The area
The Driftless kept its hills and its quiet
The glaciers missed this corner of Wisconsin, which is why it has ridges, trout streams and round barns instead of flat corn. A wedding weekend here comes with somewhere to send everyone on Sunday.
Close by
What is where
5 miles
Anders Mill
A bakery worth the trip, a tavern with a Friday fish fry, and a general store with surprising range — it covers a weekend.
19 miles
Viroqua
The co-op grocery covers a wedding, the Driftless Café is the one people drive for, and there is a good bookshop for the Sunday morning after.
30 minutes
Kickapoo Valley Reserve
8,600 acres of trails, and the canoe liveries for a bachelor-party morning that ends better than most.
An hour
La Crosse & the Mississippi
The airport run, the big-box run, and the river bluffs if the weekend stretches.
On the farm and near it
Between the events
Up the ridge
Farm paths climb to a bench at the top — ten minutes up, valley views, and full phone signal for whoever needs it. Amish farm stands run along County E, June through October.
On the water
Brook and brown trout live in Sorrel Creek. Driftless Angler in Viroqua sells the Wisconsin license, the gear and the guiding — we sell none of it, on purpose.
The swimming hole
Waist deep on gravel at the willow bend, ten minutes’ walk on the creek path. Kids need an adult at the water, no exceptions.
Honestly, by month
What each season is like
June is green and lush, and the fireflies on the meadow in late June are a light show no budget matches. High summer is warm days and cool valley evenings — the valley runs ten degrees cooler than the ridge, so shawls go on the chairs after Labor Day.
September and early October are the glory: ridge color, cool nights, no bugs. Afternoon storms build in July and pass; the barn has never lost an event to weather. And the barn is unheated — gorgeous in June, honest in October, closed November through April.
What it looks like
The valley, through the year
Licensed stock, standing in.
Licensed stock, standing in.
Licensed stock, standing in.
Eight more shots in the gallery.
Getting here
The lane is the only surprise
From US-14, County Road E south for 8 miles to Anders Mill. Through the village, left onto Sorrel Creek Road at the feed mill, and the road ends at our lane in 3 miles. GPS gets it right.
The lane is a mile of crowned gravel between hayfields, graded every spring and fine for coaches and box trucks. La Crosse Regional (LSE) is 55 miles northwest; the whole run from US-14 takes about 20 minutes.