St. Croix and Mississippi River Valleys Pedal-Paint Trip

Biking and Painting Trip Itinerary

In mid-September I will be biking from Taylors Falls, MN to LaCrosse, WI over a six or seven day period. Ok, I extended it to eight days, with two days of rest in Red Wing, MN. Each day I will be riding about 35 miles with stops to eat, paint and visit some sites. It is a leisurely pace for touring the small towns that sit in these connected river valleys. Readers will be able to follow along here via writings and photos - maybe even videos. Follow this thread for daily updates during the trip. Each update will consist of narrative, photos, a route map, and images of my paintings created along the way. It looks like it is going to be beautiful weather and should be a wonderful trip.

The itinerary, so far:

Wednesday, September 13: Leave Taylors Falls, MN and bike to Stillwater, MN

• Art Stop:

  • Franconia Sculpture Park

• Nature Stop:

  • Crystal Spring SNA to see:

    • Black Ash Seepage Swamp, or

    • Wet Sandstone Cliff

• Food Stop:

  • Lunch at Marine on St. Croix

• Painting Stop: Crystal Spring SNA

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Thursday, September 14: Leave Stillwater, MN and bike to Hastings, MN

• Art Stop:

  • Union Alley/ArtReach St. Croix in Stillwater

• Nature Stop:

  • St. Croix Savanna Scientific and Natural Area to see

    • Dry Sand-Gravel Oak Savanna and Reconstructed Prairie

• Food Stop: Selma’s in Afton, MN

• Painting Stop: St. Croix Savanna Scientific and Natural Area

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Friday, September 15: Leave Hastings and bike to Red Wing, MN

• Art Stop:

  • The Anderson Center at Tower View

• Nature Stop:

  • Hastings Scientific and Natural Area to see

    • Sugar Maple – Basswood – (Bitternut Hickory) Forest

    • Floodplain Forest

• Food Stop:

  • Red Stag, Red Wing, MN

• Painting Stop:

  • Hastings Scientific and Natural Area Flood Plain Forest

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    Spend Weekend in Red Wing

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Monday, September 18: Leave Red Wing, MN and bike to Wabasha, MN

• Art Stop:

  • Sherlock-Matheny Studio, Lake City

• Nature Stop:

  • Bald Eagle Bluff Scientific and Natural Area

  • National Eagle Center, Wabasha

• Food Stop:

  • Reads Landing Brewing Company

• Painting Stop:

  • Bald Eagle Bluff SNA

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Tuesday, September 19: Leave Wabasha, MN and bike to Winona, MN

• Art Stop:

  • Minnesota Marine Art Museum

• Nature Stop:

  • Kellogg-Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area to see Dry Barrens Prairie

• Food Stop: TBD

• Painting Stop:

  • Kellogg-Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area

  • Mississippi River Vista, Winona

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Monday, September 20: Leave Winona, MN and bike to LaCrosse, WI (via the Wisconsin side of the river)

• Art Stop:

  • Pump House Regional Art Center

• Nature Stop:

  • Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge

  • Perrot State Park

• Food Stop:

  • Trempaleau Hotel

• Painting Stop: TBD

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If you have any ideas of where to visit on my trip, or picturesque places to paint, please share them here. I will continue to share planning and other details about the trip during the lead-up to September 13th. If you subscribe to this section of my Substack, you will automatically get updates on this trip.

I will keep updating this post as plans develop. Meanwhile, read another post about this trip.