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Trempealeau River Valley

Trempealeau River Valley is 32.3 miles of point-to-point riding through Trempealeau County in Wisconsin — the Coulee Region, the coulees, ridge tops and river bluffs of south-west Wisconsin. Moving time is about 38 minutes; allow 55 with stops — a quick spin. It is scored CS-1, Cruiser: 28 corners, 86° of turning per mile, 598 feet of climbing. The roads it uses, in the order you ride them, are in the app.

Curviness
CS-1Cruiser · 0.87/mi
Distance
32.3 mi38 min riding
Corners
2857% sharp · Tight
Climbing
598 ft19 ft/mi · Gentle
Shape
Point-to-pointQuick spin
Roads
Mixed roads27% county & local
Traffic
3,500vehicles a day, median
Speed limit
55 mphtypically 55
Open this route in the app

About this road

The Trempealeau River valley is a classic Coulee Region tributary of the Mississippi—gentler than the Kickapoo or the steepest Mississippi bluff roads, yet still scenic and quiet. The town of Trempealeau and nearby Perrot State Park offer river and bluff experiences at a strategic confluence. The river name is French; the valley has a long history of Indigenous and later European use. Combining the ride with a stop at Perrot State Park or the river town supplies the fuller geographic and historical context. The demand is approachable. Ideal when a moderate, river-focused day is wanted, or as a scenic connector within a larger Mississippi or northern Coulee itinerary. The combination of quiet valley riding along the Trempealeau and accessible interpretive sites makes the experience coherent and rewarding. Follow the smaller river to the big one. Perrot State Park at the confluence is worth the stop.

How it rides

28 corners over 32.3 miles — 0.87 a mile, and 86° of turning for every mile ridden. That scores CS-1, Cruiser on the five-point curviness scale. 57% of those corners are sharp ones, and the road reads as tight.

What it climbs

The road climbs 598 feet in total, 19 feet per mile, between 702 and 1,040 feet — 339 feet of relief. The longest single climb is 297 feet over 8.9 miles, and the steepest grade on it is 6.7%. By Driftless standards that is gentle.

Surface, speed and traffic

Paved end to end. 27% of it is back road rather than highway, the other 73% state or US route. Posted speeds run to 55 mph, typically 55, measured across 73% of the route. Where traffic counts exist — 29% of the miles — the median is 3,500 vehicles a day, busiest at mile 9.1 with 6,800.

Where to stop

5 of the towns on this road have somewhere to stop — 2 fuel, 2 food, 4 bars.

Longest stretch without fuel: 24.8 miles. Worth knowing before you set off if your tank is small.

Listed alphabetically, and chosen by us rather than rated by anybody. The order you reach them, and the mile each one sits at, are in the app.

Turn-by-turn directions and the spoken guidance are in the app. Every figure on this page is measured from the route itself — corner counts and gradients from the road geometry, elevation from the national elevation dataset, traffic from the state transport departments where counts exist.

Nearby roads