We rode this trail late October and sadly missed most of the color, but the trail did not disappoint. My favorite part is from Peterson to Preston. There was very little traffic, few cross streets, mostly flat, and lots of beautiful views. The section going down to Preston was a little rougher than the Root River trail, but probably our favorite section for views. If you want a delicious meal, eat at Old Village Hall in Lanesboro. It was a little expensive, but some of the best food I've ever had!

The trail was great!!! Not alot of people so very peaceful

Rode Norh from Riceville to end of paved trail ~10 miles. In McIntire watch for signs on the back of street signs to navigate through town and checkout Goosey's bar an grill if you are hungry. Saw Amish horses and farms.

The pavement is in great condition, bridges are smooth. Check ahead for business hours if you are visiting on a weekday and want lunch on the trail. We stayed at the Stone Mill Inn in Lanesboro and they have a bike shed available, I recommend them.

9/14/20 with road bikes. Trail has serious issues: very rough bridge approaches (~ 10 bridges), cracks/holes in pavement, washout which created about 18" wide of rideable trail for about 50'. The curves make it difficult to see issues early.

We went yesterday and honestly one of the best trails I’ve ever been on. Beautiful and easy to ride. Love, love, loved it!!!

If you live in the La Crossse area, this is a great trail to experience. It's an easy walk, jog, or bike experience from Onalaska to Trempleau.

However, there are no (MAYBE one) bathroom facilities on this trail. You may be tempted to just jump off trail into the shrubbery only to find out you made a critical mistake: poison ivy.

Be warned, if you start itching get checkout ASAP, don't wait 2 weeks like I did and feel awesome for 3 months.

This trail is an easy 3.5 out of 5 stars. Is there a potential for 4 stars, by all means yes.

We traversed the trail from Marshland to Onalaska. We split our ride over 2 days. Staying at the Trempealeau Hotel and heading north to Marshland the first day and then south to Onalaska the second. The Trempealeau Hotel was nice. The bar and restaurant were closed the day we stayed there, so more peace and quiet than maybe usual - we loved it.
The owner also was very helpful helping us find restaurants during our trip that complied fully with Covid guidance.
The trail is in excellant shape. Many parts are shaded which is wonderful especially on a 95 degree day! There are NOT a lot of views of the Mississippi River. We biked through Trempealeau and through Perrot State Park which provided beautiful views of the river. There is access back onto the trail in the State Park campgrounds- right before site #87. The trail is bordered by the beauty of nature-trees, marsh, meadows and its quiet-not near any major roads. It does parallel an active railroad in the section south of Trempealeau but that was kind of cool to bike next to a train going by and only one train did. There are many small bridges and one beautiful old railroad tressel bridge not too far south of Trempealeau. Also had a bike repair done at the Trempealeau Driftless Bike N' Bean store that allowed us to continue our adventure. The owner was helpful and friendly. In Onalaska there was a beautiful visitor center and across the street a delightuful place to eat- David Reay's Modern Diner- with outdoor dining and all staff wearing masks. Food was excellant and definately try the cheese curds. The best I have ever had

I am not sure what they are doing with everyone's $5 as both trail heads were a very rough ride. The trail is mostly flat and straight which gets quite boring. Our ride was less than 700ft of elevation for a 50+ mile ride if you go down the Hayward trail as well (which was smoother than the CVT).
The trail was very busy to the point of being a nuisance.

Pros would be a view of the river, few road crossing and the trail is sheltered/shaded for 95% of the ride.

I will not do this ride again, there are too many better rides out there.