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Two Highways and a River

Two Highways and a River is 51.8 miles of loop riding through Vernon County in Wisconsin — the Coulee Region, the coulees, ridge tops and river bluffs of south-west Wisconsin. Moving time is about 66 minutes; allow 95 with stops — a half day. It is scored CS-5, Technical: 107 corners, 185° of turning per mile, 2,438 feet of climbing. The roads it uses, in the order you ride them, are in the app.

Curviness
CS-5Technical · 2.07/mi
Distance
51.8 mi66 min riding
Corners
10747% sharp · Tight
Climbing
2,438 ft48 ft/mi · Steep
Shape
LoopHalf day
Roads
Backroads54% county & local
Traffic
1,000vehicles a day, median
Speed limit
55 mphtypically 55
Open this route in the app

About this road

One of the most technical and corner-dense routes in the entire set, this loop combines highway segments with connecting back roads for continuous engagement. High effort and high reward define the day; the landscape changes constantly. Sitting in the heart of the most dissected part of the Wisconsin Driftless, the route is for moments when the road geometry itself is the main event. The measured scores reflect genuine and continuous geometric demand. Services are limited in the middle miles; preparation matters. Pure riding quality—ideal for experienced riders who want maximum engagement with complex topography and who do not require famous landmarks or extensive amenities. The satisfaction is in the continuous conversation between asphalt and landform. Tight, continuous, and completely shaped by the country. Bring legs and focus.

How it rides

107 corners over 51.8 miles — 2.07 a mile, and 185° of turning for every mile ridden. That scores CS-5, Technical on the five-point curviness scale. 47% of those corners are sharp ones, and the road reads as tight.

What it climbs

The road climbs 2,438 feet in total, 48 feet per mile, between 624 and 1,292 feet — 668 feet of relief. The longest single climb is 491 feet over 1.6 miles, and the steepest grade on it is 9.5%. By Driftless standards that is steep.

Surface, speed and traffic

98.5% paved; the odd short stretch is gravel or seal coat. 54% of it is back road rather than highway, the other 46% state or US route. Posted speeds run to 55 mph, typically 55, measured across 43% of the route. Where traffic counts exist — 20% of the miles — the median is 1,000 vehicles a day, busiest at mile 27.5 with 4,000.

Where to stop

2 of the towns on this road have somewhere to stop — 2 fuel, 4 food, 3 bars.

Longest stretch without fuel: 51.8 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