- Exploring the hidden gems of Western Wisconsin—curating unforgettable stays and sharing the places locals love most.
Stand on the bluff at Freedom Park in Prescott and look down, and you’ll see something you don’t forget: two rivers running side by side. On one side, the Mississippi, brown and cloudy with sediment from the farm country upstream. On the other, the St. Croix, darker and clearer, after a long journey down from the northern Wisconsin woods. For a while they flow next to each other with a visible line between them, before the St. Croix finally gives in.
That clear water is no accident. In 1968, the St. Croix became one of the very first rivers protected under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and more than half a century later, it still feels wild in places, with towering cliffs, sandy bars and long, quiet stretches with nothing but trees on either bank. Here are five ways I’d spend a day on it, from the cliffs at St. Croix Falls all the way down to where it ends, right here in Prescott.
The most dramatic stretch of the river runs through the Dalles of the St. Croix, a deep gorge where the river cuts between walls of dark basalt, rock that began as lava flows more than a billion years ago. The cliffs rise as high as 200 feet above the water, and seeing them from a canoe or kayak is something else.
Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental, which has been family-owned since 1910, makes it easy. They’ll have your boat ready inside Minnesota’s Interstate State Park, and you’ll paddle about seven miles down to Osceola Landing, two to three hours of easy current with the cliffs giving way to woods and sandbars, before a shuttle brings you back. In 2026, a single kayak ran about $40 and a canoe about $55 booked in advance. Pack a lunch and pull up on a sandbar halfway. Experienced paddlers can take on the all-day run to William O’Brien State Park.
Good to know: The rental season runs from the first Saturday in May through the second Sunday in October, and the 2026 season has wrapped. Book online early for summer weekends. A Minnesota state park sticker is required.
If paddling isn’t your thing, Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours has been running paddlewheel boats through the Dalles for more than a century, and 2026 was its 120th season. Board the Taylors Falls Queen or Princess, grab a seat on the open upper deck and listen as the captain points out the rock formations with names like Lion’s Head and the Old Man of the Dalles, plus glacial potholes carved into the cliffs. The 80-minute tour is the one to take. Tours run daily from May to late October.
Before or after you’re on the water, stop at the National Park Service’s St. Croix River Visitor Center in downtown St. Croix Falls. Watch the 19-minute film “St. Croix: A Northwoods Journey,” explore the big floor map of the river and learn how the St. Croix carried Native American travelers, fur traders and the enormous log drives that lasted until 1914. In 1886, logs jammed up in the Dalles for about two miles, one of the biggest log jams ever recorded. The visitor center is open daily from mid-April through October, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kids can pick up a Junior Ranger book.
Then walk the Pothole Trail in Wisconsin’s Interstate State Park, the very first state park in Wisconsin, for a look down into the gorge from above.
At the other end of the river, right where the St. Croix meets the Mississippi in Prescott, is Point St. Croix Marina & Pub, which everyone calls the Shrimp Shack. Bill Hiniker’s family has run it since 1999, and on a summer afternoon there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
Pull your boat up to the gas dock (or just drive in), find a seat on the deck and order the jumbo shrimp. They’re brushed with olive oil, dusted with a secret house seasoning, broiled and served with warm butter and cocktail sauce. Here’s the trick a friend taught me: dip the shrimp in the cocktail sauce first, then in the butter. Order a Bloody Mary or a fresh fruit margarita, and if you have kids along, they’ll love the mocktails, like the Shark Attack and Ocean Water.
When the river is low enough, there’s a lower seating area right at the water’s edge, under tiki umbrellas, where you can kick off your shoes and put your feet in the river.
Good to know: It’s cash only (there’s an ATM inside) and open from May to mid-October. The 2026 season is over, and it reopens in early May 2027. Dogs are welcome on the patio.
Just north of Prescott, the Kinnickinnic River tumbles into the St. Croix and builds a big sandy delta at its mouth. On summer weekends, it’s a favorite gathering spot for boaters, with a buoyed swimming area (no lifeguard). If you’re arriving by boat and want to stay the night, the park offers overnight mooring by reservation.
On land, the Purple trail follows the bluff above the delta through old-growth oaks, and the Red trail winds along the Kinnickinnic River valley. The park is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and a Wisconsin state park sticker is required.
Back in downtown Prescott, grab a table on the deck at Muddy Waters, order Leon’s house-smoked salmon and the house red sangria, and watch the boats come in and the trains roll across the railroad bridge. On summer weekends, there’s a live band on the patio. Then walk up to Freedom Park to watch the two rivers meet one more time before dark.
Make downtown Prescott your home base and book direct with us: The Port of Prescott for boutique king suites steps from the river, Port After Dark for romantic suites made for couples, The Harbor Hotel for themed rooms and extended stays, and The Cove Guest House for downtown condos and group getaways.
