Buena Vista Park is a natural treasure not to be missed. Located 500 feet above Alma, it’s a small park with a big view of the Mississippi River for several miles to the north and south. According to Better Homes & Gardens magazine, "Buena Vista Park is one of the river valley's finest natural balconies."
The park is a great birding spot with breathtaking sunsets and is a "must see" when you come to Alma. This scenic vista 500 feet above Alma and the Mississippi River Valley has a natural viewing platform. Visitors can watch barges traveling up the river and locking through Lock Dam #4 along with views of sand islands and backwaters. Photo courtesy of Wings Over Alma.
The area is handicapped accessible and offers picnic tables, grills, a picnic shelter, restrooms and a small children's playground. The park also offers a large parking lot that accommodates several vehicles and motor coaches. No camping is allowed. For information, directions and regulations contact the Alma City Clerk at (608) 685-3330.
DRIVE County Road E from Main Street in Alma up the bluff to Buena Vista Park and walk to the overlook. County Road E starts at Wisconsin Highway 35 (the Great River Road) in Alma.
HIKE the Buena Vista Trail from the Nature Center up the Alma Bluff to Buena Vista Park.
"Accompany me to the heights of Buena Vista and enjoy a view which Leslie's Weekly and the Scientific American have considered worthy of a place among America's foremost beauty spots. With the picturesque little city at your feet, you look for miles and miles down the river and up Lake Pepin. What is revealed to you in this picture cannot be described but must be seen. Twelve Mile Bluff, the Peephole and the great Stone Face are other points of vantage to the sightseer..." E F Ganz 1923
VIEWS OF THE PARK & OVERLOOK Gifted to the City of Alma, Wisconsin by the Ganz Family in 1972
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VIEWS OF THE HIKING TRAIL In 1996 the McClyman Family granted the City of Alma the right to utilize the trail referred to as the Buena Vista Trail for the purposes of a public pedestrian hiking trail.
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Stop #20 Refuge Cell Phone Tour (608) 669-9059 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Upper Mississippi River Refuge
WOA Nature & Art Center 118 N Main Street, Alma, Wisconsin (608) 685-3303 center@wingsoveralma.orgHours: 10am-5pm Copyright (c) 2007-2013 Wings Over Alma All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Katherine Goodman and all rights are reserved.
