Trip length: Less than 15 miles
Trip time: 1 hour
From the Mississippi River in the south to the Buffalo River Valley nearly 40 miles to the north, Trempeau County offers some of the best back road scenery to be found anywhere in the upper Midwest.
We’ve put together a series of helpful guides to help you explore this remarkably beautiful region in western Wisconsin. In this edition, we’ll be driving through Trempealeau County’s Amish region.
The route
Start in Whitehall in central Trempealeau County and drive northeast about 2 miles on Highway 53 to Highway S in the unincorporated village of Coral City.
Turn right onto Shelly Ridge Road and follow it southeast for 2 miles as it loops through the valley. When you rejoin Highway S, turn right to continue your loop north and west back toward the junction with Larkin Valley Road.
Then turn left (or south) onto Larkin Valley Road and drive south about 2.5 miles past Rat Road to Snake Coulee Road.
Turn right onto Snake Coulee Road and drive west to the intersection with Schansberg Road. Take a right onto Schansberg Road and follow it north for about 4 miles as it winds back toward Highway 53, where your tour concludes.
Many Amish families live and work in this area of east central Trempealeau County between Whitehall and Blair.
The Amish are the most recent wave of European immigrants to settle in the Coulee region of western Wisconsin. Many of these families settled here in the 1970s, moving here from other areas of the Midwest.
Even though the Amish have lived in the United States for several generations, their religious practices and other cultural habits are rooted in 16th-century Germany, their ancestral home.
Unlike their fellow European immigrants from the 1800s and early 1900s, the Amish have resisted acculturation into the American melting pot and have preserved their language, religion, and ethnic traditions.
Along this route are numerous Amish farms, some with small retail shops and services, including furniture shops, fabric shops, and leather goods shops. There’s also a sawmill, a farrier, and a buggy shop.
Watch for signs indicating products, services, and hours of operation but note that the shops are always closed on Sunday.
As you enjoy the beauty of this area and observe the Old World lifestyle of the Amish, please show respect for their privacy and religious tradition; they prefer not to have their photographs taken.
