Pike's Peak State Park, Iowa to Fond Du Lac, Wis

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Clayton County, IA, US

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Resumen de ruta

Scott Hostetter

A full time, year round cycling enthusist, a bike tourer and commuter who hasn't had a driver's license, by choice, since 2004

313 km

1.590 m

A three to four (or more) day long bike tour following the Wisconsin River from it's mouth on the Mississippi River just south of Prairie du Chien to Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo crossing over the Wisconsin River one last time at Portage, Wis. to head east north east thru Pardeeville, Fox Lake, Waupun to end in Fond du Lac.

This is a beautiful and fun ride along the Wisconsin river in the Driftless region. However, for full disclosure, when I rode this route in July 2025 it was not very good weather, which is why for a three day tour there are not as many photos as I would usually have for a tour of this length, for which I apologize. Day one from Pikes Peak SP to Muscoda, Wis. was spent riding to try to stay ahead of the weather, which I managed to do, but when I arrived in Muscoda the rain had caught up with me. Day two from Muscoda to Devil's Lake State Park south of Baraboo was pretty much a full day of riding in rain and thunderstorms, often the rain was torrential downpours. setting up camp in the rain, and having rain all night thru to the next morning. Day three was finally a dry day, but all my gear was such a mud soaked mess, I decided that I didn't want to set up camp again and since I had favorable tailwinds out of the southwest for a ride that was headed east northeast I just rode from Baraboo to Fond du Lac where I reside in order to get home and get my gear cleaned up asap. Please do not let my weather experience, due to my inflexibility of schedule to avoid weather in order to get home on Sunday July 13 impact your decision to ride this stunning route. I hope if you decide to ride this route, the weather cooperates and blesses you with a lot of sunshine and tailwinds. Peace, and enjoy the ride.

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Detalles de ruta

This is a multi day tour route, which can be planned typically for a minimum of three days, or more depending on how much time the rider(s) would like to spend at a planned overnight stops.  The route is on mostly paved @photo[State Highways](17854079), @photo[US Highways](17854068), usually with wide shoulders, many with rumble strips, although there are is one State Highway in @poi[Wisconsin (Hwy 113)](156953939) as the ride approaches @poi[Devil's Lake State Park](156954116) that is not very bike friendly except for experienced riders used to riding in traffic on long, winding climbs with no or narrow shoulders.  The good news is riding on Wis.Hwy 113 is only for around five miles.  The route also follows @photo[paved county roads](17854076), @photo[paved bike/pedestrian trails](17854096), and crushed limestone trails.  This ride is for experienced bike tourists and bikepackers.  The route intentionally passes through several small to medium sized towns so that riders have a variety of options for overnight stays whether @photo[camping](17854078) or looking for motels or airBnBs.

The one way routing begins at [Pike's Peak State Park](https://www.iowadnr.gov/places-go/state-parks/all-parks/pikes-peak-state-park) just south of McGregor, Iowa on the west bank of the Mississippi river where the mouth of the Wisconsin river spills into the Mississippi.  Since I don't drive and only cycle everywhere I want to go, I planned this route as a segment of a much longer tour from Fond du Lac to visit family in Des Moines, Iowa, and back again, which is why this route is a one way route; however, the route could be made into any length of "out and back" routing from anywhere on the route, or the route could be used as part of new tour route a rider chooses to plan for themselves.  I love the [Driftless region](https://youtu.be/-NhCT2ESi9I?si=oYWj73nGRHc55RtF) and have been wanting to do a ride that began at the confluence of the Mississippi river and the Wisconsin River following the Wisco river through the Driftless region of southwest Wisconsin since moving to Wisconsin two years ago.  Since [Pike's Peak State Park](https://youtu.be/L4c67-Fagvc?si=jjc-4oKLxbCHf2tK) overlooks the confluence it made the perfect start point for the route.  I also wanted to include a stop at Wisconsin's most popular State Park: Devil's Lake, then pick up the Wisconsin river again in Sauk City & Prairie du Sac and Portage before leaving the Wisconsin river to head east northest back home to Fond du Lac.  Even though McGregor, Iowa is a little out of the way for a more direct route between Fond du Lac and Des Moines, this year was a good time for me to ride again into McGregor to cross this off my cycling "bucket list".

