The la Crosse River is a freestone river in Wisconsin, listed as Class 1 trout stream by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
2 USGS gauges on the water report flow. 1 guide and 2 shops nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is The Driftless: Viroqua & Westby.
la Crosse River is a freestone river in Wisconsin. Our destination hub The Driftless: Viroqua & Westby is 26 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.
Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.
Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of la Crosse River: gauges, shops and guides
Map of la Crosse River with 2 USGS gauges, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of la Crosse River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of 6 restrooms near la Crosse River
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 6 restrooms near la Crosse River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Class 1 trout stream
Class 1 trout streamThe Kickapoo River in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, from the air. Photo: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Class 1 trout streamRepresentative photo · not Basswood CreekThe Bois Brule River at the County Highway B landing (Winneboujou), Wisconsin. Photo: Kriz420 (Wikimedia Commons user), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Basswood Creek.
Wisconsin · about 31 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bigalk CreekThe Whitewater River in Whitewater State Park, Minnesota. Photo: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bigalk Creek.
Class 1 trout streamRepresentative photo · not Melancthon CreekThe Pere Marquette River in autumn, Manistee National Forest. Photo: Yetiwriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Melancthon Creek.
Wisconsin · about 36 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not South Fork Root RiverThe Muskegon River near Newaygo, Michigan. Photo: Marc Steensma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Fork Root River.
Minnesota · about 40 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Class I Trout Streams list (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
2.7 of 55.6 mi on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
Soldiers Grove, WI · 38 mi
Beginners & lessons
Nearby
What 1 nearby guide website mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.
Named on 1 nearby guide website
12 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Minnesota Trout Unlimited (secondary sources: an angling organisation or magazine, not an agency).
Giant stone (salmonfly) (April to May) · Hendrickson (April to June) · Little black caddis (April to May) · American grannom (Mother's Day caddis) (May to July) · Brown drake (May to June) · Light Hendrickson or pale evening dun (May to June) · and 6 more on the chart
Viroqua and Westby sit on the ridges of Vernon County in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, the hill country the last ice sheets did not cover; Timber Coulee and Coon Creek run in the valleys below Westby and Coon Valley, the Kickapoo River runs south along the county's eastern side, and Minnesota's Root River country lies across the Mississippi.
Destination hub · 26 mi away in a straight line
A practical checklist for fly fishing small mountain trout streams: a short 3–4 weight rod, light line, a few buoyant dries and simple wet-wading gear, with estimated prices and where to buy.
7′6″–8′6″ rod, 3–4 weight, floating line · Brook, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with la Crosse River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge LA CROSSE RIVER AT SPARTA, WI. Water type is our own classification.
Class 1 trout streamClass 1 trout streamThe Kickapoo River in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, from the air. Photo: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Class 1 trout streamRepresentative photo · not Basswood CreekThe Bois Brule River at the County Highway B landing (Winneboujou), Wisconsin. Photo: Kriz420 (Wikimedia Commons user), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Basswood Creek.
Wisconsin · about 31 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bigalk CreekThe Whitewater River in Whitewater State Park, Minnesota. Photo: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bigalk Creek.
Class 1 trout streamRepresentative photo · not Melancthon CreekThe Pere Marquette River in autumn, Manistee National Forest. Photo: Yetiwriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Melancthon Creek.
Wisconsin · about 36 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not South Fork Root RiverThe Muskegon River near Newaygo, Michigan. Photo: Marc Steensma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Fork Root River.
