Archaeological Treasures

of the Wisconsin Great River Road

Wisconsin’s Great River Road bisects a region with the world’s largest concentration of thousand-year-old Native American effigy mounds—massive earthworks formed in the shapes of bears, falcons, and water spirits. These archaeological treasures can be found in countless parks and natural areas, usually on the precipice of rugged bluffs that rise 500 feet above the Mississippi River.

In addition, pictographs, petroglyphs and remnants of ancient villages have been found and documented along the entire route, with some habitations dating back more than 12,000 years to a time when the last Ice Age was coming to a close and huge mastodons still roamed the area.

Come explore archaeological treasures all along the Wisconsin Great River Road. You’ll see why, across the eons, wise people have chosen this as a prime destination to enjoy the splendor of nature and the scenery of the great Mississippi River.

Photos courtesy of Travel Wisconsin