Majestic Mississippi River views await at Rush Creek

It was already a great day: a balmy 50 degrees and clear blue skies at the end of February. The kind of day that gives you hope that spring will actually come. Then the real stars showed up.

Half a dozen bald eagles, swooping and soaring and diving above the mighty Mississippi River to the west. From a vantage point 400 feet above the river on a bluff in Rush Creek State Natural Area, I had the best seat in the house to watch the magnificent birds.

It's a view that never gets old, even as it becomes more common during spring migration in the coming months.

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And while the views — of the birds, the riverside bluffs and the Mississippi — are the main draw to Rush Creek in Wisconsin's Driftless Region, the state natural area is also remarkable for its size and unique landscape.

"This is nearly 3,000 acres of land, and with that largeness, that kind of landscape-scale size, it has all of the ecological functions and all of the species and all of the things that go along with having a large, functioning ecosystem," said Thomas Meyer, a conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources who said the natural area is one of his favorite places.

"You get up on top and you can see a long way and get a sense of what this landscape looked like a long time ago," he said.

That landscape includes a two-mile stretch of dry prairie on bluffs along the Mississippi River. The tree-free swaths of land are a marked contrast to the otherwise-wooded landscape, made even more dramatic by their location on the steep bluffs.

"Back in the 1840s, that entire southwest corner of the state and much of southern Wisconsin was this kind of open prairie savanna landscape, where you'd have open-grown oaks and shagbark hickories and other trees that are resistant to fire scattered along the landscape, kind of like an African savanna," Meyer said. "Those steep slopes were kept open by fire, most of which was set by Native Americans."

As European settlers pushed west and began farming the land, much of the state's prairies disappeared. Fire suppression allowed trees to proliferate, further erasing the savanna-like landscape.

Less than 10,000 acres of native prairie remain from Wisconsin's 2.1 million acres of grassland pre-European settlement, and most of those are in small parcels of 10 to 50 acres.

The grassland at Rush Creek is characterized as dry prairie — the soil is dry and rocky, and its location on steep bluffs make it difficult for trees to gain a foothold, Meyer said. They're also known as "goat prairies," as the sure-footed animals are just about the only ones who can navigate the landscape.

"There's a whole suite of species that hangs out on these dry prairies that aren't found on mesic or wetter prairies," including grasses and wildflowers of shorter stature, Meyer said.

Come spring, those wildflowers will be out in full force on the prairie slopes and in the natural area's woods, Meyer said.

Look for little bluestem, blazing-star, silky aster and bird's-foot violet. Meyer also noted that Rush Creek is a good spot for finding the elusive (and delicious) morel mushroom.

In addition to bald eagles, look up to see red-shouldered hawks that, like the eagles, love riding the thermal updrafts created by winds rising up the bluffs.

The bluffs themselves are composed of limestone on top of sandstone. Outcrops throughout the natural area provide an up-close look at this geology.

Trail tips: The best access point to the large natural area is on Rush Creek Road just off Highway 35 (the Great River Road).

From the parking lot there, cross the road and follow the old service road as it winds south up the bluff. It's a steady uphill hike, but not too strenuous. At a slow pace it should take you about 45 minutes each way.

Follow the trail to the right when it forks. It soon flattens and opens up on the bluff top where sweeping views of the Mississippi River and its floodplain await.

"That, in my opinion, is the best group of open slopes," Meyer said, noting that other access points for getting to the bluff top are not nearly as developed. Some people park on Rush Creek Road where it intersects with Highway 35 and hike straight up the bluff from there, he said, but it's a steep climb without a clear path to follow.

While you're there: North of Rush Creek, Battle Bluff State Natural Area features a similar dry-prairie landscape on its bluffs. The site is named after the Battle of Bad Axe, also known as the Bad Axe Massacre, fought there in 1832 during the Black Hawk War.

Bad Axe and his followers — warriors, women, children and elderly — were caught here between the pursuing militia to the east and an armed steamboat in the river.

Many were killed or drowned trying to flee, and the battle essentially ended the Black Hawk War. A state historical marker on Highway 35 near De Soto commemorates the battle.

A full day of hiking calls for a pizza of epic proportions. The Great River Roadhouse on Highway 35 just north of De Soto delivers. Thin crust, just the right amount of sauce and a heaping amount of cheese and toppings are the perfect combination for a tasty pie, washed down with a local beer from Pearl Street Brewery, just up the road in La Crosse.

Be prepared for a wait on busy weekends.

More information: You don't need a state parks sticker to access Rush Creek. Pets are allowed but must be leashed. For more information, see dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/ naturalareas/index.asp? SNA=170.

Getting there: Rush Creek State Natural Area is on Highway 35 in Crawford County, between Ferryville and De Soto. Turn northeast onto Rush Creek Road (note that it is not paved) and follow it about half a mile to a small parking area on the west side of the road.