Great River Bluffs and the Apple Blossom Drive

Most of Minnesota was flattened and smoothed by the great ice sheets of the last ice age, but this southeastern corner was spared. Geologists call it the Driftless Area, because it lacks the drift, the rock and soil, that glaciers leave behind. Without that flattening, ancient rivers carved the land into steep bluffs, deep valleys, and hidden coulees.

The result is a landscape of high wooded ridges and sharp drops to the Mississippi, with rare pockets of prairie clinging to the sunniest, driest slopes. It is a place that feels closer to the hills of Appalachia than to the flat farmland most people picture when they think of Minnesota.

The river below is the upper Mississippi, and this valley has been home to Native peoples for thousands of years, most recently the Dakota, whose homeland this is, and who knew the river long before the towns rose along it. The name Minnesota itself comes from the Dakota Mni Sota Makoce, the land where the waters reflect the clouds.

The fur trade, then steamboats, then railroads brought waves of newcomers to the valley, and towns like Winona grew as river ports shipping grain and lumber. From the bluff-top overlooks you can trace that whole story in the river channels, islands, and settlements laid out below.

The Apple Blossom Drive is named for the fruit country it passes through, a stretch of hillside orchards that burst into pink and white blossom in spring and hang heavy with apples in the fall. The road winds along the ridge tops with the river valley opening below, one of the most scenic short drives in the state.

It is a slow road, meant for savoring rather than speeding through, with pullouts and views around many bends. Spring blossom time and autumn color are the showpiece seasons, when the orchards and the surrounding bluffs are at their most striking.

The park's mix of forest, prairie, and river bluff supports a rich range of life. White-tailed deer and wild turkey move through the woods, and the bluffs are prime country for watching migrating hawks and eagles ride the updrafts along the river corridor, one of the great flyways of the continent.

Spring brings wildflowers and orchard bloom, summer deep green shade on the ridge trails, and fall a blaze of color across the bluffs that draws visitors from far around. Winter is quiet and open, the bare hills revealing the shape of the land and long views down the frozen river valley.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.