John A. Latsch State Park

Twelve miles before Winona [1] a trio of 500-foot-tall bluffs—Faith, Hope, and Charity—are perched high above the Mississippi in this seldom-visited state park. The aptly named Riverview Trail, a lung-chugging half-mile set of steps, climbs 450 feet through the forest and past a prairie remnant to the top of Charity Bluff, the tallest of the three.

The views, of course, are superb. The only camping is at seven walk-in sites. Call 507/643-6849 with any questions or go to www.stayatmnparks.com [2] for reservations.

The park is named in honor of a Winona businessman and avid Mississippi River angler who, around the turn of the 20th century, was chased off a farmer’s land when he attempted to take shelter from a storm.

In order to prevent similar affronts from occurring to anyone else ever again, he spent two million dollars to purchase over 18,000 riverside acres and then gave it away for use as parks and wildlife habitat.

His campaign later inspired the creation of the Izaak Walton League, whose first act was to promote the creation of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge [3].

Directly across from the park is Lock and Dam #5, where you can watch boats get a nine-foot lift.