Great trails found in Mississippi River town

Rieck's Lake Park in Alma, Wis., offers a chance to see tundra swans,
muskrats, beavers and mink.

From muskrats and tundra swans to ancient fossils and blufftop vistas, travelers can find a number of great sights on trails in the Mississippi River town of Alma, Wis. Among them:
• Alma Beach – A 300-foot swimming beach on the Mississippi River sits next to the Alma Harbor and Marina. Various community events are held there as well.
• Buena Vista Overlook Trail – Day hikers can see ancient fossils on a spectacular vista that long ago was at the bottom of the sea. The 0.22-miles round trip Buena Vista Overlook Trail marks a must-see for anyone traveling the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River. Located in Buena Vista County Park, it’s an easy walk that will leave you awed.
• Buena Vista Trail – Those looking for a physical challenge can instead leave their vehicle parked in Alma and head up the steep Buena Vista Trail. From Second Street, the route climbs 550 feet of the bluff over three miles to the Buena Vista County Park’s lawn area.
• Mossy Hollow Trail – An easier walk than the Buena Vista Trail, this hike begins at the Alma Cemetery off of Cemetery Road east of Wis. Hwy. 35. As heading up the bluff, it offers fantastic views of the Mississippi River valley below.
• Rieck’s Lake Park walkabout – Observation decks overlook a waterfowl habitat at the confluence of the Mississippi and Buffalo rivers. About mid-October, large concentrations of tundra swans from northern Canada and Alaska arrive and linger until November or freeze-up. Peak population reaches 6,000. Other wildlife – like beaver, muskrat and mink – can be seen here, with muskrat huts visible on the lake. From downtown Alma, head north on Hwy. 35 then go left/east onto Rieck's Lake Park Road.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Fossils, fantastic river vista await in Alma

Fossil-filled flagstones lead to a vista overlooking
the Mississippi River.

Buena Vista Overlook Trail topo map

Day hikers can see ancient fossils on a spectacular vista that one time sat at the bottom of the sea.

The 0.22-miles round trip Buena Vista Overlook Trail marks a must-see for anyone traveling the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River. Located in Buena Vista County Park, it’s an easy walk that will leave you awed.

To reach the trailhead, from Wis. Hwy. 35 in Alma, turn east onto County Road E; known as North Street in town, it curves and becomes Second Street then curls again as ascending the bluff. Near the top, turn left/north onto Buena Vista Road. The road dead ends at the park entrance atop Twelve Mile Bluff.

Take the trail heading west from the parking lot’s west-central side. It passes a lawn with picnic tables on its way to the vista.

About 490 to 420 million years ago, this part of Wisconsin sat at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea no more than 20-30 feet deep. As sediment high in calcium and magnesium settled on the sea floor, it cemented together and hardened into dolomite. Today, that seafloor sits more than 1040 feet above sea level.

The Prairie du Chien dolomite caprock rests atop sandstone set down more than 490 million years ago. Because of the caprock, the bluffs here remain in place, though rain, freezing/thawing, and wind continue to erode away the sandstone grain by grain.

The flagstones for the walkway leading to the vista were cut from the caprock and contain fossilized animal burrows. Little is known about the creatures who made these burrows, but they are thought to be soft-bodied worms that lived just beneath the sea floor. Small, fossilized shells also can be found in the flagstones.

Stromatolites ranging a foot to two feet in diameter sit on the caprock at the vista. These rock formations were created when cyanobacteria, which photosynthesize light for food in warm, shallow waters, die and grow atop one another, building a boulder layer by layer.

From the vista, the city of Alma spreads out below, and to the northwest Lock and Dam No. 4 runs the length of the Mississippi River. The opposite shoreline is Minnesota.

Those looking for a physical challenge can instead leave their vehicle parked in Alma and head up the steep Buena Vista Trail. From Second Street, the route climbs 550 feet of the bluff over three miles to the park’s lawn area.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.