is special and amazing. I love how we no longer excavate the mounds but use remote…read moresensing technology like LIDAR and GIS to help interpret the data. I had been to some mounds in Whitewater, Wisconsin before but to see them clearly really requires arial view and careful clearing of trees and underbrush. We came across the monument quite on accident. It's definitely on our list to return to and see the area in a different season.