Located along the Great River Road in the heart of Fountain City, The Corner Store is home to a beautifully preserved 1926 soda fountain now celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. Originally installed in a neighborhood drugstore, the fountain has once again become a gathering place for locals and travelers seeking an authentic small-town river town experience.

Recently restored and reopened, The Corner Store blends nostalgia with modern comfort, serving classic fountain floats, handcrafted sodas, ice cream treats, espresso drinks, and seasonal hot chocolates during the holidays.

The shop also features a carefully curated collection of local and regional gifts, apparel, candles, snacks, and goods inspired by river life, bluff country, camping, and the outdoors, all with a fresh modern Northwoods feel.

More than a shop, it is a living piece of Great River Road history where visitors can step inside, slow down, and enjoy the kind of community connection soda fountains were built for.

A true hidden gem and must-stop destination between La Crosse and Pepin along Wisconsin’s Great River Road.

The cultural, recreational, national, and historical significance of the Driftless Center is the primary focus of the interpretive exhibits at the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center. Featuring three levels and 10,000 square feet, the center is nestled beneath limestone bluffs with scenic river views. In the facility, you can come face to face with native wildlife of the region, step back into the past to learn about the rich tradition of Native Americans of the area, and explore the more recent history of European and American settlement of northeastern Iowa. Our gift shop showcases locally made gifts. There’s a little something for everyone at the Driftless Center. Photo: Main Street Studios.
https://www.allamakeecountyconservation.org/driftless-center

Visit Us! The hatchery provides a great stop along one of the nation’s greatest scenic highways. Its mission and the visitor center highlight the past and present uses of the Mississippi River, its people and fish and wildlife resources. Photo: Genoa National Fish Hatchery.
Things to do: Tour the visitor center, exhibits and aquarium
Take a self-guided walking tour of the hatchery and end at the trout pond on the other side of Highway 35 to feed the trout (seasonal)
Tour the culture buildings
See a lake sturgeon and a mudpuppy up close
Walk the nature trail and wetland boardwalk, document the wildlife you see on our ponds, woods and wetlands. No fee.
https://www.fws.gov/fish-hatchery/genoa/visit-us

Meticulously restored 1871 Italiante mansion that was the home of the wealthy Dousman family, showcasing Victorian life with original furnishings and modern conveniences like indoor plumbing, on a 25-acre estate, operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Villa Louis is located in Prairie du Chien, a National Main Street Community, just three miles above the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. Prairie du Chien is the oldest European settlement on the Upper Mississippi.
Photo: Villa Louis Historic Site.

Effigy Mounds National Monument – The mounds preserved here are considered sacred by many Americans, especially the Monument's 20 culturally associated American Indian tribes. A visit offers opportunities to contemplate the meanings of the mounds and the people who built them. The 200 plus American Indian mounds are located in one of the most picturesque sections of the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Photo credit: Paige Lipsky.

Eagles: Late fall and early spring, eagles follow shifting ice conditions. As warmer weather arrives, they disperse to nesting sites across the Midwest Flyway including MN and WI.
Swans, Waterfowl and Pelicans: Tundra swans, ducks, pelicans are frequent migrants, especially in the Brownsville, MN area. Large flocks begin appearing in late Oct. and stay until the water freezes.
The River acts as a migration corridor not only for the waterfowl but also for many other birds like raptors, shorebirds and migratory songbirds.
The Mississippi River area supports northern bird populations and year-round residents. Photo credit: Mark Hoffman

North America's only owl education center. The International Owl Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to making the world a better place for owls through education and research. Photo credit: Emily Feigel.

Castlerock Museum is an arms and armor museum; our exhibits include arms and armor from many points in European history. A visit offers the chance to view and learn about authentic armor spanning many periods; the collection begins with ancient Greece, and concludes in the early modern period. To provide a better sense of the many different cultures our arms and armor originates from, we enrich our displays by using art prints to show the arms and armor in their historical context.
UPDATE: Two new galleries cover American History from the Colonial Era through the late 1800's. These galleries include a hundred period firearms. Photo: Phil Dedman.

Kinstone is a haven of peaceful beauty filled with huge stone circles, standing stones, dry-stack stone sculpture, natural buildings, planted prairie, a labyrinth, wide open bluff-top horizons and a view of the Mississippi River.
Located outside of Fountain City, Wisconsin, and just over 2 hours southeast of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport or 3 hours northwest of Madison, you can enjoy the tranquility of this one-of-a-kind place on a day trip or plan to visit when sojourning in this beautiful region. Kinstone is just 3 miles off the Wisconsin Great River Road. Photo credit: Kinstone.