Dickeyville-Potosi Waterfall Trail: Wonderland in the Driftless by Dianne Koch

Daffodils in bloom in April 2025 along Indian Branch Road west of Dickeyville, WI

When we think of the surrounding Dubuque area, we can overlook the beauty that lies right before us, especially if we have grown up in the area. Too often we take our home, the Driftless Area, for granted. During the past sixteen years, I have taken to road biking. My husband, Kevin, introduced me to biking in the Driftless. While the hilly terrain was daunting at first, challenging me both physically and mentally, I had to focus on the scenery before me. It became a game to see what beauty I could find. One of the most beautiful routes in the Driftless is what I call the Waterfall Route north out of Dickeyville, Wisconsin.

Waterfalls? Yes, waterfalls. We park in the Dickeyville City Park and head west out of town to Oak Road. While starting on a high ridge, where we can see for miles, we quickly drop down through forested bluffs and a few curves that make one wonder what is around the corner. This road descends for almost two miles before the scenery sprawls out with the Platte River valley. Farm fields, marshes, pastures, and farms can be seen while the Platte sidles up beside the road. On Stanton Road, we bike past a few more farms and see a huge grass-covered bluff on the left, which always reminds me of the golden California hillsides. Then I hear the trickling water of the first waterfall just past North Road. The road hugs a deep ditch where water flows year round, fed by a spring somewhere up the road. A series of baby waterfalls span the next quarter of a mile. The falls are only a few inches high but can be heard from the road. I stop chatting with Kevin and friends for the moment, listening for the comforting sound of this stream. This is a sacred moment, an outdoor church of sorts that causes me to marvel at the mysteries of nature.

We ascend to County Road O, where we are again in high, open farmland but not for long. After a couple of roller coaster hills, we descend for another two and a half miles through a tree-lined section of road that shades us on the hottest of days. An expansive valley opens on the left, where cattle graze peacefully. The lucky residents of two homes get to view this scenery daily. Around a corner and a bluff on the right, we cross the Platte again. The road then leads us to the Rockville Road turnoff. Only 2-1/2 miles long, Rockville Road is a cozy, almost canyon-like valley; the road resembles more of a country lane. This is another one of the Driftless’ meandering stream valleys. If we have enough time, we will go up this road to check out the waterfalls here. One is a spring that drops four feet out of a higher farm field and flows over some rocks into the ditch. The next waterfall is part of a creek that bubbles with a series of stream riffles that can be seen and heard from the road. We retrace our route and enjoy the Rockville Road scenery once more before returning to County Road O.

East of Tennyson, we encounter the largest waterfall of the day at a bridge. On the south side of the road, a six-foot high waterfall lies about eighty feet from the road in a private field. It’s somewhat hidden by trees depending on the season and can be a full or minor waterfall depending on recent rains. On days with low water flow, the waterfall may have one solid stream, crashing down six feet. On other days when the water flow is higher, we are treated to a totally different view. Rocks lying in the upper stream may block and divert the flow, dividing the waters. Then multiple streams from various angles shoot and twist around those rocks and bounce off vertical rocks on its way down.

Back on the road, we bike the hill into Tennyson, join up with Highway 133, and ride gloriously down through Potosi’s Main Street. Where Highway 133 takes a sharp right turn at the Mississippi River, we take a left on River Lane. If it’s the third weekend in April, the bluebells are in bloom for the next mile, one of Potosi’s best kept secrets! Now we have river views on our right, first some backwaters complete with water birds and then the main channel.

The Grant River Campground, an Army Corps of Engineers campground, is right on the river. When we take a rest break, we can hear water lapping at the shoreline, technically not a waterfall but close enough.

Back on the road, we meander up a stream valley that becomes steeper, and we might hear another ditch waterfall if there have been recent rains. A right on Dean Lane takes us up and then down to another stream valley, where we may or may not hear trickling water. A steep climb to West Banfield Road takes us up on a high ridge once again. We can see the Sherrill Mound from here as we look over into Iowa. Then a steep descent down a sun-dappled road takes us to the Platte River. Talk about highs and lows, no wonder there are waterfalls here.

We then find two more waterfalls on Indian Branch Road. One is near a small bridge and then we pass a large park-like field. At the second bridge, another waterfall is on the right side of the road as a bluff-side stream hugs the road again. The water travels under the bridge and goes over cement anti-erosion structures, again allowing us to hear a “manmade waterfall.” This spot also gives our eyes a treat once more where many daffodils and daylilies are planted on the left side of the road. We ascend for another two miles and arrive back in Dickeyville. With twenty-six miles completed, we experienced some of the most lovely scenery the Driftless has to offer.

This teaches me that if we listen closely enough, we can find sacred or magical moments. The trickling, restful sounds of water soothe the soul. It says, “Life goes on as does the water, but take a moment to enjoy the sounds and scenes even if they are in a roadside ditch.” One will never know where beauty can be found—the high bluffs, the forested hillsides, the open pasture, meandering stream valleys, or in the lowly roadside ditch, bubbling away and heading downstream. The beauty is there, not only in views, but also in sound.