Scenic byways and motorcycle rides

Every once in a while a buyer or a visitor asks me the best way to see the valley slowly, and I always say the same thing: get the maps first, then go. The St. Croix River country straddles Minnesota and Wisconsin, and both states go out of their way to preserve their prettiest roads for exactly this. You do not need an official designation to enjoy a Sunday drive, but it sure narrows down where to point the car, or the motorcycle.

One honest note before we start: I am a riverfront realtor, not a ride guide, so everything here comes from the states' own programs and maps. I have linked each one so you can plan the route yourself.

Wisconsin genuinely runs an official Scenic Byways program, managed by the state Department of Transportation (WisDOT), with five state-designated routes and its own byway map. That designation is real, not a marketing line: the routes are selected and promoted by the state for their scenic character and driving experience.

The headliner is the Wisconsin Great River Road, which follows the Mississippi and carries the All-American Road title, the gold standard of national scenic byway designations. It is a Mississippi drive rather than a St. Croix one, but it is close enough to make a great weekend loop from the valley, especially once you drop down near Lake Pepin. The Lower Wisconsin River Road and the Door County Coastal Byway along Lake Michigan round out the highlights, and each has its own flavor of Wisconsin driving.

Here is the practical part: the WisDOT scenic byways page explains the program itself, and the interactive byways map shows every route as you follow along. Pull both up before you ride.

Here is the road you have probably driven without knowing it has an official name. Those scenic byway signs off Highway 8 at Taylors Falls mark the St. Croix Scenic Byway, a 124-mile Minnesota byway route through Washington, Chisago, and Pine counties that follows MN 95 and meets Highway 8 right at Taylors Falls. It is the river road in a nutshell: bluffs, bends, and small towns, with the St. Croix never far from the pavement.

The byway's website keeps a byway map and a historical travel guide, which is exactly what I would want before a first ride. It tells the story of the road as you go, so a ride down the river becomes a tour.

If you ride a motorcycle, this is the program to know about. Wisconsin's Rustic Roads program preserves quiet, lightly traveled roads for their scenic character, the kind of two-lane ribbons the state decided were worth keeping exactly as they are. They are low-traffic roads, often lightly surfaced or unpaved, and they are a gift to anyone who rides for the joy of the road itself.

Pierce County, right across the river from the valley, is home to Rustic Road 51, a local example of what the program protects. It is not a polished tourist attraction; it is a quiet road with the kind of countryside that makes you want to pull over. Pair a rustic road with a stretch of the St. Croix Scenic Byway and you have a full day that shows off both sides of the river.

The best part is the price. The Wisconsin Rustic Roads Guide, which includes the scenic byways too, is free, available as a printed booklet and a PDF from WisDOT. That one guide is honestly the best map-before-you-ride move in this whole area.

Here is the complete, practical rundown, because half the fun is the planning. Want the Minnesota river road? Start with the St. Croix Scenic Byway map and historical travel guide from the byway website. Dreaming about the Great River Road, the Lower Wisconsin River Road, or the Door County Coastal Byway? Open the WisDOT scenic byways page and the interactive byways map. Heading across the river? Download the free Wisconsin Rustic Roads Guide, since it bundles the rustic roads and the scenic byways in one place.

Four stops, no cost, and you are set for a year of Sundays on the road. Put the river in the plan and many of the best rides end with the bike parked in a riverside town, which is exactly the life I help people buy into along this valley.