Hennegar Point

Hennegar Point is a quiet, bluff-top picnic area at the very southern tip of Wyalusing State Park, where you can stand beside a small shelter and selfie post and look far out over a wide, gleaming sweep of the Mississippi River and its distant, forested hills. The setting feels peaceful and a bit removed from the bustle of the main bluff, with open sky, river breezes, and birds riding the air currents along the edge of the driftless bluffs.

You can reach Hennegar Point several ways: by car or bike along Cathedral Tree Drive to the Hennegar Point picnic area, or on foot via the Mississippi Ridge Trail, which starts at the Homestead Picnic Shelter and follows the bluff through prairie openings and hardwood forest until it ends at the point. The trail is gently rolling and well-marked, making it a pleasant hike or ride for most visitors, while drivers and cyclists can enjoy the bluff-top road and then stroll a few steps from the parking area to the overlook itself.

Hennegar Point honors Rick Henneger, a Wisconsin DNR attorney whose work helped secure tens of thousands of acres for conservation, including many of the lands that make views like this possible. A memorial at the picnic area commemorates his role in shaping Wisconsin’s protected places, so when visitors pause at the rail to admire the Mississippi far below, they are also standing in a spot that celebrates the legacy of modern conservation in the state.