The Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway includes the lower 52 miles of the St. Croix River from Taylors Falls, Minnesota and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Point Douglas, Minnesota and Prescott, Wisconsin. The Upper St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, covering the upper 200 miles north of Taylor's Falls to headwaters near Gordon, Wisconsin, was the first river added to the National Wild & Scenic Rivers Program by Congress in 1968, and Congress added the Lower St. Croix in 1972. Unlike the Upper St. Croix, which is managed by the National Park Service, the Lower St. Croix is managed cooperatively by the Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, National Park Service, and St. Croix and Pierce County zoning ordinances. The Lower St. Croix River has a rich history of sailing, recreational boating, and fishing, and its waters and surrounding prairie and wooded areas support mallard, wood duck, ring-necked duck, blue-winged teal, ruffed grouse, woodcock, white-tailed deer, fox, beaver, raccoon, otter, mink, muskrat, catfish, walleye, northern pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, muskie, and sauger.

Photo: McGhiever

Houlton, Wisconsin · USA