Since the route follows the Wisconsin river valley there is not a lot of serious climbs, really only one when riding into [Devil's Lake State Park](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/devilslake), which does sit atop the rocky, driftless formations the region is named after. So the ride is mostly gentle rolling hills and flat sections with a lot of scenic views of the river and the valley walls of the Driftless.  The route crosses the Wisco river several times to ride both banks of the river in order to ride through as many small towns as possible for the rider(s) to enjoy small town Wisconsin where they can fill up water bottles, eat a meal, or spend the night.  Two of the towns the route passes through are Spring Green and Baraboo both Wisconsin towns and their surrounding areas, have a lot of interesting things to see and do, which make both of these municipalities great choices for overnight stops.  In fact, if you have a few days to stay in one or both of these towns I would highly recommend it.  [Spring Green](https://youtu.be/CaCtYY6dxCA?si=FlE82FH5WrhyCjlX) is the hometown of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his estate, [Taliesin](https://www.taliesinpreservation.org/), is just south of Spring Green across the Wisco river.  A little further south is the unusual and eclectic ["House on the Rock"](https://www.thehouseontherock.com/), and there is a lot of various artistic venues, shopping and dining in and around [Spring Green  ](https://www.visitspringgreen.org/)  [Baraboo](https://youtu.be/Eifg7C_4Rxk?si=knKBgwFpYoxwKpjr) is another Wisconsin town that has a lot to offer a tourist.  [Baraboo ](https://www.downtownbaraboo.com/)is the home of the famous Ringling Bros. and their [circus](https://circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org/), the Ringling [Theater](https://www.alringling.org/) and [Mansion](https://alringlingmansion.com/)  Of course there are a lot of great restuarants, breweries, wineries, and the [Driftless Glen Distillery](https://driftlessglen.com/) shopping and [things to see and do around Baraboo.](https://baraboo.com/things-to-do-in-baraboo/)

Overall for an experienced cyclist this is not a difficult ride, and even touring cyclists with short tour rides under their belt will have no issues with this ride.  The only cautions I have added on the route, as I mentioned above, is the short segment on @poi[Wisconsin Hwy 113](156953939) for a few miles due to the pavement on 113 being in really poor condition, no or narrow shoulders, except on the two mile climb the shoulder does widen a bit on the curves.  The other cautions are really more annoyances, on the @poi[Wild Goose Trail](156954507) east of Waupun, first, the crushed limestone trail has lots of holes that can be rather large, that could cause damage to a bike or cause loss of control.  I know it sounds weird, but the burrows are often hard to see until almost on top of them. These holes are made by chipmunks and some are quite large due to erosion.   Secondly there are wetlands along a good portion of the trail, which increases the likelyhood of being swarmed, and I mean, swarmed by mosquitos and biting flies when a rider stops along the trail.  For this reason, in summer, especially after a recent rain, I always break off the trail and ride county roads through Oakfield, and then back onto the trail for the last few miles into Fond du Lac.

# More resources
* [Wisconsin DOT Traveller Information](https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/511/511.aspx)
* [Wisconsin State Parks DNR](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Parks)
* [State of Wisconsin Bike Travel Resources](https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/bike/default.aspx)
* [Iowa DOT Traveller Information](https://511ia.org/@-95.04819,42.19251,7?show=iowaAppIncident,iowaAppRoadwork,weatherWarningsAreaEvents,weatherRadar,otherStateInfo)
* [Iowa State Parks DNR](https://www.iowadnr.gov/places-go/state-parks)
* [State of Iowa Bike Travel Resources](https://iowadot.gov/modes-travel/bikes)

# Important Reminders

[The State of Wisconsin State Parks have a "No Turn Away" accomodation policy](https://www.adventurecycling.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Wisconsin-no-turn-away-policy.pdf); however, it is recommended to make every effort to make a reservation if you know the day you'll be arriving at the park and how long you plan to stay.  The purpose of the "No Turn Away" policy is because travelling by bike, foot, kayak or canoe, can sometimes be unpredictable and the State of Wisconsin has made it a policy to make every effort to accomodate alternative mode travellers, like self-supported cyclists.  You still have to pay the normal fee to camp depending on what type of site is available, "No Turn Away" does not mean "No Fee".

On this ride in Mid July 2025, I was unable to make a reservation at Devil's Lake State Park for an overnight campsite once I knew what day I would arrive (about two days before). When I arrived at the ranger station at the park entrance it was during a thunderstorm and torential downpour.  I told the ranger of my prediciment and he told me there was a spot available.  I paid the fee for Wisconsin residents, it was an electrified campsite, not primitive, which I didn't use, but the fee was still the same.  My point being, if you're in a pickle, the Wisconsin State Parks are very good about making accomodations for self-supported cyclists even at the State's most popular Park.  But do try to make reservations if possible.

Also, along this route there are a lot of camping options besides State Parks.  There are county, city and privately owned campgrounds all along the route.  A quick Google Maps seach for campgrounds should provide a few options everywhere along this route, but you may have to ride off route to access them. I have posted a few campground POIs on the routing as options for the rider.

Pike's Peak State Park, Iowa to Fond Du Lac, Wis

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